For Sébastien Damé, snow sports are above all a matter of pleasure!

Sébastien Damé is a multi-activity instructor- snowboarding, ski touring, off-piste, heli-skiing, cross-country skiing… Nothing escapes this experienced trainer, who comes from Val Cenis (Haute Maurienne) and who speaks French, English and Portuguese.

This instructor first started skiing when he was two and a half, while living in a small mountain village whose main activity in winter is skiing- it marked the beginning of a wonderful experience. He took part in regional competitions and then in university courses until he was 22. What does he like most in snow sports? The sensation of sliding on powder snow as well as the impression of lightness in the curves.

Sébastien then began teaching skiing in 1997 in Val Cenis for six weeks every winter, while he was still a student. At that time, he was combining studies with instructorship. Once his studies were over, he decided to take a year off in order to cut off from the world of studies. He spent an entire season teaching skiing, and liked it so much that he decided to put an end to his studies. He then taught in Canada (Whistler) in a ski school where various nationalities mingled, and where he had the opportunity to see different aspects of the practice of skiing. After that, he taught in Cardrona, New Zealand. Today, Sébastien has been teaching skiing for 15 years and he still loves this occupation! According to him, the pedagogical approach should vary according to his learners’ nationality. But above anything else, he focuses his teaching on pleasure, whether it be the pleasure of learning, the pleasure of having a good time or else the pleasure of developing in the open air surrounded by a spectacular mountain setting.

Throughout 15 years of skiing lessons, Sébastien had had the opportunity to keep wonderful memories with his learners. One of the best moments he experienced comes back to when he was working in Cardrona; once, he was teaching four New Zealand children of five year-old waiting at the departure of a beginner trail in the resort. That day, the wind was blowing so hard that a gust had laid the four children on the ground like dominoes- a moment everyone shared with laughter!

This instructor arrived in Courchevel thanks to a friend who was teaching there. His favourite slope? The Jockeys, which goes to Le Praz! ESF Courchevel is for him the first ski school in France. For Sébastien, it is a large family who has been teaching skiing for a long time and who knows how to transmit the values of this sport and of mountains. For this instructor, ‘wearing the red jumper’ is a great pride, a sense of belonging and represents the skills of a ski school that was proven effective over the years.

Apart from this first winter activity, Sébastien also teaches kayak, canoe, rafting and hydrospeed on mountain streams. He also likes running, wakeboarding and kitesurfing for his own pleasure; activities he enjoys practicing abroad!