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- Get to know our female Ski Tester, Rowena
We caught up with Rowena to hear what it’s like working in the ski industry, running a ski school in Zermatt, testing gear at our annual Ski Test, and living the mountain life. From the highlights of the job to the unique challenges of being a woman in snowsports, here’s what she has to say.
A Life on the Slopes
I started skiing at the age of two on family holidays while living in southern Germany, so skiing was right on our doorstep. We knew how lucky we were, and our family would drive down to the snowy foothills of the Alps whenever we had a free weekend.
At university, I carried on my passion by joining the ski team and racing on that infamous Dendex that so many of us UK ski fans grew up with! Despite the many bumps and bruises (and the odd dislocated finger), it only made me love the sport even more. So, when I had the chance to take a sabbatical from my London job to spend a winter in Zermatt, I knew it was the start of something new and exciting – and I’ve never looked back!
Teaching on the Slopes of Zermatt
Working through my BASI & Swiss qualifications while working in as an instructor in Zermatt gave me so much of a deeper understanding of the sport, the industry as a whole and a very firm grounding in ski teaching. And while we appreciate that it is a huge privilege to be able to instruct in the mountains (especially post Brexit), we see the huge difference that it makes to people’s holidays to take an instructor; not just from being able to teach our clients how to flow from turn to turn, or to get that feeling of carving on a progressively steeper slope, but we also see the confidence people gain from overcoming their fears and skiing their first red run, being able to join their children on their favourite slopes and knowing they can improve, whatever their age!
Matterhorn Diamonds Ski School
After working as an instructor for many years, I decided it was time to take the leap, and I now own and run Matterhorn Diamonds Ski School in Zermatt. It’s immensely rewarding to work with such a professional team who are as passionate about ski teaching and making a difference as I am.
We’ve developed our services in Zermatt to offer clients not only dedicated, tailored ski teaching and guiding with experienced instructors (all qualified to at least ISIA standard-something not widely adopted in Switzerland), but also to enhance their entire ski day. Whether that means making balloon animals to stick on our little charges’ helmets to keep them amused, helping someone finally master the plough-parallel turn, taking an extra run with a family to catch the Matterhorn view when the skies clear, or even booking a taxi at the end of the last long run so clients can get back to their hotel and out of their ski boots – we aim to make every day on the mountain special.
Women Supporting Women
I want to make sure that other women in the industry are supported, and their skills fostered. It has been amazing to see so many great female instructors train their way through their qualifications and now work as expert instructors and trainers in Zermatt and beyond.
Early on, we saw a gap in the market for women-only ski groups and we offer affordable beginner, intermediate, and advanced women’s only groups, run by our female instructors. Creating an environment that enables and supports women to work together to improve, is incredibly rewarding.
With encouragement and positivity, we hope therefore that we can continue to support female skiers through the school and through the industry for future generations.
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