Testimonials

This page is dedicated to our client feedback. In addition to the written feedback posted here, Some of our previous clients have volunteered to discuss their experiences. Please contact us for further details.

Pat O’Keefe,

Dublin,

Ireland.

“Hi Henry, hope you and the gang are all well.

Firstly I wanted to thank you and Paula for making us feel so welcome and a part of the village right from the start, it set the tone for what was one of the best experiences of my life.

My thought’s on the course?

Worth every penny and more than what I paid for the course.
No better way to spend a winter.
Got to know some really great people from all walks of life.
The personal attention and the attention to detail excellent.
Without doubt some of the best instructors I have skied with.
Soldeu rocks, skied from early December all the way through till April.
We couldn’t have been better prepared for our exams by the instructors at Pro Ski Training.
Spent most of my time skiing with top instructors and having fun, even on our days off!
I thought the course was going to be good, but it was way better than I could have imagined.

I really don’t have any negative thoughts on the course, I think you all did an outstanding job, although we can always improve so if I think of anything, I will let you know”.

Pat.

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SKI season review

Gary Mahoney,

Co. Cork,

Ireland.

“I had a ball, met loads of really cool people, did some great skiing, improved loads, played loads of table soccer (foosball). I’ve no local bar where I live, but I now have a local in Soldeu: The Harp. Found 2 brilliant restaurants (The Merlot in Soldeu and El Piolet on the slopes in Grau Roig). AND WE ALL PASSED OUR SKI INSTRUCTOR EXAMS!!!

A rival course is running there for years and they had 2 out of 9 pass their level 1 and 2 out of 5 pass their level 2. We had 7 out of 7 for the level 1 and 4 out of 4 for the level two exams. Now most of us were better skiers than the other gang to begin with, but whilst they needed much more attention, we got much more attention. Our instructors were more qualified than our examiners and were absolutely brilliant…thorough, relaxed, entertaining, passionate. The instructors we shadowed were excellent, and all hand picked based on how good they were as instructors and what ski school group they had for the week. I was terrified of teaching kids, as I thought there could be “messers”, but my mind was put at ease.

There were 2 separate horror stories from the other course: guys arrived and were supposed to be met off the bus. No one showed, didn’t answer phones and eventually the people in a pub took pity on them and brought them to a hotel where they were allowed to sleep on a couch for their first night. In contrast, we got multiple guided tours of the entire Grandvalira Ski Area and were shown where to practice bumps, powder, good off piste opportunities, jumps etc. If we needed to purchase equipment we’d get put in a car, brought to one of the bigger shops in the area, given loads of advice, and a discount negotiated for us.

Our course was very well organised but flexible, consultative and relaxed rather than dictatorial. This was helped by our small numbers. After our level 1 exam we were asked if we needed time off, which combination of instructors we’d prefer, how much shadows we wanted, how we would distribute the hours of instruction we had left.

I’ll be trying to get a bit of work as a ski instructor in the 2011/12 season, possibly through someone like Interski.

If I can get extra time off I’ll do Pro Ski Training’s level 3 preparation course.

In summary I’ve answered some of my own questions:

Question 1. Was this the best possible course? Answer – Probably

Question 2. Was this the course with the best possible pupil-teacher ratio? Answer – Almost certainly

Question 3. Was this the best location? Answer – Well, it had better snow than most resorts in the Alps 2010-2011 season, nearly 200km of pistes and queueing more than 5 minutes for a lift was very rare, even during peak season.

Question 4. Were the courses (and packages for accommodation etc) in the alps 4000€-5000€ better? Answer – IMPOSSIBLE”

Gary.

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Cian Dalglish,

Cheshire,

U.K.

“Hi Henry,

The season was awesome, while there wasn’t as much snow as previous years there was still some world-class powder to be had. As for the course itself I cannot recommend it enough, well-structured but flexible, great craic, fantastic learning experience, in choosing this particular course I probably made the best decision of my life.

Soldeu is a cool place to live/ski, it is relatively small which makes for a very social atmosphere where everyone knows everyone. As one of the elite club known as “the locals”, one can enjoy such treats as local prices in all the bars, banter with the bar staff and the very occasional free drink if you are charming enough. I was.

As for the skiing, Grandvalira has the most comprehensive mix of terrain I’ve seen anywhere, with a fantastic beginners area (in Soldeu), a vast number of enjoyable blues and reds, some sweet blacks and some even sweeter off-piste terrain which the Pro Ski trainers will have no qualms about taking you through.

The trainers are where Pro Ski Training really blow the competition out of the water, a bunch of awesome skiers who just happen to be incredible instructors and really fun people. If Carlsberg did ski instructors, Nick “King Nick” Reader (mixes incredible experience with child-like enthusiasm) would definitely be in the top ten applicants along with Sarah Brocklehurst, a soft spoken woman with balls of titanium.

Henry Fingleton… a really cool guy who made my whole Pro Ski experience that much more manageable and enjoyable. A very personable man, he really cares about everyone on the course, I felt that if I had any problems at all I could call him at any time for a helping hand which he would do his level best to give. Even before my season had started, Henry sorted out my accommodation and everything else I would need for the 3 months including my ski pass and a gym membership so I could polish my guns. He also helped me purchase a beautiful set of skis at an excellent price which i definitely couldn’t have done alone.

Skiing with him was also a delight; as a ridiculously well qualified ski instructor with a background in BASI and CSIA, he matches his skills and experience with a razor sharp tongue and some highly attractive shoulders.

I honestly can’t think of any criticisms right now,

Thank you so much,”

Cian.

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John Guisto,

San Francisco, CA,

USA.

“Many thanks to Henry and the Pro Ski Training crew for a great season in Soldeu!

Everything easily exceeded my expectations. Along with improving our technical skiing skills, we learned the “soft skills” like team leadership, public speaking, and student engagement, which are so important for becoming a successful instructor. By integrating us tightly into the local ski instructor community, we got a lot of exposure to the professional-level conduct that would be expected of us. By the time we got to the certification exams, we had no problem passing on the first try.

Whether you’re coming to the course as a gap year student or as someone fulfilling a lifelong dream, you can be assured that you will have fun, while also learning high-level, real-world skills. Pro Ski Training has a winning model for the course, and I can’t imagine a better way to spend three months.”

Cheers,

John