Qualifications
Avalanche Skills Training 1 · Companion Rescue · 40-hour Wilderness Advanced First Aid
Plus CSIA Level 1 as a bolt-on, and a focused CSIA Level 2 pathway on the 13-week option. Qualifications where they actually fit, not for the sake of it.
Who it suits
Anyone from their mid 20s to their late 40s who wants a winter that feels like an actual adventure. Career breaks, sabbaticals, or the trip you have been promising yourself for ten years. Looking for more of a gap-year experience? The 9 to 13 Week Intensive is built for that.
Less Box-Ticking. More Skiing.
Most instructor courses spend the winter moving from one certification block to the next. This one turns you into a genuinely stronger all-mountain skier first.
Not this course
Most Instructor Courses Elsewhere.
This course
The WSC All-Mountain Programme.
Where the winter goes
Moving from one certification block to the next
Where the winter goes
Coaching you into a genuinely stronger all-mountain skier
Terrain
Groomers, drills, exams, repeat
Terrain
Casual groomers and cat tracks through to powder, steeps, trees and technical terrain
Backcountry
Not the focus
Backcountry
Avalanche training, Companion Rescue, touring and Rogers Pass
First aid
Basic, often in a classroom
First aid
Wilderness Advanced First Aid, outdoors
Beyond the resort
Not usually
Beyond the resort
Overnight lodge experience
Instructor tickets
The whole point
Instructor tickets
Optional: CSIA Level 1 & 2, AST 2, PSIC Big Mountain Pathway
Best for
People whose only goal is the ticket
Best for
Anyone who wants to ski the mountain they came all this way for, and go home with skills to show off to friends and family
“If you’ve been working for a few years and looking for a break or want to explore opportunities in the snow sports industry, this is the perfect course.”
From Groomers To Rogers Pass.
Every step is built on the one below it. You climb from technical skiing to the backcountry, so by the time you reach the big terrain you have earned it.
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01Start here
Get Your Ski Legs Back
Technical on-piste coaching first. Shake off the rust, fix the habits and get confident before the terrain gets bigger.
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02All season
Freeride Coaching
Powder, trees, chopped snow, steeper pitches and technical sections. Whatever Revelstoke throws at you that day.
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03Safety
AST 1 And Companion Rescue
Read avalanche terrain, use the forecast, plan the day and dig your mates out if it goes wrong.
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044 days
Touring In Revelstoke
Learn the kit, the transitions and the systems in a controlled environment before the big stuff.
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0540 hours
Wilderness Advanced First Aid
An internationally recognised ticket for places where help is not five minutes away.
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06The summit
Rogers Pass And The Lodge
Two days touring one of the most famous backcountry areas in North America, plus a night in a remote lodge.
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07Optional
Go Further If You Want
A compressed CSIA Level 2 and the PSIC Big Mountain Pathway, or Avalanche Skills Training Level 2.
The order flexes with snow and weather. Revelstoke decides some days, and it will. Sideways. With snow.
“It offered amazing (yet challenging) ski terrain, fresh powder on many occasions throughout the season, like-minded individuals, and invaluable coaching from the Revelstoke instructors. I learnt so much whilst on the course, and felt my ski ability and confidence really improved.”
4 days Revelstoke · 2 days Rogers Pass
Real Terrain. Real Decisions.
Four days in Revelstoke to learn the kit, transitions and terrain reading somewhere controlled. Then two days in Rogers Pass, one of the most famous touring areas in North America. Big, snowy, wild and absolutely iconic. Not classroom theory.
40 hours · recognised internationally
Be The Useful One.
Wilderness Advanced First Aid is a serious qualification in its own right, built for places where help is not five minutes away. Valuable for ski patrol, guiding and outdoor careers, and better than standing there holding a flapjack and looking concerned.
Worried it is too advanced?
Can I Keep Up?
Revelstoke has a big reputation and that scares people off. It shouldn't. We taught our own 8 and 10 year old daughters to ski there. We have had people on this course with only five weeks of skiing. Here is the honest version.
Under 7 weeks
You can still do this
Turn up fit, and be ready for a tough couple of weeks while you get up to speed. The technical coaching at the start is there for exactly this.
7 weeks plus
The sweet spot
You will improve dramatically over the season. This is where people go from confident on piste to genuinely capable anywhere on the hill.
