More Than a Ski Course: The YES Stories That Last for Decades
What happens after a winter with YES?
For some, it starts with becoming a better skier or snowboarder. For others, it’s about earning an instructor qualification, spending a gap year in Whistler, or simply seeing how far they can take their skiing.
But some of our favourite stories are the ones we hear years — and sometimes decades — later.
After more than 30 years of coaching in Whistler, former YES participants still get in touch to tell us where their experience took them. Some became instructors. Some returned to Whistler. Some formed friendships they still have today. And some are now thinking about sending their own children to experience YES.
Here are just a few of those stories.
It can start with one qualification
For Connor Chiddy, the first milestone came only a few weeks into his time with YES.
After training with the group, Connor passed his CSIA Level 1 ski instructor certification and shared the moment on Facebook:
“Managed to become a Level 1 CSIA certified ski instructor this week!… Made some great friends along the way and been taught by some of the best instructors, a big thanks to Yes Improvement for helping us through.”
And his journey wasn’t finished. His next words were:
“Onto level 2 and avalanche training!”
That’s one of the things we love about watching participants progress. Level 1 might be the first goal, but often it becomes the beginning of something much bigger.
A gap year that became a career
Sometimes we don’t find out just how important that first winter was until many years later.
Former participant Julia Cane recently left a comment that stopped us in our tracks:
“I did this in 2000–2001 and I’ve worked as an instructor now for 25 years but the YES program was how it all started and I still have some great friends from all that time ago!”
Twenty-five years.
A decision to spend a season training in Whistler became the starting point for a career in skiing — while the friendships survived right alongside it.
And Julia isn’t the only one.
Former participant Guy Bonsall wrote:
“I did the course for my gap year and I had the best time ever. So good that I came back and worked for YES.”
That’s perhaps the best explanation of what a YES gap year can become. You arrive for one winter without necessarily knowing where it will lead.
Sometimes one winter is only the beginning.
Twenty years later, the coaching is still there
Not every YES story leads to a career in skiing.
Sometimes what stays with people is what they learned.
Former participant Polly Harvey recently wrote to coach Bob about her experience during the 2006–07 season.
She remembered following his tracks from mid-station to the base and the confidence that came from hearing:
“I knew you could.”
Nearly 20 years later, Polly said she still applies many of the coaching skills she learned through YES to the teenagers she now teaches in Australia.
And then came perhaps the nicest part of her message: her daughter Charlie would like to come to Whistler and train with YES too.
From being coached in Whistler to considering the same experience for the next generation — that’s a story no marketing campaign could manufacture.
Coaching is about more than passing an exam
Qualifications matter. They open doors and give participants something tangible to work towards.
But some of the feedback we’re proudest of isn’t about certificates at all.
On one of our recent coaching posts, Stephen recalled following his coach down the mountain:
“Couldn’t believe I did it and you said ‘I knew you could’.”
That moment captures something important about YES.
Good coaching isn’t simply telling someone how to make a turn. It’s helping them develop the technique and confidence to ski terrain they once thought was beyond them.
Sometimes the biggest progression isn’t written on a certificate.
It’s looking down a run you weren’t sure you could ski — and discovering that you can.
The qualifications matter. The people do too.
Look through old YES photos and you’ll see plenty of certificates.
But you’ll also see something else over and over again: groups of people smiling together on the mountain.
Connor mentioned the “great friends” he made while working towards Level 1.
Julia still has friends from her YES season more than two decades later.
Guy enjoyed his gap year enough to return and work with YES.
And that pattern has repeated across generations of participants.
You arrive in Whistler because you love skiing or snowboarding.
You train together. You challenge yourself together. You celebrate passing exams together. You have powder days, difficult days and unforgettable days.
Somewhere along the way, you become part of a community.
30 years of YES — and thousands of individual stories
In 2025, YES celebrated 30 years of ski and snowboard training in Whistler.
Three decades sounds impressive as a number.
But the comments from former participants mean more.
A Level 1 passed.
A Level 2 achieved.
A gap year that became a career.
A participant who came back to work for YES.
Friendships that survived for decades.
Coaching lessons still being used 20 years later.
And now, former participants considering sending their own children to Whistler.
Those are the things that tell the real story of YES.
Because ultimately, a YES program isn’t only about how much better you can ski or snowboard during a few weeks in Whistler.
It’s about where that experience might take you next.
Thinking about your own winter in Whistler?
Whether the goal is to become a qualified ski or snowboard instructor, take your skiing to another level, experience a gap year in the mountains, or see where a winter in Whistler might lead, we’d love to hear what you’re looking for.
Your YES story could start this winter. ❄️🇨🇦
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Lincoln Phillips, one of our Level 4 CSIA-certified YES Tour coaches, shares his tips for carving better turns.
