Skiing is an interesting, fun and adventurous sport. It requires lot of dedication, passion and practice. Have you ever thought that it could also be career option for you? Do you dream of being a skiing instructor? There are many training institutes which offer recognized ski instructor courses. Some of these institutes also promise a job upon the successful completion of the course.

Being a skiing instructor is not difficult. If you are interested in being a skiing instructor you must enroll for ski instructor course. You could choose a course that can help you get a job in ski instructing in the best skiing places around the world. These courses could run from 5 days to up to 3 months. The 5 day course provides a basic qualification while the ones for a 3 month period are more comprehensive in nature. These courses are a good way of honing your skills in ski instructing. It is a formalized training course that follows proper teaching principles. Before you sign up for a course, ensure that you check the credentials of the ski training institute or the skiing instructors.

It is important to know that being a good skier alone is not a key criteria to become a skiing instructor since you may have the technical knowledge but you may not be able to communicate those skills to your students. It is not difficult to get a job in ski instructing as there is a worldwide shortage of skiing instructors. Please ensure that you choose a right course for yourself. There are some ski instructor courses which are recognized only at a national level and those that follow the standards recognized by the national organizations.

To know if your qualification is officially recognized, you must know about various organizations active in your country and internationally. The International Ski Instructors Association (ISIA) is the only association meant for professional ski instructors and it has about 30 nations affiliated with it. Similarly, there is British Association of Snowsports Instructors, The British Association of Ski Patrollers in the UK and the Canadian Ski and Snowboard Association in Canada. To know more about the member countries, you may check the ISIA website.

You should not only run on skis with your legs, you must have your wits about you. In other words, you might easily run into a tree. Trees don’t step aside and are not to be considered as brakes. You must also be able to recognize bad snow. So take a good look at the terrain, the snow, etc. and consider how you propose to overcome this or that obstacle. Just as in business you have to prepare for all eventualities, the same applies in skiing. I have noticed, however, that the best business people with their agile minds are by no means the best ski runners.

Use Your Head

Everything has to be learned and mastered. Many ski-ing movements may reside in the blood, nevertheless you have to concentrate before every swing you make. While I have complete mastery of my skis, and can safely say that before each swing I am concentrating 100 per cent. I notice that I pass trees and obstacles whereas my pupils are apt to rush straight for them.

These big solid obstacles apparently have a particular attraction for beginners. In any case, the pupil has eyes in his head and he must learn to use these eyes to take in all the obstacles and to decide in a flash in which direction his swing must take place.

Just as important is the immediate recognition of different types of snow all of which need a different technique and get you into a host of troubles if you think that you can treat them all according to plan. So remember the precept, "Don’t run pigheadedly and heedlessly over the countryside but look round, reflect, make your decision at the right time and react as the occasion demands".

For Good Ski Runners and Those who will one day enter this Category

By and large, the ingredients which go to make an elegant skier who can run at speed are strong will, courage, agility, strength and endurance, keen eyes, a healthy heart and lungs, not to forget a sense for movement. The ambitious person who wants to develop into a crack skier must, apart from special talents, be endowed by nature.

Today the most intensive training and ambition are not enough to bring you into the foremost ranks of the game. But apart from talent, all those virtues which go to make up a good ski runner are to be found in a normal healthy man.

With time a feeling for the beauty of movement as you run will be born in you. This would go much more rapidly could the ski runner be able to see and observe himself. Unfortunately, it is impossible to surround the practice slopes with mirrors as is done in a riding school in order to check your position.

Many crazy shooting gallery figures would then disappear from the practice slopes and one danger would be removed from their fellow skiers. How many people feel that they have it in them to become racing skiers? Determination displays itself in ski runners above all in the fact that one is hard and uncompromising with oneself. You must never give up. Go on practising and practising and training even if it takes ages to learn the parallel swing. Practise your weaker side until you are as proficient as with the easier side.

It is a pity there is no comptometer that could show you how many falls could be avoided had the ski runner not given up the ghost. The fair sex, above all, but also the men should get into the habit of checking after each fall to see whether it could not actually have been avoided. All the figures in skiing demand a certain degree of courage and skill.

In this sport there are always dangerous surprises which on the slightest abandonment can entail a danger. One thing is certain, anyone who runs away from danger is at a disadvantage compared with the man who resolutely and calmly grapples with it.

With practice you will develop into the sort of skier you always wanted to be. Good luck!

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I took skiing lessons for six years, from the age of eleven until I was seventeen. During that time, some of my instructors were more memorable than others, but the one I will never forget was Stephan. The man was about 6′4″ with shoulders so broad they were appeared to stick straight out from his neck. When he skied, his skis were so close together that his body formed a perfect triangle. Needless to say, he was a very skilled athlete and an excellent teacher, but one of his methods for teaching (or torturing) his advanced students was to force us to ski down the hill on one ski WITHOUT poles.

If you’ve never attempted it, skiing on one ski is difficult, but if you add a no poles scenario to the equation, it becomes darn near impossible. Of course, the point of the exercise was to teach us balance, but for me, the unintentional upshot was an increased appreciation for my ski poles.

