Ski Rep Training
As well as their role in guiding skiers in off piste environments, British Mountain Guides play a key role in training the representatives for on piste holiday companies. The Crystal and Thomson Group (part of TUI) has, since 2004, been commissioning training courses for its reps throughout Europe and North America.
The courses take the form of an evening presentation, followed by a day on the slopes, covering “normal” skiing in the morning, then an afternoon of “incidents”, i.e. anything that disturbs the normal flow of a skiing day. “All these lessons are taught through role playing exercises, from normal ski escorting, what happens if a glove gets dropped from a chair lift, through to the common ski accidents such as knee injuries”, says Andy Perkins, a British Mountain Guide who has worked on these courses in both USA and Europe. “The Crystal Thomson courses are an interesting change from normal guiding work. The ski escorts are generally in their early 20’s from the UK or Australia, and have varying amounts of experience in client care, even on the piste. As well as instilling some basic rules such as no off piste, no instruction, our aim is to give the escorts skills and techniques to enhance the holiday experience of Crystal Thomson’s clients”.
