Eight Seasons in Saas-Fee. Emily Wore the Swiss Flag on Her Sleeve the Whole Time.
A ski instructor story from Dublin to the Swiss Alps, and now Queenstown.
Emily is from Dublin. She had skied since she was young, thanks to Irish family friends who moved to Switzerland and showed her the mountains on school holidays. She loved it. But loving skiing and making a life out of it felt like two different things, until a uni ski trip to Les Arcs and Val Thorens changed everything.
She was helping her friends learn to ski, getting them down from après when they probably shouldn't have been skiing at all, and somewhere in the middle of it the penny dropped that maybe she could actually do this for a living. A bit of research led her to EA Ski and Snowboard Training. One season led to eight incredible winters. This is her story.
Why Saas-Fee?
Emily had visited Saas-Fee once as a child. When it came to choosing where to do her EA Ski and Snowboard Training course, it seemed smaller and more manageable than some of the other options. It didn't take long to realise she had made more than the right decision.
Forty 4,000-metre peaks surrounding the valley. North facing runs that held snow all season long. When the snow came, it stayed, and it stayed good. A car-free village full of traditional Swiss charm. Swiss chocolate, espresso in the morning, fondue at night. And a community built entirely around the mountains. Skiing, snowboarding, climbing, mountain biking. Everyone there for the same reason. EA Ski and Snowboard Training had its connections with the official Swiss Ski School of Saas-Fee, and Emily couldn't believe she got to wear a red uniform to work.
"I really wear that Swiss flag on my sleeve with pride."
But all of this was small compared to the people she met. The other people on her ski course, her trainer, the instructors who had come on EA Ski and Snowboard courses the years before, and all the locals and seasonnaires who had come for one season many years earlier and stayed for the magic of Saas-Fee. As a smaller resort it keeps a strong sense of community. Everyone is there for the mountains.
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One Season Became Eight. Here's Why.
After that first season Emily was invited back as a full time employee, no longer an intern or a gappy, to train for her Level 3. After the season she had just had, it was a no-brainer.
One summer back in Dublin told her everything she needed to know. Saas had its hold on her year round from that point on. She learned German (with a Swiss accent). Worked wherever she could in the summers. Taught, trained, and went on as many adventures as possible during the winters. When Saas-Fee got added to the Magic Pass, powder days and ski tours opened up that she hadn't even imagined when she first arrived.
Once she got her Level 3 she started helping her trainer run the instructor training. At the start of her eighth season she was employed by EA Ski and Snowboard as the Program Manager for Saas-Fee's pre-season Level 1 and 2 courses. She was looking into the faces of new, fresh instructors, exactly where she had stood eight years earlier. A full circle moment. That's the EA Ski and Snowboard pathway. One season can turn into a career you are genuinely passionate about.
"Every season I feel like I am still at the start of my journey, even though I have accomplished a lot already. There is still so much to do, and my whole life to spend in the mountains."
Switzerland is just the start. Some people train there and head straight to Canada to teach. Read about how that works.
Now She's in Queenstown. The Journey Keeps Going.
Emily is now in Queenstown, New Zealand, on her first Southern Hemisphere season. She is working toward her Level 4 in both the BASI and Swiss systems and has her sights set on a trainer and examiner's certification. Eight seasons in and she still feels like she is at the start of the journey. That's what the mountains do to people.
We will save you a spot on the piste.
If you join us in Saas-Fee this winter, you might just get trained by the person who started exactly where you're standing.
