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Pietro D.

Pietro D.
The instructor's qualifications have been verified.

  (38) reviews
CHF
70
/hour

Trophy award

  • Pietro D. has received the Trophy Award for consistently providing a fantastic service
St. Moritz
Ski, Ski Touring

Response Time: 3 hours

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Reserve now with a 20% refundable deposit!

Available if you're booking lessons 30+ days in advance.
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Reserve now with a 20% refundable deposit!

Available if you're booking lessons 30+ days in advance.
95% of Pietro`s previous customers left 5 star reviews
About
95% of Pietro`s previous customers left 5 star reviews
Pietro D. has received the Trophy Award for consistently providing a fantastic service

Trophy award

  • Pietro D. has received the Trophy Award for consistently providing a fantastic service
  • Experience: 19 Years

  • Languages: English , French , Italian

  • Cancellation Policy: Flexible [?]

Before they can start teaching the techniques, ski instructors need to learn all they can about their students. I can often get a good read on my students' psychological state from their speech, posture, and the way they move. Putting on skis for the first time or after a long break is a scary experience for everyone (except small children!), and I use this insight to help my students to overcome their fears. A good rapport can even lead to lasting friendship.

The fear of falling is the first obstacle standing between novice skiers and the beauty of the landscape, the snow, and a whole world of adventure. One of the most common mistakes a ski instructor can make is barking commands, completely ignoring their students' psychological state.

Over the years, I have picked up a few tips and tricks: keep talking, ask questions, and take a genuine interest in the person in front of you. I want to build a relationship based on trust to help my students overcome their anxiety, from vertigo sufferers to people with joint problems, experiences skiers with no skiing since long, as well as nervous novices.

In skiing, there is one golden rule: if you don't want to fall, you have to learn how to stop!

Skiing also brings together people from many different walks of life, giving swimmers and sailors for example, a different perspective on the natural world and even the psychology of sport itself.

Giving ski lessons to complete beginners, children who only just learnt to walk, or—hardest of all—adults who are bogged down by fear, requires a lot of patience and a relaxed environment where they can share their anxieties.

I prefer a less formal teaching style to create a laid-back mood, offering lessons in English, French and Italian.

Born in Milan, reached the Principality of Monaco in 1993, after university between the US and UK went back to South of France to pick up the Maritime family business, recently involved in the Real Estate locally and internationally.

  • Excellent with all abilities
  • Great with beginners
  • Fun children’s lessons
  • Patient with improvers
  • Superb for intermediates
What to expect in a lesson

At the beginning, when you are young and newly graduated ski instructor, you think you know everything.
Ah, the naivety of youth!
You know your didactics and pedagogy inside out, you've read every book on skiing, you understand the physical forces that influence how the skier moves...
But now what?
When you are actually out on the slopes, it is experience that makes all the difference. As I have grown and changed over the years, my lessons have evolved with me.
The most important thing I have gained, other than a few grey hairs, is an understanding of how to structure a ski lesson.

Expect some questions about your previous experience or ski career, what are goals per each session, what are results targeted, and why you want me there.
These variables perfectly shape your lesson.

38 reviews
Overall Rating 5.0

(38 reviews)

(5.0/5)
Friendliness
5.0
Time keeping
5.0
Communication
5.0
Technical feedback
5.0
Sara .
15/03/2023

5.0

Mixed

He’s awesome Ski= pietro .

Sara booked a total of 6 hours with Pietro

Fara Hasan .
04/12/2022

5.0

Mixed

We are very grateful that we picked Pietro to give the lesson to our sons. Very very grateful. One of our sons had low oxygen level when we got up to the peak and Pietro was very professional in handling him and kept on making sure that he is alright. We wouldn’t know what to do if it was just us. He is very friendly towards kids and patiently teaching them. Highly recommended if you are looking for a child friendly instruction!

