My ski instructor internship at Lake Louise | Abie Jackson
I'm Abie Jackson, and I'm currently a ski instructor at Lake Louise in Canada. But I’m originally from England.
In my last year at school, I started Googling volunteer programs abroad, and then one day an advert for EA came up on Facebook, and it caught my eye. The whole thing was just perfect timing - I was ready to go travelling, and I was just about to turn 18.
Next thing you know, I have a working holiday visa for Canada and I’m heading off. We trained at Lake Louise ski resort for about 4 weeks. It was pretty intense. The exam itself was daunting but it also gave me the motivation to study hard. It all paid off and I passed my ski instructor qualifications!
I choose Lake Louise and Canada because the culture in Canada is similar to England, and I wanted to go somewhere that was English speaking. This was my first time moving to a foreign country, and I didn't want to leave home only to struggle with a massive culture shock or language barrier - I wanted it to be relaxed, fun and friendly. Canada has been perfect for that!
I'm really grateful that I chose Lake Louise. The Lake Louise snow sports team is massive - there are 32 of us living in staff accommodation 10 minutes from the ski field. There are loads of fun winter activities to do, and loads of skiing. The people here are lovely and the scenery is unlike anything I've ever seen. It's your literal notion of a winter wonderland.
I'd highly recommend Lake Louise and EA Ski & Snowboard to become a ski instructor and work. There is so much to do in Banff and you’ll never get bored. We also get an employee lift pass which gives us access to several other mountains nearby we can ski at on our days off for free. The amount you save on lift passes and the training you have access to is incredible value for money. You can go out with a Level 4 instructor every day of the week to improve your skiing.
I've had such a great season. I want to spend the next few winters in New Zealand and Canada. This is such a great industry to work in!