Now don't get me wrong I love it, but it comes with certain drawbacks and is not quite as glamorous as it seems. It certainly doesn't pay the bills.The problem at the moment is not so many people want ski lessons as the credit crunch bites and yet there are many of us out there already and hundreds of British people all trying to qualify so they can follow their perceived dream. No-one tells them as they go through the costly and long process that there is not much work and very few places a newly qualified instructor is actually allowed to teach.

So what would I say to people starting out or thinking of a change of lifestyle? My first piece of advice would be don't do it.

The career prospects are limited, or even non-existant, and teaching on the nursery slopes on a powder day is not exactly what skiing is all about. Then there is the poor pay and you quickly realise that even though the client pays large amounts of cash for your services very little of it actually finds its way into your pocket even though they are actually paying for you. The ski school gets the majority, then the taxman has his chunk, then there are local taxes to pay, and of course it is not exactly cheap living in a ski resort so money tends to flow out at an alarming rate.

All instructors talk of the €250 tip they once got for a private lesson with a Saudi Arabian billionaire, but they don't come very often. Much of the time you are waiting for the phone to ring and it is all pretty hand to mouth - if you don't work then you don't get paid. Then of course the days end up a bit like ground-hog day as the people change, but what you say doesn't vary much. 

"Keep balanced over the centre of your ski." 

"Try to get you weight forward a bit."

"Finish off your turn and don't rush things."

Some people obviously do it for years, but many cut rather sad and lonely figures as they pass 40 and then 50 and have a string of failed relationships and not much else to show for it all. Then there are the clients. Many don't actually want to learn how to ski properly and some can't anyway. There are the obnoxious children, the sulky teenagers, the arrogant public school educated ones who have never had to lift a finger in their life, the ones who just want someone to talk to and the others who treat you like another one of their servants. When you get these people of a cold January day and the weather is blamed on you it is not exactly the most rewarding job.

So why do I do it then?

Because when it goes well it is about as much fun as you can have in life. The mountains as an office, fresh snow and blue sky, endless fun and laughter, wild après ski, unbreakable friendships and a long, long way from the dull and rather uninteresting lives that sadly many people lead.

I wouldn't really swap it for the world.

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