Why choose ICE
Location, location, location, ski in/ski out accommodation at the foot of the piste. Everyone stays in the same apartment block, so your friends you make in the course will all be nearby not dotted around the village like other tour operators. All apartments have their own ski locker and a balcony with a view to die for. The apartments are small, but let's face it location is key!
At our office we have a member of staff who is there everyday to help with any issues that crop up from day to day. In addition the directors of the company, who are based in town, and can be called at any time of the day or night.
The quality of food is excellent, with a real variety of menus throughout the course, and local specialities every week.
With many of the other operators you have to pay extra for BASI course fees, first aid courses etc. On the ICE course, you only need money for apres ski and lunch. Everything else is provided for.
We have an office based in Killy Sport, the most prestigious ski/snowboarding shop in resort. Within our shop, we have real specialists in their field who can help in every aspect of equipment and set up.
Jo Pollard is our resident physio. An experienced snowboarder and fitness fanatic herself, Jo is at the top of her game in Val d'Isere and on hand to help prevent injuries and manage them when they occur as well as providing fitness tips prior to the course.
All of the training you receive on the course is by our team of skiers, who are all trainers and assessors for BASI. This means that the people who train you, are also the team that deliver the BASI certification. They are trainers for BASI because of their expertise, skiing skills and experience. You will get world class training.
The training is delivered exclusively by BASI Trainers, rather than ski instructors who are contracted in from a school. With gap tour operators (which is every other ski gap provider) they simply buy in services from other organisations, and then bring them together to make an overall package, without having any experience or expertise of people who are actually in resort managing the course.
Pass rates across the last five years:
- BASI Level 1 Ski - 100%
- BASI Level 2 Ski - 95%
- BASI Level 1 Snowboard - 100%
- BASI Level 2 Snowboard - 100%
- BASI Level 3 Modules - 90%
ICE has been established since 2004 and during that time has qualified thousands of ski and snowboard instructors. When you book a residential course with ICE, you are booking on the biggest course of its kind with a wide range of ages and nationalities, so you are guaranteed to make friends. Large numbers on the courses also gives us the flexibility to put you in a group of your level, so you will never be slowed down or struggle to keep up.
Furthermore, following your course, we can offer you the best contacts for job prospects around the globe through the ICE network within the ski industry.
Rather than being representatives who are just there for the season. ICE is owned and managed by three people (James Duffield, Mark Jones, Rupert Tildesley) We have all been based in Val d'Isere for the many years working as ski instructors and are partners in Mountain Masters, a specialist ski and snowboard school. If there are any problems while you are on the course, it really matters to us that we resolve them effectively.