Most modern ski poles, as with most ski gear, fall into two categories: those intended for cross-country skiing and those intended for downhill. Although it is possible to use poles intended for one application in the other, I would not recommend it. Ski poles, while they appear simple in design, are specially designed to best aid the skier in specific situations.

For those of you who have never gone downhill skiing, first of all, you should. Second of all, when you do, you should make sure you get properly sized ski poles. When watching the speed skiers on the Olympics, it may not seem as though poles really serve much purpose. This, however, is not the case. Proper downhill skiing technique involves (among other things) carving turns into the snow with the edges of the skis. When the skier reaches the apex of the turn, he or she plants the inside pole and turns towards it, beginning a turn in the other direction.

The act of planting the pole may seem purely cosmetic, and in the case of an amateur skier it usually is. However, a well-planted pole can also go a long way towards establishing a good turning rhythm for an average or advanced skier. Consequentially, if the pole is too long or too short, the skier will find the act of planting it awkward and the rhythm will be thrown off. Additionally, a pole that is too short will result in an overly flexed stance, throwing the weight forward and increasing the risk of a fall.

There is a fairly simple method to determine if a downhill ski pole is the correct height. Turn the ski pole upside down, place the grip on the floor, and grasp the pole just below the basket (the found part at the bottom of the pole). Place your body, including your arms, in a skiing stance and put the grip in front of your feet. Ideally, the ski pole should force your arm to create a 90 degree angle. If it does, great. If not, try again until you find the right poles.

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I’ve been skiing since I was eleven years old and I love it. I participate both downhill and cross-country skiing, and I refuse to be drawn into debates over which is better. They’re both wonderful pastimes, and they both have their advantages. As to drawbacks, however, there is one that is common to both forms of skiing: the cold. Like it or not, skiing is a winter sport (unless you live in Dubai and frequent their indoor ski slope). And if you’re like me and you get cold easily, you tend to lose all feeling in your hands and feet. Needless to say, such a development can make skiing both difficult and painful. The logistics of maintaining tolerable feeling in your extremities while skiing can be formidable, but I have managed to pick up a few tips over the past seventeen years. So here, for the benefit of my cold-blooded brethren (and I mean that in the nicest possible way), is what I have learned.

Your neck gaiter (or gator, as it is often spelled in the industry) is your best friend. Never, ever, ever go skiing without this essential piece of fabric. It’s amazing how much a simple, tube-shaped piece of cloth can contribute to your overall warmth. A neck gaiter, for those who don’t know, looks like a knitted hat that someone forgot to close off. It is the modern day answer to the neck scarf. The advantage of the neck gaiter is twofold. One, it prevents freezing air from slipping down your neck and into the body of your coat. And two, it can be pulled up and over the nose and mouth, thereby keeping your face warm. When a neck gaiter is paired with goggles and the latter are pulled down over the edge of the former, the face is completely covered and the skier feels immeasurably warmer. Before I head out the door, I triple check to be sure that I have this vital piece of clothing.

Ski socks: invest in them. Yes, they may cost a bit more and yes, they may look a lot like what you can buy at the local Fred Meyer. However, socks that are specifically designed for skiing can mean the difference between having toes at the end of the day and having immobile and painful little chunks of flesh. I once spent an hour in tears while my toes thawed out. I do not recommend it. Do yourself a favor and visit your local ski equipment shop. They will carry ski socks of varying sizes and weights, so ask an employee what they recommend. Your digits will thank you.

Disposable hand warmers. These are a very common piece of skiing paraphernalia these days, although has not always been the case. Hand warmers come in little airtight packets. When you take one out, shake it to start its chemical reaction and then drop it in your glove. In about ten minutes, your glove will be a toasty little haven for your beleaguered fingers. One note of caution, do not let your hand warmers get wet. Water will prevent them from working, and you’ll wind up with soggy little packets of useless chemicals.

One final piece of advice: the windmill. You’ll look funny, but your hands will maintain feeling. Whenever you feel your hands beginning to go numb, fling your arms around in circles from your shoulders. The motion forces blood away from your central core and back into your hands. If you do this whenever an opportunity arises, you’ll last a lot longer on the slopes.

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In the United States, when referring to the outermost layer worn on the top of the body during cold weather, most people just call the garment a "coat." This word, of course, is really very generic, the result being that it is sometimes modified with an additional noun in order to properly depict the article of clothing: "leather coat," for example, or a "trench coat." And in the world of ski gear, the coat worn for the sport is known simply as a ski coat. There are actually specific English words to describe a coat worn in snowing conditions.

"Anorak" is sometimes used in other English-speaking countries to describe this piece of clothing. However, while this word is accepted in the United States, it is not commonly used. When an American refers to a ski coat, he means an anorak, a skier’s first and arguably most important defense against the elements.

The ski coat, or anorak, actually has a relatively interesting history. It was originally invented by the Inuit of the Arctic region, who made the garment from caribou or seal. The climate in which these people lived often consisted of freezing temperatures and violent winds, all of which made such clothing necessary while hunting, kayaking, or doing almost anything that involved being outdoors. The anoraks of the Inuit, like those of today, were heavy and had hoods, which were often lined with fur to better protect the face. In order to increase water resistance, some Inuit would coat an anorak regularly with fish oil.

