Sam Pickup
Current involvement with ski school
I work as an instructor for the Mighty New Generation 1650 and coach the following courses;
Current Qualifications
- BASI Level 4 ISTD
Where did it all start for you?
I started out as an overly enthusiastic dry slope skier in my early teens. At the age of fifteen I was at the local dry slope nearly every day of the week, Attending their own instructor training on a monday night, freestyle on a tuesday night, junior race training wednesday, trainee instructor training (Snowsport England) Thursday, night off Friday (Usually), Saturday morning, I helped out teaching kids, Sunday morning Junior Race Training again. I can remember thinking at the time that this made a good rounded week in terms of skiing disciplines, at least as close to that as I could get on the plastic at that age.
When I got to age 16, I then gained my Snowsport England Club Instructor qualification. This is an extremely basic course consisting of a weekend assessment and 20hours shadowing lessons. It then allowed me to start teaching up to Snowplough turns for any age. This gave me a good structure to my teaching as working on the dry slope the environment and terrain you are working on never changes.
At 17 I was getting more and more into my teaching, and so managed to book onto a Level 1 Instructor course (called the foundation back then) in Courchevel through. I booked this through Basi, but turned out to be run by a mixture of Tom Saxlund and Ali Rainback from New Generation. At the end of this week, Ali mentioned to me that I should think about going on to do my level 2 at the end of that winter. So i headed back to the dry slope, and while staying in contact with Ali, I started training as much as I could on the plastic, all the time thinking more about what I was teaching and how I could make it better. Eventually I managed to get booked onto a course in Zermatt for the Level 2 that April.
Was it all plain sailing?
And this is where the fun began…the too well known ‘BASI roller coaster’. The day before the course I went for a blast around with a few of the other guys which I can still remember now, helped me arrive on day one of the course feeling reasonably confident. But then throughout that week I quickly realised I had never actually skied bumps, infact if anything, I had avoided them. Not that bumps were the be all and end all of the course, but that Friday of the first week, I definitely had that sinking feeling that if I didn’t pull my finger out and get some practise in, there was no way I’d pass. The second week kept the pressure on, my teaching stayed strong, thanks to having put the hours in on the plastic, even my long and short turns were ok, but I was still sweating in the bumps right down to the last day. When I found out I had passed that Friday I was almost thankful I was sweating over the bumps, having never skied them before, I probably deserved to.
Over the course of that summer I stayed in contact with Ali, I began coaching with the Junior race club on the dry slope and made the bold decision to bite the bullet and have a crack at making a career in snowsports. I booked onto a winters worth of training with New Generation towards my BASI Level 3 (ISIA).
How did you spend the following winters?
I started that winter by going to Tignes in November to take my coaching qualification followed swiftly by heading to courchevel in December. I worked for a ski hire company in Courchevel 1850 mornings and weekends while I spent most of that winter Training with new gen in the afternoons. I took the mountain safety course mid winter which kicked off my present love for ski touring. Then finished with the then, three week stint of the 2 week tech and 1 week teach in Zermatt. These three weeks were once again a complete emotional roller coaster. Despite having skied in the Bartavelle bumps in Meribel when ever possible through that winter, I was still left struggling with my bumps, keeping me on my toes to say the least. The teaching course, I definitely arrived to feeling confident and very quickly realised that actually I hadn’t taught anything at all for all of that winter and as a result the nerves kicked in. Infact thinking about it now, I was probably more nervous on this course than any other right through the whole system. That summer I polished off the level three by completing my Snowboard Instructor Course in the Snow Dome and Common Theory in Aviemore.
