Ski Instructors’ Interski gathering returning to the USA after 59 years

Interski will host ski instructors from around the world. Photo: Karsten Winegeart

COLORADO — The International Ski Instructor’s Association has awarded the 2027 Interski to the United States.

The largest snow sports congress, Interski is a gathering of the world’s top alpine, snowboard, telemark, cross-country, and adaptive instructors from more than 30 nations held every four years in a different country.

It’ll be hosted in Colorado, which is the headquarters of the Professional Ski and Snowboard Instructors of America/American Association of Snowboard Instructors (PSIA-AASI). Specifically, it is to occur at Vail/Beaver Creek on April 3-10, 2027 where up to 2,000 people will attend.

Park City boasts more than 1,200 snow pros, and greater Utah adds hundreds more. Without the international travel requirements, many of them will have the opportunity to participate in 2027.

Peggy Hiller, CEO of PSIA, said in a statement, “Interski 2027 will expose a larger segment of PSIA-AASI to this incredible event.” She continued, “Gathering on U.S. snow to ‘ski the Austrian way’, get insights from our Southern Hemisphere colleagues, or learn from members of Korea’s National Team, all in the same week, offers a unique opportunity to expand our snowsports knowledge.”

The only other time it was held in the United States was at Aspen in 1968.

Hiller said, “It’s a testament to the strength of our association, the skill and dedication of our members, and the quality of our professional development resources for snow pros.”

First hosted in Austria in 1953, Interski has been in, among other locales, 1975 Czech Republic, 1979 Japan, 2015 Argentina, 2019 Bulgaria, and 2023 Finland. 

“Interski gives us a bigger platform to educate the public about the importance of taking lessons from qualified professionals,” Hiller said.

According to PSIA-AASI, their association is made up of eight geographical regions from coast to coast, serving more than 32,000 members and 320 member snowsport schools.