Take a gap year with Base Camp    

Base Camp provides instructor courses, performance camps and accommodation in Argentina, France, Canada, Honduras, Switzerland, Spain, Egypt and the UK.

- Expand your boundaries

- Total freedom, total respect for safety

- Make your CV stand out from the rest

- Make friends and immerse yourself in your surroundings 

- A new perspective

Programmes range from 1 week to 6 months in skiing, snowboarding, waterskiing, scubadiving, windsurfing, kitesurfing, surfing, skydiving, paramotoring and mountain biking.   

Free your mind, expand your boundaries

A gap year is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Spend it wisely.  Spend a season abroad with Base Camp and you’ll have the time of your life.

Explore new cultures, meet like-minded people, and leave with a valuable instructor qualification – plus the skills to get ahead in further education and your future career.

Whether you’re looking to gain a life-changing instructor qualification, or just want to learn or improve on your skills in an adventure sport – we have exactly the trip for you.

From Scubadiving and Kitesurfing in Egypt, to Skiing and Snowboarding in Argentina, France and Canada – our courses are renowned as the leader in its field in terms of fun, quality of instruction and sheer results.

Total freedom, total respect for safety

Quite often the first real opportunity you’ll have to experience total freedom from parents and teachers, at Base Camp we won’t cramp your style or intrude on your personal space during your gap year.

What we will do is help you to get the very most from your course, ensure that every client and local resident is treated with respect, and make sure you’re looking after your health and general well-being. 

The destinations in which our courses operate are on the whole very safe. However, because of the nature of the environment and lifestyle you’ll be leading, there may be some dangers that present themselves.

Our number one priority is to help you take care of your safety, which is why our instructors are all highly trained professionals, our resorts are carefully managed by a Support Team who know them inside out, and every one of our clients is fully and frequently briefed on safety issues relevant to their course and surroundings.   

Make your CV stand out from the rest

Once you’ve been on a Base Camp course, you’ll have no trouble demonstrating to universities and future employers what a rounded, interesting and confident person you are.

The fact that you’ve worked to save and pay for a respected instructor course, and applied yourself during your gap year to pass, gives real practical examples of many of the qualities that universities and employers look for.

And who knows – you may even choose to use your qualification to find a job through our own specialist recruitment service!  

Achieve everything you want, and more

At Base Camp, we’re committed to working alongside other organisations to make sure that you achieve as much as you can from your year out.

Many of our past clients have used their Base Camp adventure as part of achieving their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.

If you’re planning to apply to university, we’re here to make the UCAS process as straightforward as possible – from advising you how to demonstrate your gap year plan on applications, to assisting with your arrangements during the mad rush at results time!

And when you’re adventure with us is over, if you’re thinking of using your instructor qualification in North America, BUNAC work alongside us to help you obtain your visa.

Make friends and immerse yourself in your surroundings

When you’re out on the slopes, riding the waves or catching the wind, you can’t fail to make friends. It’s this incredible social dimension to adventure sports that makes a Base Camp course an unrivalled gap year experience.

Mixing with the people that make our resorts what they are is also a crucial part of your gap year, so we introduce to you everyone – instructors, lifties and seasonaires working in local bars, shops and companies across the resort.

Of course, the opportunity for parties and social events that goes along with meeting so many people is immense.

And because you’ll be sharing such life-changing experiences, making lifelong friends is almost inevitable. Your social circle is set to balloon…

See life from a new perspective

Your year out with us is the ideal opportunity to learn the technical skills required to perfect your chosen adventure sport. It’s also an unrivalled chance to explore the world, see some amazing sights and learn new languages and cultures.

There’s no doubt that during your time with us you’ll build some of the most incredible memories and meet many interesting people.

Above all, we hope that your gap year at Base Camp will broaden your outlook on life and give you a sporting passion that lasts a lifetime.

Worried about the cost?

Our courses and camps contain accommodation, food (apart from Whistler), coaching 5 days a week, as well as a whole range of extra courses, activities and social events all at a great weekly price.

If you’d love to join us, but are concerned about the cost – contact us to find out more about a Career Development Loan.

These are partnership loans run by the government and high street banks, and are there to help with the funding of vocational training and education.

What about your parents?

If you're having a hard time trying to convince your parents of the benefits of doing a course with us then tell them to give us a call. We'd be happy to talk them through the details of a course and all the sport specific and more general skills and benefits you'll come away with.