← Back to the Guide Hub
Girls On Tour · Before you book
Girls On Tour: The Questions Girls Ask, And Why Week Three Is Theirs
Booking an instructor course in Canada is a big leap, and the worries girls bring us sound the same. Will I be the only girl? Will I keep up? How do you settle in? Each one answered honestly, plus the pattern we see most seasons. The lads tend to charge off in week one. By week three, the girls have usually caught up, and often pulled ahead where it counts: steadier, more confident and properly relaxed into it.
By Abbie Morris · Last updated 4 October 2026
Inside
1 The worry sorter
2 Will I be the only girl?
3 Will I be good enough?
4 How you settle in
5 Safe, warm and sorted
6 Which course suits you
7 Your before-you-fly list
8 Questions girls ask us
On nerves
Being nervous isn't a sign you shouldn't go. It's a sign it matters.
Every Girl Who Calls Us Asks The Same Things.
Not word for word, but close. And wondering about them doesn't mean you're not cut out for this. It usually means you're taking it seriously.
The cover promises a chat with a big sister who's already done the season. So for this guide we've leant on two women who have. Zoe did her Level 1 and 2 on our Big White internship, and Charlotte came over from Germany for her Level 1. Both talked us through their winters on tape, including the bits that scared them, and everything in quotes from them on this page is word for word.
Meet the girls who went first
Zoe
From Australia · Level 1 and 2 internship, Big White
“Everybody is in your corner, everybody wants you to succeed.”
Charlotte
From Germany · Level 1 and race coach Level 1
“As a child I always said that I wanted to become a ski instructor someday.”
Tap the worries that are keeping you up at night and the short, honest answers appear underneath. The long versions are further down the page.
Pick one or more above. Nobody's watching.
I'll be the only girl
Almost certainly not. About one in three of the people who book with us are women. It isn't fifty-fifty and we won't pretend it is, but you won't be the only one.
Read the honest version ↓Everyone will be better than me
Training is normally split into groups by ability, so you train alongside people at a similar level. And confidence isn't ability. The examiners only mark one of them.
Read the honest version ↓I won't make any friends
Nobody knows anybody on day one. Zoe was nervous about exactly this, and within a few days her house felt like family.
Read the honest version ↓Sharing a room with a stranger
You share a bedroom with someone of the same gender and a similar age. If your apartment is mixed, we check with you first.
Read the honest version ↓Going on my own
WSC groups fly out together, so going on your own lasts about as long as the check-in queue. Zoe met her housemates at the airport.
Read the honest version ↓Nights out and staying safe
You choose how much you go out. Go out together, come home together, and save the emergency numbers before you need them.
Read the honest version ↓Not being fit or strong enough
You need to be fit enough for back-to-back days on snow, not a gym obsessive. Our Fitness Guide starts where you are.
Read the honest version ↓Periods, kit and the practical stuff
Toilets live in the lodges, not on the chairlift. Pack a small kit, learn where the loos are, and bring enough of anything specific for the first few weeks.
Read the honest version ↓What if I don't pass?
Level 1 is very passable if you ski, listen and learn. Level 2 is a genuine step up. Plenty of good instructors needed two goes.
Read the honest version ↓Getting homesick
It's normal and it doesn't mean you've made a mistake. Tell someone early rather than late. It passes faster when you do.
Read the honest version ↓What they were scared of, and what actually happened
The fear
“I was really nervous about meeting new people.”
What happened
“The biggest surprise is how well we all got along.”
Zoe
The fear
“I was really nervous about how my skiing ability would go.”
What happened
“Everybody is so so supportive, you can ask questions, you can get help.”
Zoe
The fear
“Sometimes you maybe feel you're not good enough, you're just fresh out of exams.”
What happened
“Nobody wants you to fail. All the trainers want you to pass your exam.”
Zoe
The fear
“I was the only one who did not speak English as their native language.”
What happened
“That was all right after like two days.”
Charlotte
The fear
“There was a little panic to not get my visa.”
What happened
“It was super quick. So I should not have worried so much about that.”
Charlotte
The fear
“I was freezing when I first got there.”
What happened
“By the end of it I was out skiing in a t-shirt because it was only four degrees.”
Zoe
Some people are just a little bit scared of change, they're scared of living around new people, they're scared of... the cold winters. All of those things are absolutely fixable.