Some time in the 1930s, people began to use anoraks while skiing. Since that time, it has become a staple of ski apparel, even though it sometimes bears little resemblance to the original garment. Of course today, anoraks are no longer made of animal skins. Rather, they are often constructed from synthetic fabrics. Although natural insulating materials like down are sometimes used, fleece and Thinsulate are much more common approaches. As to the exterior, it is often made of nylon or some other manmade material, such as microfibers.

As fashionable ski apparel has become more diverse, a number of ski coats have evolved that strictly speaking, cannot be defined as anoraks. Some ski coats lack the prerequisite hood; and due to the environmental sentiments of our time, those that have the hood often lack the traditional fur edging. Some ski coats extend down to the wearer’s mid-thighs, whereas technically, an anorak stops at the waist. These longer coats are actually parkas but again, as with the anorak, Americans use "ski coat" to refer to any coat used while skiing.

Ski coats are often brightly, sometimes violently, colorful. This was especially true during the 1980s, when neon colors were often combined with metallic fabric for a dazzling display on the slopes. Although this trend has abated somewhat, it is not unusual to see ski coats, especially those for women, available in bright blues, pinks, reds and other vivid colors. Such colors have the advantage of being easily visible against the white background of a ski slope and making the wearer possible to identify in a crowd.

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Ski resorts in both the US and Europe know their clients care increasingly about the environment and climate change – skiers after all enjoy their time in the open – and the ski resort authorities have been doing a lot to make their areas and facilities environmentally friendly.

Vail Colorado for example operates one of the largest recycling programmes of any ski resort in North America, and their on-mountain recycling programme is the largest of its kind in North America.

Vail Resorts who are the owners responsible for the initiative, have five mountain resorts. Each resort receives monetary contributions of $1 from each skier per season pass, online lift ticket transaction and night spent at the resort in the Colorado and California locations. Since the programme began, Vail has received more than $550,000 in guest contributions. The National Forest Foundation (NFF) has matched the contributions by more than $275,000. All funds are used for projects that aim to restore, improve and protect Vail’s neighboring National Forests.

The effort put forth by Vail Resorts owners, employees and skiers alike gives a glimpse into the number of skiers who are concerned about the environment. The preservation of National Forests is a major factor in the success of not only Vail Resorts but other ski resorts worldwide. The environment that the skiers are helping protect is the same environment that attracts them to Vail Resorts to begin with.

Vail’s five major resorts are some of the most visited and most family friendly resorts in North America. Families can learn very valuable lessons about wildlife preservation, recycling and environmental issues. Currently, Vail’s recycling programme recycles an impressive about 70 percent of on-mountain waste. The amount of waste recycled equals nearly one pound per guest. About 100 tons of material per month are recycled during an average ski season.

Some of the most notably environment friendly parts of the resorts are:

* Beaver Creek’s Spruce Saddle Lodge. The lodge is the first ski resort restaurant to become a Certified Green Restaurant by the Green Restaurant Association. The GRA is a national non-profit organization that dedicates its time to setting sustainable environmental standards within the restaurant industry. Spruce Saddle Lodge is one of the first resort restaurants to be recognized by the GRA for multiple environmental breakthroughs. The restaurant uses recycled, tree-free, biodegradable and organic products throughout the lodge. It also maintains impressive water efficiency, energy and conservation levels and recycling and composting programs.

* Keystone Composting at Keystone Ranch Restaurant. Keystone’s composting programme began in 2002 and has grown immensely over the years. More than 500 pounds of kitchen waste per week is being diverted from landfill. Combined with efforts from the Keystone Conference Center, food scraps and wood shavings create the soil used in landscaping throughout the resort. Similar composting programs are being established by other resorts.

* Heavenly Waste Reduction, in partnership with California’s El Dorado County, diverts about 482 tons of recyclable waste from landfills each year. Surrounding communities are also encouraged to keep yard waste out of local landfills. An annual event, Compost Your Combustibles, educates and encourages citizens to participate in recycling and composting efforts.

* Vail Resorts and RockResorts. Recycling programmes are in place for all employees and guests of any Vail Resorts or RockResorts. They promote water conservation to guests by promoting the reuse of towels and linens for multi-night stays. Restaurants on the resorts use biodegradable, compostable and recycled food and beverage containers and flatware. The resorts recycle beverage and food containers and paper items used in all resort operations. All areas of the resorts use environmentally friendly cleaning products that are not only safer for the environment, but for guests and employees as well.

Resorts worldwide are becoming more environmentally aware and passing their knowledge on to their guests. With the help of their guests, they are able to conserve more water and recycle and compost more waste in a broader range of areas of resort operations. The efforts put forth by these resorts and others around the world help protect the environment and wildlife that attracts their visitors, and might just help the snow fall for future years!

Ski holidays information is available with ski guide yourandorra.com and includes the resort of El Tarter Andorra

The ski site also offers ski holiday in Switzerland and ski information is often upadted on their Andorra blogs