Timid skier
Start with the sister course
If steeper terrain genuinely frightens you, the 9 to 13 Week Intensive Instructor course builds the base first. No shame in it, it is the smarter route.
Not sure where you sit? Check the skiing ability guide →
Hear It From Them.
Previous clients, filmed on the mountain. Real people, not actors, and no script.
The instructors teaching us have all been brilliant and full of energy, and the mountain itself is epic. Amazing long runs, off piste moguls, and beautiful tree glades to explore. It’s been so much fun that I have decided to extend my stay!
Hattie Alvis
All-Mountain, Revelstoke 2024
Pick Your Winter.
Three clear options, one start date. Choose by how long you can stay and how much appetite you have for exams.
Room
10-Week All-Mountain Programme
Starts 7th January
£9,400
Everything in the core programme. Freeride coaching, AST 1, Companion Rescue, 40-hour Wilderness Advanced First Aid, 6 touring days and the overnight lodge.
Hold your place with a £300 deposit
Every option at a glance
| Course option | Starts | Quad / Triple | Double |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-Week All-Mountain ProgrammeCore Revelstoke training, freeride, safety and backcountry experience | 7 Jan | £9,400 | £9,750 |
| 13-Week All-Mountain ProgrammeMore skiing, more mileage, no extra exam pressure | 7 Jan | £10,900 | £11,250 |
| 13-Week All-Mountain + CSIA Level 2 PathwayFull all-mountain programme plus a focused CSIA Level 2 pathway | 7 Jan | £12,150 | £12,500 |
Want your own room? Single rooms are available in our nearby accommodation. Ask us and we will price it for your dates.
In every option
- Accommodation
- 4 breakfasts and 4 dinners a week, every week
- Season lift pass
- Airport transfers
- Freeride and all-mountain coaching
- Avalanche Skills Training Level 1
- Companion Rescue
- 40-hour Wilderness Advanced First Aid
- 4 days touring in Revelstoke
- 2 days touring in Rogers Pass
- Overnight lodge experience
- Avalanche pack hire for the course
- Welcome meal and gift bag
- WSC G.O.A.T hoodie
Week 10, your choice
- AST 2For a more advanced avalanche qualification
- £850
- PSIC Big Mountain PathwayBig-mountain focused development. Needs Level 1 first
- £650
- Free ski and relaxTime to ski, recover and enjoy Revelstoke
- Included
Optional bolt-on
- CSIA Level 14 days of Level 1 training, plus the examCompulsory if you are doing the compressed CSIA Level 2 in the last three weeks
- £650
Not in the price
- Flights
- Travel and medical insurance
- Lunches and food outside the shared meals
- Your own ski kit
- Bolt-ons and week 10 upgrades
What Past Clients Say.
A Proper Mountain Town.
Revelstoke is not a resort village. It is a real town with history, a great restaurant scene and people who live to ski, five minutes from one of the biggest mountains in North America.
Your base
Shared house in town
Accommodation is included for the whole programme, a short walk from the restaurants and shops.
Getting there
Airport transfers
Picked up on arrival and dropped back at the end. No working out bus timetables with two ski bags.
On the hill
Season lift pass
Valid for the whole season, so if you stay on, your pass already works.
Day one
Welcome meal and gift bag
Plus the WSC G.O.A.T hoodie. You will wear it until it falls apart.
It might be a freebie, but the mountain makes you earn it
Sheep Go To Whistler. GOATS Go To Revelstoke.
No queues for the famous name. Just a big, steep, snowy mountain and a crew who would rather climb for it. Everyone gets the now infamous, coveted WSC G.O.A.T hoodie on day one.
The Rogues Gallery.
What actually lands on the table after a big day on the hill. Four breakfasts and four dinners a week, every week.
“Chef Alice made the most wonderful food for us. Imagine a full English roast dinner on a random Tuesday after a day on the mountain.”
Before You Decide, Take These.
Free guides for an all-mountain winter. Read the comparison and cost guides before anyone's price list, ours included.
Resort Comparison Guide
Big White, Sun Peaks, Panorama or Revelstoke. Mountain size, snowfall, accommodation, nightlife, terrain, and who each one genuinely suits.
Read the guide ›
Course Finder Quiz
A few quick questions about your skiing, your time and your goals, and it points you to the course that fits.
