Instructor – Skiing

Demelza Clay is so good at keeping small, cold children happy that she teaches others how to do it. That is when she’s not jumping out of helicopters.

Demelza is a ski instructor for children. Originally from Milawa in north east Victoria, Clay kicks off her eight-month working year next month at Mount Hotham in Victoria’s snowfields.

“At the start of the season I work at the instructional training clinic, training skiing instructors on how to teach kids how to ski,” Demelza said.

“Skiing is all about working with people, your clients. So, we hire people who have great people skills. The skiing we can teach them.”

When the Australian snow season finishes in September, Demelza, 28, swaps the nursery slopes of Australia for four months of helicopter skiing in Canada.

“I work at Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing, in Blue River, British Columbia. We take 15 to 20 helicopters trips a day, into the mountains, to take people skiing,” she said.

“I’m a tail guide so I ski down behind the group. We’re skiing on avalanche terrain so we’ve all done a lot of training do this job; avalanche rescue, crevice rescue – it’s all necessary.”

Prince Albert of Monaco and former Formula One ace Gerhard Berger  are just a few of the people she’s celebrated birthdays with and guided through the thick snow and, sometimes, treacherous conditions of both the Monashees and Cariboos ranges.

“It’s a very physical job. You are constantly lifting skis in and out of the helicopter, which is extremely tiring.

“You end up developing muscles in places you never knew you had them,” she said.

Demelza considers herself to be a ‘long-term’ member of the skiing community who chase the southern and northern hemisphere snow seasons.  She takes two months in between winters for some rest and recuperation in the sun.

“Costa Rica, Noosa, Byron Bay, Sydney and everywhere in between. You would be surprised at how many people from the ski industry you will find in these exotic, sunny destinations in between seasons.”

What started out eight-years ago as a short-term job fix has developed into Demelza’s full-time career.

“I always thought it would be a year or two of teaching in between uni and getting a job. I then realised that the job had a lot more to do with my degree (applied science in human movement studies) than I had realised,” she said.

“For a start, the ski instructor looks at what the body is doing, what the body is doing wrong, and how it can be improved. It’s all about motor control,” Demelza said.

Landing a job at Mount Hotham was easy for Demelza who had spent her weekend and holidays skiing at the resort.

What was slightly harder to learn was the reality that working at the snow was a commitment she had to take seriously.

“Skiing has an iconic image. People want to be the ‘hot-rod’ skier or the flash snowboarder. They come up to the snow and expect to party. However, if you want to be in the ski industry long-term, whatever work it is you are doing there, you have to remember it’s your place of employment.

“When I first got in to the industry I realised it is not one big party and you can not keep turning up to work hung over.”

In her opinion, the best instructors are the ones who get their buzz from teaching.

“That’s the great thing about out job – we’re infecting people with doing what we love,” she said.

Visit http://www.hotham.com.au/ for more details on working at Mount Hotham.