Zoe, Level 1 and 2 internship, Big White
On the worries
Every worry on that list has been up this chairlift before. Most don't come back down.
Will I Be The Only Girl In The Group?
Short answer, almost certainly not. Longer answer, it's roughly one girl for every two lads, and that's worth knowing before you go.
1 in 3of the people who book with WSC are women
25.8the average age across all our clients, men and women together. This is not just a school-leaver thing.
Same genderis who you share a bedroom with in our resort accommodation
So no, you won't be the only one. But we won't pretend it's fifty-fifty either, because you'd find out on day one and wonder what else we'd fibbed about. Training is split by ability, not gender, so some of your groups will be mostly lads. That's the honest picture, and it's why your bedroom is shared with another girl and your house is a mix you'll get to know fast.
Here's what Zoe found, though. She wasn't the only girl, but she was the only Australian, and it turned into a conversation starter rather than a wall.
On going first
Someone has to be the first girl in the group chat to say hello. It may as well be you.
Being the only Australian it was really nice, people were asking me questions trying to find out about Australia.
Zoe, Level 1 and 2 internship, Big WhiteBeing the odd one out is a bit like being the new kid with an interesting accent. For about a day it feels like a spotlight. Then it's just a thing people know about you.
You're also joining a profession that's actively bringing more women through. The CSIA runs a national Women in Skiing programme, with events built to help retain and encourage women in ski teaching (CSIA, 2026). For the qualification itself, read the CSIA guide, or the CASI guide if you snowboard.
On going solo
Plenty of girls fly out on their own. It rarely stays that way for long.
Will I Be Good Enough?
It's a fair question, so here's a proper answer rather than a pat on the head.
What you need before you go is to be a confident parallel skier, or riding blue runs comfortably on a snowboard. You don't need to be an expert. You do need to be honest with yourself about where you are, and our skiing ability guide and snowboarding ability guide give you a straight read in about five minutes.
Training is normally split into groups by ability, so you train alongside people at a similar level. And remember confidence isn't ability. The examiners mark your skiing and your teaching, not how loudly anyone talks about either.
Now the bit that sounds most like a big sister, because it came from one. In her first few days, Zoe got chatting to a woman who'd done the internship the year before.
On being good enough
Nobody turns up finished. You're there to learn, and that's the whole point.
She was really honest with me in the sense that you can pass level one if you can ski, pay attention and you can learn... but level two is a step up. I heard that in the first few days and that actually eased my nerves.
Zoe, Level 1 and 2 internship, Big WhiteThat's the most useful thing anyone can tell you, so we'll repeat it. Level 1 is very passable if you put the work in. Level 2 is a genuine step up and it's marked like one. Our Level 2 pass rate runs at 92 to 97 per cent across our candidates, but that's a group, not a promise for you. When you get there, read preparing for CSIA Level 2 or preparing for CASI Level 2.
Zoe had a properly rough day too, and she was honest about it.
It could have been so easy for me to give up... luckily I didn't do that. I kept pushing through and trying and trying and trying again.
Zoe, Level 1 and 2 internship, Big WhiteThat's what Level 2 looks like for nearly everyone at some point. A bad training day isn't a verdict. It's Tuesday.
Charlotte's big fear was powder. She'd never skied it, and her first day of Level 2 training landed on a huge dump of snow.
It was a horrible day I have to admit.
Charlotte, from Germany, Level 1 and race coach Level 1By the end of the season she was skiing deep snow anywhere on the mountain, on a trip to Lake Louise with her friends. That's the week three thing again, stretched over a winter.
You get so confident in your skiing that you can just... have fun without any worries.
Charlotte, from Germany, Level 1 and race coach Level 1Why girls are often the slow burners
Here's something we see most seasons, and it's worth knowing before you go. In week one, a lot of the lads arrive all guns blazing. Plenty of bravado, plenty of confidence, first to volunteer and first down the steep bit. A lot of the girls do the opposite. They stand back a little, watch, take their time and work out what's being asked before they commit. Often they let the lads take the lead.
It can feel like you're behind. You're usually not. By week three, most of the girls have caught up, and in plenty of ways they've pulled ahead. Steadier on the snow, quietly more confident, and relaxed into the whole thing in a way the loud ones often aren't yet. The slow burners of the group. And the young lads who showed their hand first are often the first to wobble.
