Sepp Waser...
... about his winter job:
"Being a ski instructor is a boyhood dream of mine. As a child I skied the long way to school. Still, it never happened and it was only ten years ago that I got into it because of an advertisement. Although I had no ski instructor training, I signed up and got the chance. Since then I have done the "Kids Instructor" and completed other courses. Yes, that's how I started and I've been infected with the ski instructor virus ever since."
... On the sunny side of being a ski instructor:
"I can be outside in nature and work with people. In the evening, when a mother says 'thank you' with a smile on her face because her child has made progress and is happy, it's a wonderful reward."
... On tests of patience and nerves:
"It definitely takes patience. If you are joyful and enthusiastic about it, you achieve something even with the most impossible guest. You need the flair to feel what exercises you can use to move the guest forward. You have to be able to inspire him, but at the same time lure him out of his comfort zone."
... About party, party, party:
"If you're a ski instructor who only waits for happy hour, you're in the wrong place. Today you can't bring that anymore. Because the guests expect to make progress. We have to take our job seriously."
... On responsibility:
"The responsibility is great. On the Klostermatte or on the Gerschnialp, you are in a protected environment, so to speak. But when I ride the chairlift with young people for the first time, it's not to be underestimated and I bear a lot of responsibility. I also have respect for someone driving into a child. But fortunately, in my ten or so years as a ski instructor, I've never had a bad accident with a guest."
Andrea Hurschler
Andrea Hurschler admires the ski instructors for the patience and perseverance they show every day to teach guests how to ski. She is sure that she would not have the nerve.
