We have had a lot of people get qualified through our instructor courses and were really stoked to see them succeed in starting off a career doing what they love. We caught up with Kelly Tomlinson who completed our snowboard instructor course in New Zealand in 2014. Kelly came to us straight out of school and despite growing up only 3 hours away from our NZ home of Mt Ruapehu, she had never ridden there! It did not take long to get her hooked.
Why did you choose Ticket to Ride at Ruapehu?
When I finished school I wanted to do something that would be super fun and give me a certification that would help me travel. I was blown away to find out I could get all of that in my own backyard. It’s a bit embarrassing but I had never ridden at Mt Ruapehu before and really wanted to spend some time there.
Becoming an instructor is definitely one of the best ways to get yourself sorted with a job that has you travelling the world. How was you time on the course?
It was amazing, definitely the best snowboard experience of my life, I rated it way higher than all the trips I have taken to America to ride. Getting coaching 4 days a week really helped me bring my riding to levels I never thought possible and just when you thought you had it all figured out the coaches opened up a whole other aspect of your riding for you to explore.
Living in a small ski town was a really cool experience, after a few weeks you know everyone and can’t go out with our running into friends. There was no shortage of activities to keep us busy off snow.
Sounds like we got you hooked. What have you been up to this season?
I couldn’t stay away from Ruapehu so this season so i’m back working in the snow school. Doing a course here really helped me get my foot in the door and i’m really happy to be here. Getting an instructor job in NZ is really difficult and the team at Ticket to Ride were great at introducing me to the right people down here.
I started out with a part time contract and was really excited when they offered to bump me up to full-time. I miss having training every day but the perks of working for the mountain are great, lots of time to ride for myself and I don’t have to pay anything to do it.
Nice work! What sort of lessons have you been teaching? Beginners all the time?
Theres definitely a lot of beginner work happening here but I’ve been extremely fortunate to get a variety of lessons. I get to teach a lot of the local school kids, next step group lessons, basic freestyle and some women’s development camps.
Sounds like you have cracked it! Will you be back again next season?
Of course! I’m totally hooked on this and will be back next season to train for the level 3 certification.
Whats your plan for the northern hemisphere winter?
I have my Canadian visa sorted so I am going to head over early, explore the country and find a mountain to call home for the winter and start teaching. Very excited to see where this snowboard adventure takes me.
-Andrew Manuel, New Zealand Resort Manager