None of this is a rule. Some girls charge straight in and some lads are careful from day one. But if you're the one standing back in week one, quietly working it out, you're in very good company. Watching first isn't a weakness. It's how a lot of good instructors learn.
One thing worth hearing from Zoe, though. Watching first is fine. Waiting all season isn't.
I would just try to take those opportunities sooner... and just not hold back as much as I perhaps did, whether it was just nerves or in some ways fear of getting hurt.
Zoe, Level 1 and 2 internship, Big White
On slow burners
Week one belongs to the loud ones. Week three belongs to the ones who were watching.
“I can do hard things, I can live on the other side of the world... I can push myself out of my comfort zone.”
Zoe, Level 1 and 2 internship, Big WhiteHow Do You Settle In When You Arrive?
Honestly? Faster than you think, and slower than Instagram suggests. Here's how Zoe's first fortnight on our Big White internship actually went.
Night 1
The bus up in the dark
Zoe met the rest of her group at Calgary airport, flew on to Kelowna, then rode the bus up to Big White in pitch dark. They got to the house around midnight, found out the rooms, and almost everyone stayed up unpacking.
“Everyone was a bit jet-lagged, a bit exhausted but at the same time super excited.”
Day 1
Seeing it in daylight
A group tour of the resort: the village, the ski school, the grocery store. The first time any of them had actually seen the place.
Days 2 to 4
Tired in a good way
Training started on the beginner slopes, learning how to teach a first-timer, with new faces from other intern groups to meet as well. It's physical, and it's a lot to take in.
“after the first three days we all just wanted to crash and relax and do absolutely nothing”
Day 4
The roommate thing sorts itself out
Sharing with someone you've never met is the bit people dread most. It's also the bit that flips quickest.
“I was a little bit nervous right at the beginning but we had a couple of chats, we got to know each other and three or four days in we were so comfortable”
Week 1
Straight into teaching
From the exam into real lessons, during one of the busiest weeks of the year. Nerve-wracking, and the returning instructors were the ones who got her through it.
“all of the returners, all of the people who had already started teaching were so incredibly supportive”
Week 2
Relaxing into it
About a week and a half in, once she'd taught different ages and levels and knew who had her back, Zoe relaxed. Some people settle straight away and some take longer. Both are normal.
Charlotte's group started with two days in Calgary, sorting paperwork, eating out together and doing some last-minute shopping before heading up the mountain. By the time they arrived, the friendships had already started.
It was so good to have like a group and where everybody has like the same struggle.
Charlotte, from Germany, Level 1 and race coach Level 1On home
Most people arrive with a suitcase and a group chat. They leave with a second family.
Who you'll share with
In our resort accommodation you share a bedroom with someone of the same gender and a similar age. Some apartments have more than one bedroom and can be mixed, and if yours is, we check with you first that you're happy with it. The detail varies by resort, and your onboarding pack spells out yours.
Booking with a friend? Ask about rooming together when you book, and we'll tell you honestly how it works where you're going.
It isn't all fairy lights, and Zoe didn't pretend otherwise.
Sometimes it was a little bit tricky to be sharing a bathroom especially with four girls, we had to rotate just to make sure that we all got our showers.
Zoe, Level 1 and 2 internship, Big WhiteAnd the nights out? They're there if you want them, and nobody takes a register. Zoe's house spent plenty of evenings watching films and playing games instead, which is how a house turns into the thing she kept calling family.
You can choose to go out and party, you don't have to all the time.
Zoe, Level 1 and 2 internship, Big WhiteIf homesickness turns up, and for plenty of people it does once the novelty wears off, say so early. A housemate, your trainer, us. It's like a stone in your boot. Stop and sort it on the first run and you forget it was there. Ski on it all day and it ruins the week.
On settling in
The first fortnight is the wobbliest bit. Then the mountain starts to feel like yours.
Safe, Warm And Sorted: The Practical Stuff.
None of this should put you off. It's what a big sister would mention in the car on the way to the airport.
On trusting your gut
If something feels off, it probably is. Say so. Nobody worth knowing will think less of you.
✓
Nights out: together there, together back
Plan how you're getting home before you go out. In a mountain town in January, walking home alone in the cold after a few drinks is a genuinely bad idea, not just a dull one. Watch your drink, look after your friends, and let them look after you.
