PlanetSKI Tackles the Ski Club GB Reps Course
9th December 2024 | Simon Miller, Tignes.
Last modified on December 16th, 2024
36 people are currently out in Tignes, France, training to become a Ski Club Rep. PlanetSKI’s Simon Miller sees if he has what it takes.
‘Become a Ski Club of Great Britain Rep and ski the world for less,’ I thought to myself as I signed up.
I am now halfway through an intense 11-day course to become a Rep, and it’s not quite as simple as that.
The days are long and hard on the snow, with a dose of classroom learning after skiing.
To qualify as a Rep you need to pass the course – so fingers crossed.
I seem to be keeping up with the technical side of ski course but have been told to ski ‘more aggressively’ – not something I expected.
Ski Club GB Reps Course, Tignes. Image © PlanetSKI
So, what exactly is a Ski Club Rep?
The Ski Club of Great Britain provides a Rep service in 30 resorts, mostly in Europe with a few in North America.
The service has added the resorts of Serre Chevalier, Alpe d’Huez and Morzine in France for this season.
They are not guides or leaders, but just members of the Club enjoying time on snow with fellow members.
It is a social and fun way to see & enjoy the slopes.
There are around 250 trained volunteers so that each week of the season there is a Rep for Ski Club members to ski with in the designated resorts.
The Club puts great store by the reps and they are central to promoting the Club as well as providing value to the members.
Our small team have bonded well despite my partner burying a transceiver for me to find so deep in the snow that had it been a person its questionable whether they would have survived.
A salutary lesson to never get caught in an avalanche.
Ski Club GB Reps Course, Tignes. Image © PlanetSKI
We have had mixed weather on the course with some fresh snow and other rather bleak days, but overall early season conditions in Tignes are good.
Ski Club GB Reps Course, Tignes. Image © PlanetSKI
Whilst the intensity of the course is real, a comment from the chairman, Angus Maciver, sums up the tone – Reps are not allowed to drink during the ski day, but are very much encourage to socialise over a beer or two afterwards.
The course itself is split into three components:
- Ski performance
- Safety including a basic avalanche course
- Group management
Skiing ability is arguably the least important.
You need to be a good, but not a great, skier – the Ski Club has a colour coded grading system: Reps need to be purple or above both on and off piste – see here for the details.
The more challenging aspect is managing Ski Club members you have just met, safely and in a way that helps them get the best out of their ski holiday.
The essentials are knowing the resort, being aware of the weather, having understanding of where is safe to ski and perhaps, most crucially, where the best lunch spots are.
The course is taught by some of the most highly qualified ski teachers and mountain guides around.
Andy Jerram is a trainer of trainers and together with former downhill racer Alex Buchanan can provide useful tips even for the most accomplished skiers in our group.
Ski Club GB Reps Course, Tignes. Image © PlanetSKI
Bruce Goodlad & Graham McMahon have the highest guiding qualification possible and impart their expertise on where is safe to ski and what to avoid.
Mark Charlton was our coach for finding and rescuing buried transceivers – aka avalanche victims.
None of the above qualifies you in any way to teach or guide fellow members in any formal capacity.
Instead it is designed to help you be safe and enjoy skiing, which in turn, as a Rep, you are meant to transfer to the members who you join for a day’s skiing.
Ski Club GB Reps Course, Tignes. Image © PlanetSKI
There are 36 people on the course this year – a record number.
Whilst there are some younger people, the average age is distinctly 50+ with as you might expect more men than women.
Ski Club GB Reps Course, Tignes. Image © PlanetSKI
The motivation for coming on the course varies but generally is about a means to ski more for less and give back to the club that you are a member of.
As a Rep you are an unpaid volunteer but get board and lodging, a free ski pass and a reasonable contribution to travel expenses.
So. if you fancy a week in Jackson Hole or a couple of weeks in Courchevel skiing, with like-minded people it’s well worth considering the Reps course.
If you make the grade.
The next few days involve more skills training as well as mountain craft and avalanche training.
There will be more to follow on the course itself as well and whether I pass or not – something I shall find out later this week.
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