The French ski instructors race

At the end of each ski season, French ski instructors participate in a series of races that bring together 2,500 participants. The 57th “Challenge” as it’s called, is currently taking place in Avoriaz, my old stomping grounds, in les “Portes du Soleil”, the large interconnect that straddles the French and Swiss Alps.
All instructor-racers compete in 25 races including alpine (where slalom remain the main focus of the series), cross-country, telemark and snowboard, to determine who the national champion will be in each event. Each year, a different mountain resort hosts the festivities and the races once took place as far as Vail, Colorado in 1986…

France may be the only country where ski instructing is seen as a legitimate profession and not just “ski-bumming”. French ski instructors are self-employed and only give a small percentage of their revenue to pay for the administrative cost of their ski school that’s totally independent from the lift company. There are 15,000 instructors in France who earn between $13,500 and $31,000 in a four month season. While their American counterparts even earn less, a full-day private instructor will only set you back $365 in France compared to $500-$600 in the U.S.!