The following two winters I then went on to to train and work with New Generation in Verbier. Knowing that I was intending to stay for at least two years, I planned to take the first winter easy, focusing mainly on doing the European Mountain Safety course and training my all round technical skiing towards my level 4 tech. I think this almost allowed me to relax enough into my training to not feel too stressed about making sure I was progressing every other run that I made. Making the training more enjoyable. Amongst other things, we did a lot of skiing on one ski, no matter what the conditions, or the run, groomed piste or icy bumps, soft powder or steep crud. Not only does this improve our skiing no end, it also makes you feel like a God when you get that other ski back on. Getting towards the end of that winter, I started to think about “What if I was to take the Tech now?” then Gerardo who had been our coach all winter made the suggestion that maybe I should just have a go, “whats the worst that could happen?” So off I went, back to Zermatt for another week of fun and games, this time with my heart in my mouth having suddenly realised that I had never thought I would get to this moment of taking my Level 4 this quickly. It was only two years ago I was going to the same place to take the Level 2. It was an intense week, but it turns out a winter skiing bumps on one ski had sorted out my bumps skiing nicely, short turns I nailed, and then long turns, the turns I thought were bang on, I relaxed too much. I just wasn’t separating enough. And once highlighted I could feel it. Luckily I got on top of it pretty quick and managed to pull it out of the bag.
How did you tackle the Eurotest?
So with the EMS and the Tech out of the way, it only seemed fair to have a go at the Eurotest and the Teach that following winter. Come that autumn, I went for 6 weeks GS training in Tignes, squeezing in a first shot at the eurotest after the first weeks training, thinking this would give me a good idea of where I was at. At over 2 seconds slower than the pass time, thats all it would ever be. But all in all, a good experience. From the heart thud of standing in the gate, through to having to listened to all the ‘experienced speed test regulars’ giving all their negative chat on how anything and everything about that test was wrong. It then took me another three attempts before finally passing 2 seconds inside the required time. This for me was the real bottle neck. Despite eventually passing before that winter had come to a close, I was starting to think how I would feel emotionally if I then had to spend that following summer just thinking about the following winter and going through the same process. I absolutely loved all the training, but the thought of almost needing to pass in order to cut down the constant flow of pennies falling out of my pocket was pretty demoralising. I know if I hadn’t passed on that fourth attempt I would have arrived back in Tignes that following autumn relishing the chance to get back in the gates. After going through this experience, it has left me a true believer in the eurotest. Not because it is easy to say now I have passed it. But more for the reason that it made me feel a desperation for wanting to pass, right down to that moment standing in the gate, having purposely avoided talking to all ‘the regulars’ up the top with their negative chat, not thinking about anything but getting a good strong push out of the start and putting in that first turn.
This only left the teach course, which, after the way the level 3 went, I started to worry about. In the end it turned out to be one of the most fun courses I took part in. Having a strong group must have made a difference and so made it a great week all round.
What are you doing now and what are your plans?
I have now worked in three valleys for the last 5 years, enjoying the chance to gain more and more teaching experience. This will now also be my fourth year taking the Level Two Instructor training course. This has really brought on my teaching, not only giving me the chance to work with the same group over the course of ten weeks but allowing me to discuss my own teaching more with fresh minds on the skiing scene.
Ski touring has now become a big part of my day to day skiing. Even in those peak weeks, I try to get the head torch on at the end of the day and have a quick run up on the touring skis. On top of this, I still love developing my own skiing when possible. Sometime within the next few years I would love to look more into being able to work as a trainer representing BASI on their official exams. I have been trying to save this for a time when I feel ready. I strongly believe in order to work delivering those courses, you need plenty of experience under your belt, and to accept it is a lifestyle choice. For now, I am looking forward to another full on winter of great skiing, developing where I can with like minded people who just want to spend time in the snow with two planks on their feet.
Contact Us
Get more information
Becoming a ski instructor may seem a daunting task and the variety of courses available certainly does not make it any easier, but here at New Generation we have over 10 years experience of running ski instructor training courses and during that time we have come across most situations, problems and variables.
We are available 7 days a week and will be able to guide you through all steps of the BASI system, at every level. So contact us today and find out more.
Note: If you contact us regarding a specific course we can also send you a full brochure, so don’t forget to enter your address details.
Choose Your Ski Instructor Course
Here at New Generation we offer a selection of complete ski instructor courses. You can join us on a residential course from 1 week to the whole season training, practicing and taking exams. We offer both BASI accredited training and exams, depending on the level you are trying to achieve.
BASI Level 1 & 2 Courses
Courchevel Residential BASI 1 & 2
Meribel Residential BASI 1 & 2
Standalone Courses & Exams