✓
Save the numbers before you need them
911 is the emergency number in Canada. Save your resort address, your housemates and us before you fly, and read the GOV.UK travel advice for Canada (GOV.UK, 2026).
✓
On the hill
Helmet on, ride with a buddy, and stay inside the resort boundary unless you're with a guide and the right kit. The mountain doesn't care how good you are.
✓
Periods on the mountain
Toilets live in the lodges, not on the chairlift, so learn where they are on your training runs. Keep a small kit in an inside pocket and bring enough of any specific products for the first few weeks. Resort shops are small and pricey. At Big White, Zoe's nearest big supermarkets were 50 minutes away in Kelowna.
✓
Prescriptions and the pill
Bring as much as you sensibly can, in the original packaging, with a copy of your prescription, and talk to your GP before you go. Sort it in September, not the night before your flight. Zoe also wished she'd packed cold, flu and sore throat medicine, because the cold and the altitude hit your body fast.
✓
Boots first, then everything else
Boots are the one thing worth paying to have fitted properly, and women's boots are shaped differently for a reason. As Charlotte put it, with the right gear you can learn anything. For the rest, see What To Take and Clothing Essentials.
✓
Skin, sun and hair
Cold, dry air and high-altitude sun are hard on skin. SPF 50, lip balm with SPF and a decent moisturiser aren't vanity, they're kit. A low plait or low bun sits better under a helmet. Zoe's first buy in Canada was a proper moisturiser for face and body, because the air gets dry enough to hurt.
✓
Fit enough, not gym obsessed
You need to be fit enough for back-to-back days on snow. The Fitness Guide has a plan that starts where you are, not where an influencer is.
✓
Insurance for your whole stay
Charlotte's cover only ran for her course dates, which ruled out staying on afterwards. Buy cover for as long as you might want to be there, not just the course.
✓
Socks, and more socks
The thing Zoe's house washed most was ski socks. Pack more pairs than you think you need, or get used to a quick hand wash in the bath.
On the boring bits
Sort the boring bits at home. Then the mountain gets all of your attention.
Your before-you-fly list
Tick it on your phone, it saves on this device. Or print the guide and stick this on the fridge.
0 of 12 ticked
Which Course Or Internship Suits You?
Two questions get you most of the way. Answer them and we'll narrow it down, then the comparison guides take you the rest of the way.
Ski or snowboard?
Do you want to work and earn this winter?
Showing everything. Answer both questions to narrow it down.
Internship at Panorama or Fairmont Hot Springs
Train for Level 1 and 2, then teach paid lessons for the rest of the season. Fairmont interns train at Panorama, our main hub.
Internship at Big White
Zoe's resort. Level 1 and 2, then a season of teaching, with the village, the ski school and the nights out all close together.
Internship at Sun Peaks
Level 1 and 2 and a season of paid teaching, in a friendly, family-feeling resort.
Nova Scotia, Level 1 plus a job
Qualify at Level 1 and go straight into a job, on the east coast rather than out west.
Internship at Panorama or Fairmont Hot Springs
The home of our snowboard internships. Train for CASI Level 1 and 2, then teach paid lessons all season.
Ski Patrol at Panorama or Revelstoke
First aid, toboggans and avalanche awareness instead of teaching. Fitness matters more here than anywhere.
The 12 week course at Panorama
Ski or snowboard to Level 2 with no work permit and no interview. You train, you don't work.
The Revelstoke intensive, 9 to 13 weeks
A big mountain and a serious training block, for skiers and snowboarders.
Sun Peaks Level 3 or Masterclass
Already qualified and want to push on? This is the next rung, for skiers.
One reason the internships work so well for Level 2: you teach every day. By the time the teaching half of the exam comes round, it's just another lesson with an examiner watching.
You're teaching every single day so the teaching exam for level two is very smooth.
Zoe, Level 1 and 2 internship, Big WhiteBig White and Sun Peaks don't run snowboard internships, and Revelstoke is a January start only. Internships need a working holiday visa, and the age rules are set by IEC and vary by nationality. Prices, dates and availability are as per your quote.
You're hired for your skills. And, you know, both genders are encouraged.
Iain, ski patrollerCompare every internship →Compare the resorts →Over 25? Read Not A Gap Year →See every internship →See every course →
On taking the leap
You don't need to be fearless. You need to book it, turn up and keep going.
