Gap Year

You've put in the hours, got the grades and are all set to take on university, but before you do why not take a gap year with a difference and come and spend some time living in the mountains. Our instructor courses are an excellent way to gain some great qualifications, make some life long friends and take your snowboarding to a level you may have previously never thought possible!

Gap Year options

At NONSTOP we pride ourselves on being able to offer the ultimate gap year experience. We have courses to cater for all varying in length, aim and cost. There is one thing all of courses have in common though; you'll make great friends for life, gain some great qualifications, learn more about skiing than you can imagine, and you most definitely won't want to come home!

11-Week snowboard instructor course

The ultimate Gap Year experience and our most popular course! Spend three months living and travelling in the Canadian Rockies, become an awesome snowboarder, gain a load of useful instructor and coaching qualifications and make a bunch of new mates. Doing a season like this will be one of the best experiences of your life. We offer a choice of five world class resorts for you to spend your season in.

3-Week snowboard instructor course

Want to train, qualify and work all in the same season? Our early season 3-week instructor courses allow you to do just that! They are also a great option for anyone short on time to get their foot on the instructor ladder.

6-Week 'Master the Mountain' course

Held in Fernie, our six week ‘Master the Mountain’ course is about pushing your riding as much as possible, both on and off piste. The main focus is to ensure you can ride anything the mountain throws at you in confidence and style. A course most popular with intermediate to advanced snowboarders.

New Instructors celebrate their level 1 success!

Join in with local traditions

The benefits of a Gap Year

Gain new Skills - A Gap Year is a great chance to develop your non-school skills! If you have a passion for something whether it be photography, history of art, teaching or skiing then a Gap Year is the perfect time to become an expert in your chosen field.
Gain qualifications - Gaining qualifications may not be that high up on your priority list when planning your Gap Year, which is not surprising when you have had exams every summer for the last 10 years! However, if you can incorporate a few life time qualifications along the way you never know when they may come in useful.
Enhance your CV - This is where those newly gained qualifications really come into play. Imagine what it is like for an employer to have to read through literally hundreds of C.V.’s that all say exactly the same things. Suddenly one jumps out and wakes them up! “In my Gap Year I spent a season in Canada where I qualified as a snowboard instructor and travelled around South America where I became fluent in Spanish…” - I think you’ve just been invited for an interview!
Increase confidence - We get lots of feedback from our seasonaires and from parents to say that a year out has greatly increased their and their child’s confidence and communication skills. This can only be positive – right? Training to become an instructor will increase your confidence as well as your leadership group management skills.
New outlook on life - Being stuck in school with the same old class mates for years and years may not give you a particularly broad outlook on life. Well it’s true…you don’t exactly meet a wide cross section of society at school do you? Whatever you do on your Gap Year you are bound to meet and mix with people of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities. We believe it’s essential not to spend your Gap Year with people of just the same age as you. On our courses we tend to find that people of all ages mix socially and become good friends. We’ve no doubt, and our past clients all agree that this mix can only enhance your experience. We frequently see 18 year old Gappers, 23 year old graduates and 35 year old career breakers all going out for beers together!
Universities & employers like them - Increasingly universities and employers are attaching value to the enterprise, initiative and sustained commitment that a Gap Year brings to an individual. When talking about Gap Years UCAS state that “experience compliments education”. Surely learning outside of the classroom has got to be a positive for future life? A once in a lifetime opportunity that will make you more interesting and open doors to future opportunities! Enough said.

The best thing I've ever done! Not only did I get to spend my gap year waist deep in powder, but I made some great friends and managed to get some excellent qualification along the way! All the instructors were amazing and I just wish I could do it all over again!

Sarah Good - Banff 11 Week Course