Read the guide ›
Skiing Ability Guide
Work out your real level, what each course expects on day one, and whether to train now, arrive early or pick a different programme.
Read the guide ›
Real Cost Of A Season
The course fee is the headline, not the total. Flights, insurance, food, kit, the visa, and the money you have to land with.
Read the guide ›
Course Price Calculator
Course fee, flights, insurance, food, kit and spending money. Move the sliders and watch the real total, with no hidden extras.
Read the guide ›
How To Book
When to secure your place, what happens if you leave it late, and how to avoid losing the resort, room type or programme you wanted.
Read the guide ›
Insurance Guide
The cover you genuinely need for a winter of freeride and backcountry, and the gaps that catch people out. We are not brokers, so this is advice rather than a sales pitch.
Read the guide ›
Fitness Guide
Arrive stronger and fitter for long training days, exams, cold weather and the occasional ego check from Canadian terrain.
Read the guide ›
Girls On Tour
A big sister chat to calm those nerves and answer the common concerns of travelling on your own.
Read the guide ›
What Nobody Tells You
Jet lag, supermarket prices, and the quiet week in January when your hours drop. The bits that never make the brochure.
Read the guide ›
Travel And Flights Guide
How we get you from your door to the slopes. Baggage allowances, booking windows, transfers, and why an ATOL certificate is worth having.
Read the guide ›
What To Take
A packing checklist for the whole season. Ski gear, travel essentials, documents, tech and the things people always forget.
Read the guide ›
Clothing Essentials
Base layers, ski socks, gloves, helmets and après layers. What to wear for a full Canadian winter, and what not to bother buying.
Read the guide ›
CSIA Qualification Guide
Level 1 gets you in the door, Level 2 makes you employable, Level 3 makes it a career. What each one lets you teach, and what the exams ask of you.
Read the guide ›Straight Answers.
The questions people ask before they commit a winter, answered the way we would on the phone.
How good a skier do I need to be?
Honestly, less than you think. Revelstoke is not just for experts. We taught our own daughters to ski there at 8 and 10, so it is well within your capabilities. We have had people on this course with only five weeks of skiing behind them. With seven weeks or more you will improve dramatically over the season. With fewer than seven, turn up fit and be ready for a tough couple of weeks while you get up to speed. If you are a timid skier, the 9 to 13 Week Intensive Instructor course is the better fit. Not sure where you sit? Check the skiing ability guide.
Who is this course aimed at?
It suits anyone from their mid 20s to their late 40s. Career breaks, sabbaticals and people who have promised themselves a proper winter for years. If you are after more of a gap-year experience, look at the 9 to 13 Week Intensive.
Do I have to take instructor exams?
No. The core programme has no instructor exams at all. CSIA Level 1 is an optional bolt-on for £650, and Level 2 is only on the 13-week Level 2 Pathway. Plenty of people come purely to ski better and do it safely in bigger terrain.
What is the difference between the two 13-week options?
Both add three weeks after the core programme, with extra accommodation and food. The plain 13-week option has no training in those weeks, so it is more skiing and spring conditions. The Level 2 Pathway fills them with 8 days of Level 2 training, 4 days of modules and 2 days of exams.
Can I do the PSIC Big Mountain Pathway in week 10?
Only if you already hold a Level 1 instructor certification, because that is the prerequisite. If you do not, add the CSIA Level 1 bolt-on earlier in the course and you will have it in time.
Can I get a single room?
Yes. Single rooms are available in our nearby accommodation. Ask us and we will price it for your dates.
Is the backcountry part safe?
Touring is built in order. Avalanche Skills Training and Companion Rescue come first, then 4 days touring in Revelstoke, and only then Rogers Pass. Avalanche pack hire is included. The mountains always carry risk, and the point of this course is learning to manage it properly, not pretending it is not there.
What will it cost me on top?
Flights, travel insurance, lunches and food outside the shared meals, your own ski kit, any bolt-ons you pick, and spending money for a town with a very good restaurant scene. Ask us on a call and we will give you a realistic range for your own plans.
Am I protected if something goes wrong?
Yes. We are ATOL bonded and you get an ATOL certificate when you book.
How do I pay?
A £300 deposit holds your place. Then a £1,000 deposit is due 20 weeks before you fly and the final balance 12 weeks before you fly, or you can spread it in equal weekly or monthly standing orders that run until 2 weeks before you fly.
