Here at Ski In Luxury, we were thrilled that Emma and Guy from Element Ski School took the time out of their busy schedule to pop in to have a chat with us about their thriving new ski school business.
What I loved most after our meeting with Element was their ethos that the perfect blend requires experience, knowledge, personality and enthusiasm, all of which they have in abundance. I was absolutely thrilled when Emma agreed to have a little chat with me about the Women’s Ski Camp they offer to their female clientele and, on a more personal level, how she has established the reputation she has today.
Emma has gone from the highlands of Scotland to the slopes of the exclusive ski resort of Verbier. It is incredibly her 11th season in the beautiful Swiss ski resort, where she splits her time between teaching, training and running BASI ski instructor exams. With all this experience under her belt, in 2015 she co-founded the company Element, which is where the fabulous concept of a Women’s Camp comes from. So let’s see if we can get to know Emma a wee bit better and if she can give us any insider tips on the beautiful resort of Verbier.
Hi Emma. I was hoping you could take us back to the very beginning of how and when you got into skiing?
I started skiing in Glenshee, Scotland, at 3 years old, later on joining the race club and braving the extreme Scottish weather most weekends. After University I spent a couple of seasons as a chalet girl in Courchevel. While I was there I completed my BASI Level 2 exam and decided to do one more season and give teaching a shot before going to find a graduate job in the real world. I loved teaching and very quickly realised I had found a job I enjoyed and was motivated to develop a career in. Today I am a fully qualified ski instructor who started a ski school last year – Element Concept, in Verbier, and I also work as a BASI Trainer (an examiner in the British ski teaching system).
What would you describe as your perfect conditions to be on the mountain?
That is tricky … it is definitely between a nice grippy groomed corduroy piste and an untouched fluffy powder field! I actually love to ski both on and off piste.
Do you believe there is an optimum age to start skiing?
I don’t believe there is an optimum age to start skiing really. I think kids have an advantage starting when they are younger as they have no fear and it is easier for them to balance, however, there is no point in pushing a child into something they don’t want to do. I have taught many adult beginners and one factor that plays a vital role is fitness and strength, which is essential to learn to ski as it is a sport.
Over the past few years I have had a few conversations with many different women who like the idea of skiing but believe they have left it too late to start. They don’t believe they can do it and they worry about the danger of the activity. What would be your advice?
It is never too late to start; a couple of years ago I taught a 72 year old man who was a beginner and very tall. His aim for the end of the week was to ski down the beginners slope, with his grandson, turning all the way down in control. He was extremely happy to have achieved this goal at the end of the holiday.
Women like to know technically how to do something specific and then they have the confidence to give it a go. Usually men are happy to just throw themselves down a slope and try and figure it out. I think if you have lessons with an excellent instructor you will feel safe and enjoy progressing your skiing.
It’s obvious for all to see how passionate and dedicated you are. What is it that drives you to keep accomplishing and pushing new boundaries?
For me I need to have new challenges and keep pushing new boundaries otherwise I would get complacent and possibly bored. I like setting new goals and bucket list objectives to complete each season. I think it is important for every skier to set goals in order to develop their skiing.
If a woman was looking into training to become a Level 4 ski instructor like yourself, where would they start? How long will it take?
The first place to start is to train for your Level 1 and 2 BASI exams and once you have those you are able to begin teaching on the mountain. The easiest way to do this is to join a 10 week Gap programme which covers these two exams and trains you for them. We run a Gap course in both Saas Fee and Verbier with Peak Leaders which is very successful. Once you have your Level 2 you can begin work, and then you can begin to take your L3 and then L4 exams through the next few years. There are many modules to the last couple of levels, however, this just ensures you a very rounded instructor. On average from start to finish it can take between 4 and 10 years to complete everything.
How did you end up in the beautiful Swiss resort of Verbier and what made you want to stay?
I ended up in Verbier without any intention to move there. I had my Level 2 and I wanted to go and teach skiing. Secretly it had always been my dream as a child to become an instructor. My friend suggested to move to Verbier and do a season and I had actually never heard of Verbier at that time. I took the jump and headed to Verbier, teaching my first season as an instructor. I very quickly knew I had found the career I was destined to do so then I decided to continue up through the different levels of ski exams.
12 years later I am still in Verbier but now running my own ski school. Verbier is a very friendly place with a great all year round community which is probably the most appealing selling point, plus of course the great après ski and nightlife.