Fara Hasan booked a total of 1 full day with Pietro

Ronara .
09/11/2022

5.0

Mixed

I and my husband are so gratefully for the skiing adventure day. It was an unique experience for us. We had a great time. Thanks a lot 🙏🤩

Ronara booked a total of 4 hours with Pietro

Ash Vij .
03/04/2022

5.0

Beginner

Perfect instructor! Managed to work around my schedule even after my flights were cancelled on the day of our lesson. Would definitely recommend to anyone!

Ash Vij booked a total of 2.5 hours with Pietro

Max .
15/02/2022

5.0

Mixed

Great instructor! Very accomplished and put me at ease, I felt safe and confident to develop.

Max booked a total of 1 full day with Pietro

Giuseppe .
20/11/2021

5.0

Intermediate

The best ski instructor I’ve ever had! Pietro knows how to teach skiing.

Giuseppe booked a total of 4 hours with Pietro

Tomasz D.
26/03/2021

5.0

Intermediate

If I give Pietro 5 stars, he will be booked by other Clients next time:) we give him 7 stars. My kids were delighted: he is very polite, speaks great English, has amazing kids approach and is a very skilled ski teacher!

Tomasz booked a total of 18 hours with Pietro

Emanoil H.
09/02/2021

5.0

Beginner

Pietro is a very good teacher. Very friendly. Punctual. Highly recommend. We were 3 students, he managed us each of us at his level 🙂. He knows how to interact with everyone, from child to adults. His technique really helped us.

Emanoil booked a total of 4 hours with Pietro

Sophie B.
15/01/2021

5.0

Intermediate

Pietro was incredibly professional and thoughtful and not only gave me a refresher but also pushed me to improve my technique. After not having skied for 3 years he gave me confidence and made the entire experience fun. Its also worth mentioning that he knew the resort/ski area really well - and when he was in doubt, he went out there before meeting me to test the slopes, ensuring that he was prepared and I wouldn’t end up with anything I couldn’t handle. I cannot recommend him enough

Sophie booked a total of 3 hours with Pietro

Rebecca S.
07/03/2020

5.0

I am a total beginner and Pietro made everything really simple and clear. I progressed lots in the lesson!

Steffanie C.
04/03/2020

5.0

Pietro is a lovely person and great teacher. He is very patient and effective with his explanations while not overcomplicating things as we were beginners. Wouldn't hesitate to have another lesson with him on our next trip!

Joe R.
26/02/2020

5.0

5* could not fault Pietro, had a great couple of days tailing the lesson to all our individual needs, thank you for your time and would recommend Pietro to anyone.

Victoria G.
25/02/2020

5.0

Pietro is an incredibly kind and patient instructor who gives great feedback on technique and makes you feel very at ease on the mountain. I hadn’t skied in 4 years and he got me back to being able to ski and get around happily in one lesson!

Amanda B.
24/02/2020

5.0

A great start to our weekend skiing in Morzine, Pietro was friendly ,helpful and would definitely recommend , he took us to the best runs given the conditions and helped us getting our ski legs and skills back.

David W.
24/02/2020

5.0

Pietro was a delight. Always on time, cheerful and helped my sons skiing really progress. He was flexible to varying needs and instilled a love of the mountains and snow in a short time. I'd go out of my way to use Pietro again.

Kayleigh T.
20/02/2020

5.0

We booked Pietro for 2 days skiing for 7 people (all beginner level). Pietro arrived early and was very friendly and funny right from the ofset. He took us through absolutely everything, spending extra time with the children whilst ensuring us adults had 1:1 time with him too. His patience was tested often with our youngest (sorry again Pietro!) but his patience and determination to help us learn was spot on. Pietro was very good at adapting to each of our ability levels, we have grown in confidence and will be booking him again for next year! Thank you again Pietro!

Irene M.
10/02/2020

4.6

Very friendly and helpful with organisational details, very good combination of theory and practice, shows great experience and professionalism.