The Questions Girls Ask Us.
Including the ones people feel daft asking on the phone. None of them are daft.
On daft questions
There's no such thing as a daft question. Only the one you didn't ask.
Will I be the only girl on my course?
Almost certainly not. About one in three of the people who book with us are women. It isn't fifty-fifty, so some of your training groups may be mostly lads. Groups are normally set by ability, not gender.
Will I share a room with a boy?
Not a bedroom. In our resort accommodation you share a bedroom with someone of the same gender and a similar age. Some apartments have more than one bedroom and can be mixed, and if yours is, we check with you first.
Can I room with my friend?
Ask when you book. How rooming works varies by resort, and we'll tell you honestly what's possible at yours.
Is it safe to go on my own?
You travel out as a group and resort towns are small, so you're rarely truly on your own. A mountain town is still a town, though. Look after each other on nights out, plan how you're getting home, and save the emergency numbers before you need them.
What if I'm the weakest skier in my group?
Somebody always is, and it moves around more than you'd think. The examiners mark your skiing and your teaching against a standard, not against the person next to you.
Will the lads be better than me at the start?
Some of them will look it. A lot of lads arrive with bravado and charge off in week one, and a lot of girls stand back and watch first. By week three the girls have usually caught up, and they're often the steadier, calmer, more confident ones in the group. Some of the lads who started fastest are the first to wobble. Your trainers mark what you can do, not how loudly you did it in week one.
Will I have a female trainer?
We can't promise that, because trainers are allocated by the resort, not by us. The profession is working to bring more women through, and the CSIA runs a national Women in Skiing programme.
Is there a women-only instructor course?
Not for the instructor qualifications. We're putting together women's only ski improvement camps, which are a different thing, and they'll appear on the Guide Hub when they're ready.
How do I deal with periods on the mountain?
Toilets are in the lodges, not on the lifts, so learn where they are on your training runs. Keep a small kit in an inside pocket, and bring enough of any specific products or medication for the first few weeks while you work out what the local shops stock.
Do I need women's specific kit?
Boots, yes. Get them fitted properly, because women's boots are shaped differently for a reason. Beyond that, buy what fits you and keeps you warm, whatever the label says.
Is it all partying?
No. As Zoe put it, you can choose to go out and party, you don't have to all the time. Her house spent plenty of evenings watching films and playing games together.
What if I get homesick?
Tell someone early, a housemate, your trainer or us. It's normal, it doesn't mean you've made a mistake, and it passes faster once it's said out loud.
Will I pass?
Nobody can promise that, including us. Level 1 is very passable if you ski, listen and learn. Level 2 is a genuine step up. Our Level 2 pass rate runs at 92 to 97 per cent across our candidates, but that's a group, not a promise for you.
Just take the leap, take a chance. There's always going to be people to support you.
Zoe, Level 1 and 2 internship, Big White
About the author
Abbie Morris, Fitness and Onboarding Lead, Winter Sports Company
Abbie runs onboarding for our clients and has been getting WSC people mountain-ready for years. She's a sports science graduate and qualified nutrition coach, works as a sports massage and exercise therapist, and keeps our own athletes and management in shape. She's usually the person you talk to between booking and flying, and every WSC client gets a free 15-minute call with her about training, a niggle or an old injury.
Where next
Internship comparisonEvery internship side by side, so you can see the trade-offs.→
Resort comparisonVillage life, mountain size and what each resort is really like.→
The Parent GuideWorried what your mum will think? Send her this.→
What nobody tells youThe honest bits about a season that the brochures skip.→
The Guide HubEvery free guide we've written.→
Got A Question You'd Rather Ask Quietly?
Book a call and ask it. Nothing's too small or too daft, and we'd much rather answer it now than have it keep you up at night in November.
Sources. WSC booking records, Customer Report, booking years 2020 to 2026 (gender and average age). WSC onboarding accommodation notes. Zoe's story harvest interview and question recording, recorded for WSC. Charlotte's client interview, recorded for WSC. Iain's ski patrol interview, recorded for WSC. CSIA Women in Skiing and events pages (snowpro.com, 2026). GOV.UK foreign travel advice for Canada (2026). Course rules change, so check your quote and onboarding pack for your resort.
As Seen In...
Emma
Rik
Rik
Emma
Rob
Iain
Cass
Mike
Abbie