Year Round Winter with Frasier Tait

All of our course are packed full of great people from all around the world and as the snow industry is really quite small we keep running into them all over the globe. Andrew recently ran into Frasier Tait from our Canada program last season while he was teaching over in New Zealand.

Andrew: Hey Frasier, pretty cool seeing you again on the other side of the world. First up the basics, why don’t you tell everyone where you’re from.

Frasier: Havelock north, Sunny Hawkes Bay, North Island New Zealand

Not a bad spot to be from. So we first met in Banff Canada, why don’t you tell us what you were doping there?

I was on the 10 week level 2 instructor training course in Canada. I heard all about Basecamp through the NZ programs here at Mt Ruapehu.

What made you choose Banff?

I did my homework and Banff/Canada looked like a super rad spot, I’ve always wanted to go ski there so this seemed like a good way to make it happen. I looked at the cost of a holiday or doing a season and the more I looked into it the more appealing being an instructor became. It looked like a pretty rewarding way to get a season under my belt and walk away with something to show for it.

Without a doubt, it’s a great way to gain a bit more out of a winter instead of just a beer belly. What did you think of the course in Canada?

It was insane, easily the best trip I have ever done. The amount of snow was nothing I was used to and the whole atmosphere was totally different to the skiing in NZ. The amount of people on the same vide was super cool, it was so easy to get in with a good crew of like-minded people. Canadians are super similar to the kiwis, very friendly, very relaxed and they love to have a good time. Everything was so easy once you got there, wake up, walk out the front door get on a bus and go to the resort.

What do you reckon the best part of the season?

Easily the day we had with Dave Gilbert from the Lake Louise Snow School, 40 cm’s of snow off the backside, no chatting about skiing all charging. To this day it’s the best snow I have ever skied.

Epic man, so here we are in NZ, tell us what your up to here?

Working fulltime at Mt Ruapehu in the snow school here. Chasing the endless winter!

Nice one. How easy was it going from the Canadian certification to a job here in NZ?

Getting a job was a bit challenging, but the qualification transfers quite easily. Luckily Mt Ruapehu recognized the benefit of me having been through Basecamp overseas and took me on board.

How has your first season teaching been going for you?

It’s been super cool rolling into the season and getting a whole stack of training days with some more ace trainers. Work is on and off, getting lots of different lessons, its totally unpredictable here so it keeps it interesting but the snow school has been great about sending lessons my way. It’s enough work to make it viable, which still leaves lots of time to ski. We just had an epic day earlier this week, surprise bluebird pow day.

So what’s the plan from here?

I need to get some summer, growing up on the beach means I can’t go too long without it. Save up some cash and aim to do a South Island season to get a wider picture of the whole ski industry.

Awesome bud, see you out on the snow.

We’re pretty proud of everyone that comes through our programs and love seeing them make a life for themselves in the ski industry. If you want to teach skiing for a living or simply get the best possible experience out of a winter then check out all of our course offerings, its hands down the best way to get your foot in the door in a very competitive industry.

-Andrew