Geeta M.
01/02/2020

5.0

Pietro was an amazing instructor, especially for our children (16 & 11). He was a fantastic support and guide, he helped us more than what we expected, he gave us lists of restaurants and booked for us wherever we chose to go, offered to help with ski passes to ensure all was cost effective, chose the right slopes and progress to help with the children’s development... they took to him really well... and so did we. We also took lessons with him, and he accommodated us as a family! I would definitely ask him again the next time we are skiing!... so lucky to have found him!

Steven L.
01/02/2020

5.0

We had a great time learning from Pietro. He is very attentive and friendly. Will definitely rebook for next visit.

Ted C.
21/01/2020

5.0

Pietro is an inspirational instructor for both of my boys, aged 9 and 6, who enjoyed every minute of the time they skied with him. He looked after both of them extremely well and taught my younger son how to ski in just a matter of hours. Pietro also helped me with my techniques, even as an advanced/experienced skier. I highly recommend Pietro for all levels of skiers as he has the ability to acceleration the speed at which you and your children will learn.

Robert F.
27/12/2019

5.0

Pietro was awesome! We are a family of five and booked him last minute as we decided to take a 2-day trip to Chamonix coming from Verbier. My three boys range between 11-17 and Pietro took them both on and off piste to spots that were both very challenging and very safe. We had a big powder day and it was so fun! Thx Pietro!

Alison J.
23/12/2019

5.0

I had a fabulous lesson with Pietro in La Thuile. My request was to gain confidence, ski in control and to have fun. Pietro delivered all of that (despite near zero visibility at times) and I could really appreciate the benefits of 1:1 coaching. I was sad when the lesson was over! My boyfriend came along for a freebie guide, adamant that he didn't want any coaching, but Pietro was so good that David was soon converted and picking up a few tips. David has since said: "Ski Pete is a very good instructor. We should ski with him again". Thanks Pietro xx

paul c.
18/12/2019

5.0

Pietro helped me to go from no skiing ability to being fully confident on a beginners' slope within just a couple of short lessons. He is a multi-faceted person, not "just" a skiing instructor and I felt completely comfortable spending time with him - he put me at my ease. He was able to explain very clearly what I should do and was encouraging when I got it right. The most important thing to know about Pietro is that he is a genuinely warm, friendly person. I couldn't have picked a better instructor.

Sarah P.
12/12/2019

5.0

Pietro was really helpful before the lessons started requesting information about what we wanted from the ski lessons/ our experience and sharing some tips for our first day of skiing at Cervinia. Pietro made sure we got the absolute maximum value from our lesson time, always patient, encouraging us to move out of our comfort zone and we have really made great progress in our 3 half day lessons. On the final day it was a lot more windy than forecast and there was a possibility that the lifts in Cervinia might not open at all. Pietro waited for local information, offered to meet us in Valtournenche and despite starting the lesson an hour late we still had our full 4 hours. We highly recommend Pietro

Fabien D.
10/12/2019

5.0

Nous avons commencé notre saison de ski avec Pietro comme moniteur et nous ne pouvions pas espérer mieux. Pietro a été extrêmement flexible et nous a cherché la meilleure station pour commencer la saison alors que peu étaient ouvertes. Mon garçon de 10 ans et sa jeune cousine qui skiait pour la première fois garde un souvenir lumineux de leur journée passée avec Pietro.

Jimmy C.
23/04/2019

5.0

I have no hesitation in recommending Pietro as a professional, engaging and friendly instructor.

Amanda T.
17/04/2019

5.0

Pietro is a very accomplished ski coach who can tailor his lesson to any ability. We will be using him again!!!!

