Skip to content You’re probably expecting me to tell you that I learned to ski when I was five or six years old, with a family that went to the mountains every winter. But no…
My parents were separated and the family finances weren’t great.
Even so, I had a good childhood in Buenos Aires: soccer, tennis, swimming… a normal city life.
Everything changed when my best friend, Santiago, moved to San Martín de los Andes, 1,500 kilometers away. I was 10 years old, and I felt like a part of me was leaving with him. That year I was down: bad grades, little motivation, without my usual spark.
During that year, my parents noticed that I was feeling down.
I wasn’t as cheerful as usual.
I got a few bad grades at school and I didn’t have many friends.
After finishing the school calendar, that summer, my only requests for Christmas or future gifts were to visit my friend Santiago.
santi and me , san martin de los andes, 2010.
That year, people noticed I was different: quieter, less cheerful, getting bad grades, and not very interested in socializing. So when summer came, I asked for only one thing: to visit Santiago.
After several phone calls (yes, WhatsApp didn’t exist back then), my parents arranged with his parents for me to go and see him for four days in August 2010. My dad accompanied me on the trip—21 hours by bus from Buenos Aires—and stayed in a hostel, while I stayed at my friend’s house.
San Martín de los Andes was a beautiful city, but what was truly special was 20 kilometers away: a snow-covered mountain.
Since I arrived, Santiago wouldn’t stop talking about skiing. It was the only thing he did since he lived there, and he insisted that I had to try it.
After convincing my dad and borrowing some clothes, I took my first class. I was 11 years old when I learned the famous wedge, that first step that would end up changing my life.
Over time, skiing became my passion. I returned to San Martín three more times over the next five years. I didn’t have enough money to do it often, but I certainly had the desire. Unfortunately, over the years my friendship with Santiago faded.
In 2017, already in college, skiing had been put on hold. I was working to pay for my studies, until a friend told me about the Work & Travel program: an opportunity to work, improve my English, and live in another country for a while. It was perfect.
jiminy peak, massachusetts, usa.
In 2017, already in college, skiing had been put on hold. I was working to pay for my studies, until a friend told me about the Work & Travel program: an opportunity to work, improve my English, and live in another country for a while. It was perfect.
jiminy peak, massachusetts, usa.
I made three decisions that would change my life:
Quit my job in Buenos Aires.
End my relationship.
Apply to the ski instructor program at a small mountain in Massachusetts called Jiminy Peak.
My skills were good enough to ski decently, but not to teach. Even so, I went for it. After interviews and paperwork, I got my J1 visa and traveled to the United States. There, I received two weeks of training before starting to teach.
Those were the best three months of my life: I taught children of different levels, and after 3:00 p.m., the rest of the day was mine. It was the ideal life.
When I returned to Buenos Aires, I knew for sure: the only thing I wanted to do was be a ski instructor. I finished college and, as soon as I could, I went to Patagonia to pursue that dream. And that’s how it all began.
Four years have passed since that trip to the United States. After finishing college, in 2022, I decided to travel to Patagonia. To be honest, it was harder than I thought. The entrance exams to become an instructor were tough, and since I arrived with two of my friends, all we did was ski nonstop for a month and a half and train every day for more than six hours. We hired private instructors and reviewed our technique with video analysis.
After what felt like a million exams, falls, tears, despair, and frustration, level 1 of the Argentine association arrived.
Being evaluated in Catedral, Bariloche, Patagonia, 2022.
I would like to give a special mention to Wally, who was my first coach. He was very tough on me, but without him, I would not have been able to reach my level 1.
After four seasons of training and working a double winter season in Spain, I achieved Level 2.
It took a while; bumps were my weakness.
I had a new goal in mind: I wanted to teach in English again. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, as it’s not my native language. But I had heard from many teachers who were going to ski powder in Japan, and I said, “Why not?” I spent the entire 2024 season studying English, and after a few interviews… it happened.
The first few weeks were difficult, but I enjoyed them very much. My English was gradually improving, but even so, my stubborn mind kept saying, I want to improve it, I want to speak English better, I want to give better classes. Why not enroll in the next level of instructor training at a native English-speaking association?
Okay, here we go again…
I chose to switch to the Australian association: APSI.
I had to sit tight and study hard, really hard, too hard. Muscles in English, technical analysis of movements and mistakes in skiing in English. Seriously, I have to remind you, my English wasn’t good!
It was a huge challenge. After work, I would ski at night to train, and when I got home, I would study the theory.
2025: Level 3 reached.
This photo is of me with JJ, who was my coach at Level 3 and a teammate at GoSnow School in Japan.
He helped me out a lot and I really do mean a lot!
I went from this..
To this
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read everything
If I could improve, why wouldn’t you?
I know this text is all about me, but please keep reading!
Now, I want to talk about you.
© 2025 dipi ski club, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