Why should people choose Verbier for their next ski holiday?
Verbier is an amazing resort; very picturesque like a winter wonderland. Verbier has great nightlife and atmosphere in the town; it is particularly famous for its après ski. It is quite a high resort with the top lift of Mont Fort reaching 3,300m so generally our snow is always very good due to the altitude.
What is your ideal day on the slopes in Verbier? Which are your favourite runs?
I actually love escaping the crowds when I am skiing on piste and venturing over to Bruson and Savolyeres. One of my favourite runs is the narrow black run which runs down to Carrefour which most people miss, and I also love the infamous Tortin as a bumps run! On my days off though I love going on adventures in the back country.
I loved hearing you talk about your business and the ethos behind it, but one specific aspect which stood out for me was the Women’s Camp. Can you tell our readers about the concept of the Women’s Camp?
In the ski industry fewer women are attracted to ski teaching exams, but fundamentally fewer women are attracted to skiing. A 2013 study found only 38% of skiers were women. Around 40% seems a consistent industry average – despite the fact that 52% of the EU is female…
I think there is a different psychological incentive for women – we get into ski teaching for the challenge of teaching skiing and to improve. Not because we’re wired to compete with our peers in the same way as men.
That difference in psychological approach is quite often very clear in the groups I coach – there isn’t always much technical difference between genders, but the motivational and psychological factors are very different.
Looking at other women who have progressed through the system I think the things that set them apart are their confidence, mental strength and sheer determination. But you don’t have to be born that way. I firmly believes that female skiers can build that confidence and belief if they’re taught in the correct environment with the right psychological and technical coaching techniques, which is the reason I launched the Women’s Camps last season.
By tailoring how we teach women we can encourage more of them into the sport – that will lead to more women enjoying skiing, achieving more goals and I hope more women believing they can become ski instructors.
The Women Camps I run in Verbier are not only to improve female skiers’ technical performance, but also to discover off-piste skiing in a secure and relaxed environment. By skiing in women-only groups we can learn together, deal with the positive and negative psychological influences at our own pace, focus on female biomechanics and take our skiing to the next level.
What makes it so unique?
The Women’s Camps are fairly unique because not many people are running them in Europe yet. Generally, there are not as many female instructors to run camps like this in the industry, however, hopefully we can encourage more women to join. We try to make ours very unique by using Elaine France who is a life coach as part of the women’s camp. Elaine, Founder of Women Who Move Mountains, offers life-coaching as a key part of all of the courses, and Elaine specifically tailors everything for women who love mountains. She will be using her unique methodology to bring insights, tips and strategies that will empower you to fully open up to learning and achieve your goals for the week. More than that, she will show you how to connect to your experiences, so that you own your incredible power to ‘pick your line’ off the mountain, to overcome challenges and inspire yourself to new adventures. We also offer video feedback with an action report at the end of the week as part of the performance camp.
Can women of any ability join in?
I am running women’s weekend camps and week-long camps all winter, and most camps will have three levels. The courses are from intermediate skiers who can ski blue/red runs already so you can push your skiing onto red runs and black runs, or learn to tackle bumps and itineraries if you’re more advanced. And experts can really learn how to conquer the off-piste…
One specific detail of the class, which fascinates me, is the psychological element. Women (and I must say I am a prime example of this) seem to let their mind dictate if they can indeed go down that black run. I was just wondering if this has ever happened to you? If so, how did you overcome the fear?
No, I have never encountered this when skiing a black run as I was skiing the whole mountain as a young child. But I have had a feeling like this in the backcountry skiing a very narrow couloir before that I couldn’t get wrong. I think what is crucial is if you feel nervous rather than think ‘I can’t do this’, to have a technical focus which is going to draw on the necessary skills you need to ski it well and therefore overcome fear.
As an experienced ski instructor what would be your number one tip to help someone with the fear?
If you are scared and encounter fear while skiing then you are not enjoying yourself. Skiing is about having fun. So book yourself a lesson to learn the technique that you need to gain control in order to feel more relaxed and remember to enjoy the scenery.
I’d like to say a massive thank you to Emma for taking the time to talk to Ski In Luxury and for answering all our questions. Make sure to head to Element Concept’s website to check out the Women’s Club page along with all the other fantastic options they offer.
If you are looking to book a luxury chalet in Verbier this season, then get in touch with a member of the Ski in Luxury team by sending us an email or calling us on +44 (0) 1202 203650.
