Ski Instructor

Aimee Brown

Sarah Thompson, 30, hasn’t had a proper summer in eight years, but she’s not complaining. The Perisher Blue ski instructor has worked 16 snow seasons in a row, travelling overseas to pursue her passion when the ice begins to melt on the Snowy Mountains.

Long, hot summers are as much a part of Australian culture as Vegemite and meat pies — so how do you survive in a perpetual winter setting?

I sometimes wonder that myself. There’s always a bit of a break between when the skiing season finishes here and when it starts overseas, so I always try and sneak in a bit of vacation time then, whether it’s going camping in Byron Bay for a few days or just spending some time near the beach. I did a trip to Mexico recently and that was a great way to break up the winter.

Almost everyone who has gone on a skiing holiday has harboured fantasies of becoming a ski instructor; getting paid to ski and live in a picturesque environment. Is it as good from the inside as it appears to outsiders?

I love it. It’s quite a young atmosphere and the people doing it are quite active. There’s always an opportunity to go out and push yourself to improve your own skiing, and I really love the job itself. That’s what has kept me going for such a long time — the fact that I really enjoy improving people’s skiing.

With eight years experience, you must be pretty high up on the ski instructor ladder. Do you only teach experienced skiers?
Not at all. I enjoy teaching every level. The reason I really enjoy teaching the beginners is that you see them progress quicker at that level. At the higher levels, it’s more about making smaller breakthroughs. But it doesn’t matter what level, age, or how many people are in the class, it’s still rewarding to see them make developments in their skiing.

The life of a ski instructor is inevitably transient; the snow melts and you have to move on. Does that make it more difficult to maintain your friendships and relationships?
You miss Christmas; I haven’t had a Christmas at home since I started working as an instructor and that can be tough at times. But my family visits when they can. And although the ski instructor community is a big one in the sense that it covers the world, it is also quite small. I could spend a few days skiing in Canada for example and I’m bound to meet a couple of people I know from a season here or overseas, or someone who knows a colleague or friend of mine well.

Ski instructing isn’t something you expect to see at your typical high school careers fair. What inspired you to pursue it as a career?
I’m originally from Camden (south-west of Sydney), so the first time I ever went to the snow was when my dad took me when I was 11. I loved it. I only had the one weekend a year until I got my licence, then I always tried to convince friends to come down with me when I could.

I was 16 when I decided to become a ski instructor. I remember standing on Mount [Perisher] and deciding this was what I wanted to do. But I never thought it was possible. It wasn’t until I was 21 that I came down here and did a hiring clinic. I’ve now done seasons in Deer Valley, Utah and Winter Park in Colorado, but my dream has always been to work in Europe.

Next season I’m going to Verbier in Switzerland. I can’t wait. When I started out I thought that I would do it for a couple of seasons maybe, but I don’t see it ending any time soon.

By Aimee Brown, The Daily Telegraph, August 5, 2006.