ON THE SLOPES IN THE THREE VALLEYS

You have to accept the popularity of something French when its French name is known as widely as its English translation by even the most patriotic of Brits. Which is possibly why Les Trois Vallées is Britain’s favourite ski resort! It is a behemoth of a ski area...600km of pistes connecting up eight world-famous resorts including Méribel (hedonism), Courchevel (Posh Spice), Val Thorens (high) and Saint Martin de Belleville (awww...sweet!). From the lowest point at 600m above sea-level all the way up to Val Thorens – officially the closest European ski resort to the moon, the Three Valleys is a fantastic place to train to become a ski instructor or snowboard instructor.

SNOWFALL

It is fair to say that a season in the Three Valleys is likely to give you the opportunity to ski/ snowboard in all manner of snow conditions. What you can be sure of, however, is that there will be snow! And, most likely, lots of it. In fact, parts of the Three Valleys guarantee snow from Xmas until the beginning of May. SnowSkool’s ski instructors and snowboard instructors will know all the secret stashes and delight in taking you there. The SnowSkool chalet offers ski-in access for the main part of the season (during which the SnowSkool course takes place).

TERRAIN

This is where the explanation becomes a little difficult...it is like describing the surfing available in the Pacific Ocean! What we can promise you is a diversity beyond your wildest dreams and an incredible amount of vertical drop – from the highest point of the Three Valleys at 3230m to the lowest point down at 600m – that is not far short of 2 miles of vertical! On-piste there is every manner of run from nursery slopes that are useful for teaching beginner drills to big-mountain free-ride terrain for those with huge balls! The backcountry opportunities throughout the Three Valleys are unbelievable, even the run down to Chalet SnowSkool contains a lot of interesting and intense challenges.

There are race courses of every description dotted throughout the Three Valleys and more freestyle terrain parks than you could shake a stick at. Most people spend a week in the Three Valleys and ski a different slope every time...spend a season here and you can discover so much more!

THE SKI & BOARD SCHOOL

In the Three Valleys, SnowSkool works with Parallel Lines - a Meribel Ski School that exclusively employs British instructors. Not only that but all ski instructors and snowboard instructors working at Parallel Lines are qualified to the highest standard – BASI ISTD (International Ski Teachers’ Diploma) with Full French equivalence. As well as taking care of your on-snow training, Parallel Lines will organise the 70 hours of work experience that is required to obtain your BASI Level 1 and Level 2 ski instructor qualifications.

"Parallel Lines and SnowSkool work extremely well together. For us, the opportunity to train the next generation of ski and snowboard instructors is extremely rewarding but, also, being with the guys for such an extended period allows us to teach them everything we know and show them all our favourite places in the Three Valleys”

- John Hendry, Technical Director, Parallel Lines Ski & Board School, Meribel

Interested in finding out more ...

• SnowSkool skiing instructor training
• SnowSkool snowboarding instructor training