The life of a ski instructor
Ever dreamt about putting your passion for winter sports first and building a life around skiing? British ski instructor Jo Pearson did exactly that. Since graduating from school, she’s divided her years into six months of ski instructing in the Austrian Tirol and six months of studying in the UK. 
One might argue that kids in Austria learn to ski even before they walk. Jo was not far behind; she first started skiing when she was only three years old. ‘From then on my parents took us every year and I guess that’s where my love began. Although I don’t remember enjoying it very much from the start. I took far more pleasure in the hot chocolates in between skiing.’
Motivating with minus twenty
When Jo turned eighteen, she decided to extend those family holidays into a season of instructing. ‘I enjoyed it so much that I came back the next year and thereafter did four seasons in a row.’
‘I love being in the mountains and I love instructing. It’s a job where you’re active and everyday is different and challenging. It can be risky sometimes. The weather conditions can make things very difficult. You can’t see all the children in your group and at times – with temperatures of minus twenty – it can be a challenge to keep them motivated and happy. Sometimes you just have to ski to the nearest restaurant to get them inside and warm up.’
Getting all the ducks in a row can be difficult sometimes as well. ‘I remember one time when we were coming up to a chairlift. Obviously, as a ski teacher you try to match the kids with adults in the row, because anything can go wrong. And it did. I was on the chairlift behind my kids and the ones in front were screaming at me saying, “Something’s happened, something’s happened!” So I look down and one of my kids is lying in the snow below the chair looking for his skis. Apparently one of his skis fell of and his idea of the most sensible thing to do was to jump off the lift. He was fine, though.’
A year in two
The village where Jo spends the winter season is Alpbach, in the Tirol region. It’s a small village that bursts with life during the winter season. ‘In the winter there’s a party atmosphere. People go hard for a few months and take it easy in the summer. Ski instructors have to find other jobs during the low season. In construction or restaurants, for example. It’s not easy to split a year into two six-month periods, and finding a job when you’re not instructing can be difficult.’
After many winters in Austria, Jo has become a true ex-pat. ‘Austria feels more like home. It’s harder to leave there than to leave England.’ The Austrian attitude helps her feel at home. ‘They’re very welcoming and friendly. It’s a country that survives on lots of tourism, so they ought to be, but still it’s in their nature. And their attitude towards life differs from the British. They’ve found a good way to balance life. In England it’s about what job you’ve got and the status it gives you; in Austria, society is more egalitarian and people worry less about the small things in life.’ 
Massively passionate
With so many years of the best skiing trips, it’s hard to come up with a favourite, but a fairly good one was last winter. ‘Together with a group of nine friends, we travelled to another part of Austria. At first, everything went smoothly; our skis were ready when we arrived and we had a wonderful first day of skiing. Then it was just one thing after another. For example, when we were ready to check in to our hostel, my boyfriend – who arranged the accommodation- discovered that there were two places with the exact same name. One in Austria and one in Italy. He’d booked our accommodation in the Italian one.’
As most people know, skiing comes with a risk, and Jo’s list of accidents is quite impressive. ‘Broken arm, dislocated shoulder, broken femur, concussion, etc. ‘There was one time when the bottom of my ski boot fell off during a race, sending me storming down the slope with only one ski on. That crash-landed me in the hospital with a concussion. But as I didn’t want to miss out on the party after the race, I convinced the hospital staff to let me go. I ended up with my friends on the ski bus making our way from the mountain to the party. During the journey I started turning a certain paler shade of white and when I started to jumble up my words, I was dropped off at the nearest hospital. My second emergency room visit of the day.’
The many accidents she’s had over the years haven’t affected her love for the slopes. ‘I’m still massively passionate about skiing. Waking up, seeing the mountains covered in snow. Lots of my friends have lost their buzz about skiing, but I still adore it, and can’t wait to get back every time. Hopefully, in the coming years, I can instruct classes on the slopes and in classrooms in Austria.’
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By Anne Brugts, content manager
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This month we serve up stories in our monthly theme ‘Icy adventures’. Also read our article The Five Most Unexpected Winter Sports Locations. What’s your most adventurous story in snow and ice?
