The PIQ season course is the most epic choice there is . You will be spending 12 weeks in the Austrian Alps, training, gaining, improving…. always smiling. We only accept 10 students each season so become part of the PIQ family now and never look back!
The accommodation we provide will be available to you for over 12 weeks. Each apartment is modern and well equipped including spacious rooms and welcoming communal areas. Whilst food is included during the majority of your training week, each apartment also comes with a fully equipped kitchen so if you’re missing your Sunday roasts, no problem! Each guest will have access to washing and drying facilities together with a ski and boot room. The ski bus stops metres from our front door and will take you to the piste in 10 minutes.
Our accommodation is based in Altenmarkt im Pongau – we’ve found its great to be in the centre of where it’s at! Our town offers many facilities all within walking distance:
See our Accommodation page for more information and pictures.
After busy training days, the last thing you want to be doing is cooking or washing up. We have included meals in your course to be served between Monday-Friday evening in our favourite restaurant, only minutes away. This is also a great social event and brilliant for team building!
We’re based in the Ski Amadé, one of Europe’s biggest ski areas. The Amadé lift pass offers over 860km of piste and is made up of World Cup resorts such as Zauchensee, Schladming and Flachau together with some other traditional mountain resorts offering some truly breathtaking skiing. Whilst Austria is renowned for it’s love of racing, freestyle skiing has definitely made it’s mark and we’re lucky enough to have the world class Absolout Park on our doorstep.
All course training will be undertaken by Staatlich qualified instructors.
In Austria, the top snowsports qualificaton is ‘Staatlicher’ and in co-operation with our Austrian ski school partner, we guarantee that all of our students will enjoy top quality training from day 1. Our trainers have worked in France, Italy, Switzerland and of course Austria; stints in both New Zealand and Australia are common too offering you unique insight into snowsports downunder!
The course involves 12 weeks of skiing split between training modules, preparation for exams, and if successful, work.
Austria is recognised as a world leader in all things snowsports and it should be of no surprise that Austrian instruction qualifications are globally recognised.
If you’re starting out then you’ll be doing the level 1 & 2 Anwärter. This will allow you to independently lead and instruct your clients on the slopes. Our former PIQ students have used their qualifications in Australia, New Zealand, Canada as well as throughout Europe – this will be the same for you!
If you have any questions, get in touch – we don’t bite and are happy to go through your options with you.
As a qualified ski instructor you may be called upon to offer first aid assistance to a member of your group or even a member of the public but don’t worry, this will be fully covered during the course ensuring you are confident in your abilities.
Whilst major avalanches are rare in our region, the course fully prepares you to face such a situation with confidence and responsibility. Should the need arise, you’ll be fully prepared to help yourself and your colleagues through a potentially difficult spot.
This is a great tool allowing you to quickly make small, real-time adjustments to your technique. This can be best utilised on the mountain but can also be useful to explore in more detail in the office during bad weather or in the evening. Your improvement is our number one priority so when you look back over the season, from your first video clip to the last, we know you’ll be amazed with the results!
We want you to own your season and get as much from it as possible – if you want to explore other snowsports options, we can easily arrange this for you. Skiing and snowboarding are a given of course but you definitely need to try snow-biking and tobogganing!
More qualifications are also possible after the Easter period. Your training will prepare you for the next level, LS1 and you can chat to us should you wish to book on to this during your first winter or whether you’d like to wait and think about it for next year!
It’s important that you put your skills to good use as soon as you can and we are in the unique position of being able to guarantee the offer of paid work. Through guests generated by our own travel company as well as extra work with our local ski school partners, we know that you will be able to earn money from the outset and start reaping the benefits of being a fully qualified instructor.
We will make sure you leave us with a good working knowledge of what’s important kit wise; you’ll learn how to look after it, how to service it and in some cases, repair it. We will be running regular workshops throughout the season to help you understand and experience the magical work of ski technicians!
It’s vital for you and your loved ones to know that you’ll be well looked after and having 24hr assistance is an example of what that peace of mind can do.
You and your family will have emergency contact numbers for both the course director, Rhod and the resort manager, Poppy both of whom will be available for you should you need them.
The first language in Austria is of course German.
Own your season and learn the basics
Our advice to you will always be the same – get as much out of your winter as you can and we can help you with that. We have plenty of material available to send you to help you on your way before you even depart for Austria and even more once you’re here with us. Don’t be shy, give it a try!
We understand that many of our students will either not have their own kit or simply want an upgrade – we are on hand to advise you on what is most suitable and can offer great discounts to soften the blow!
Your season belongs to you – you own it and we want to help you make it the best it can be.
Simple things like a visit from family and friends can put the icing on the cake. We will be happy to make any arrangements you need including airport transfers, hotels, lift cards and ski hire. We know that what we’re offering is an experience you’ll never forget. No matter what, there will never be a dull moment in your winter with us!
