The Whistler based school allows students the opportunity to live an adventurous, active lifestyle while pursuing an education. With small classroom sizes, flexible course timelines, and a strong focus on providing a hands-on learning experience, students get to learn in a supportive environment and then go out in the field and enjoy Whistler’s world class backyard and thriving industry. This private career train- ing institution is focused on the skills needed to find jobs in the outdoor and sports industry.
The Whistler Adventure School offers a variety of certificate programs that range from one year to six months in length. The six month guiding programs have had huge success with students now chasing their passions in and around the mountains of the world. The guiding programs include ski/snowboard, bike, rock climbing, and alpine.
“We had a lot of great day tours in the backcountry with different snow and weather conditions to learn from. In the breaks between the different levels of the course the students met up to go touring and practice the skills that we learned on the mountain” – Vanessa Hocke, Ski guide graduate On the industry side of things the marketing and media manager program continues to have success as it combines everything from photo and video editing to market strategy courses. The co-op opportunities provide the experience needed to launch a career in the field. The retail and manufacturing program is one of a kind and creates opportunities for students to be successful in small businesses or in manufacturing start ups. Product design, sales, and customer service skills help students create a niche for themselves in the industry. This ranges from bike mechanic courses to boot fitting. Creating a snowboard from scratch under the guidance of professional is an invaluable and exciting component of the program.
The level of instruction at WAS is fundamental to the program, the school has some of the most experienced and recognized instructors in staff. Sharing the mountain experience with students while having fun, safe adventures is what keeps them coming back. Accepting around one hundred students a year, the school creates a culture of well prepared guides and industry experts.
“The program allowed me to stay in the place I loved doing the activities I enjoy while continuing to develop my skills and work so I could pay my bills” – Filip Hrkel
Whether it be ski, bike or rock guiding, marketing, or business development – there is something for everyone at WAS!