Sally J.
15/04/2019

5.0

We just had a wonderful few days of lessons with Pietro and would recommend him without any hesitation at all to anyone looking to improve their skiing and have loads of fun at the same time! Our 7 year old son had 4 hour lessons with Pietro on 3 consecutive mornings and my husband and I alternated lessons with Pietro in the afternoons. We all improved enormously and had a brilliant time whilst doing so! Pietro was completely professional - he communicated with me prior to the first day to make sure that everything was clear re the meeting point/our level of skiing/any requests we had for the lessons. He was always punctual. Pietro is a brilliant teacher: my husband and I both felt we had made improvements from our limited time with Pietro and our son made massive strides, going from a cautious, rather scared skiier to someone who can now ski with confidence and absolutely loves it - a really huge turnaround. Pietro speaks excellent English and is just a really lovely person who is brilliant with children. He was a complete delight to deal with and to learn from. We will definitely book him again.

Kirstie N.
05/04/2019

5.0

Pietro taught our kids whose comments are as follows: ‘Pietro was helpful and let us have a say on where we could go and what we could do. He also encouraged us to test our limits. He was very kind and chatty and we learned a lot. We definitely want him again next year! He knows lots of information about the mountains and told us lots of facts. His English is very very good.’

Claire S.
30/03/2019

4.9

Pietro was absolutely fantastic, very patient with our 2 young children, one of whom is autistic and he had a great way with children and helped ours go from complete beginners to pros in just a few short days. Would highly recommend Pietro to everyone and will definitely be calling him again next year x

Thomas E.
26/03/2019

5.0

Pietro is one of lifes genuinely nice people, he has an amazing passion (and talent) for skiing and goes out of his way to make you feel comfortable whilst ensuring you are being pushed to the next level and improving technically. We were a group of 4 adults of slightly differing levels and he managed to take time to focus on each of us individually whilst making sure everyone was still progressing (and skiing) rather than just hanging around waiting (as we have experienced with other instructors/group lessons in the past). His unwavering passion to help you improve as a skier whilst still maintaining the fun is outstanding and as a group we all completely agreed that these have been the best 4 days skiing we have ever had. Pietro really is a great guy and we can't wait to ski with him again next year!

Hattie L.
12/03/2019

5.0

We had a great experience, really listened to what we wanted on our afternoon! Taught us a lot but also just let us have fun!

David A.
15/02/2019

5.0

Pietro was great. Great lesson and I learnt loads from a very experienced and friendly instructor. Highly recommended...

Alan I.
09/02/2019

5.0

I first contacted Pietro a few days before I was due to arrive in Courmayeur with my 7 year old son. His communication skills are absolutely brilliant and extremely quick. I booked a 4 hour session with him to show us around the resort as well as refining our skiing techniques. Top class instructor, wonderful English spoken and in my opinion we will definitely use again when we visit next year. 5 Star service. Don’t delay book Pietro today.

Simon P.
08/02/2019

5.0

Pietro was very communicative from the outset and on the first day took us from our hotel to rent our skis and buy our lift passes. My son loved being taught by Pietro he is a shy boy who we would have struggled to leave with a complete stranger but on day 2 he just went off no problem, and progressed more quickly than we could ever imagine. He also split his time and gave my wife a couple of lessons she went from a complete beginner to being able to go down a blue run in just 2 hours. We can't thank Pietro for the experience he has given my son and hope to book him again soon.

Lucy H.
05/01/2019

5.0

I booked Pietro to guide my guests in La Thuile and they said "Pietro the ski guide was fantastic and made the holiday"

Fiona Hill-Samu... .
23/10/2018

5.0

Pietro is a fantastic instructor with a friendly manner & heaps of experience. I am a nervous skier and Pietro has definately improved my confidence and my ability over the last few years. He has also been able to challenge my competent ski friends giving them the best experience the mountain has to offer as well as being incredibly patient with the kids! We would defintely book Pietro every year but be quick as he’s in demand!

Alisi .
16/10/2018

5.0

We have used Pietro for since 2014. He has been an excellent instructor for our children, always patient, kind and fun. They love him. He has also taught me over the years and has offered invaluable advice. We wouldn't use anyone else. He has a particular flair for teaching children. They look forward to seeing him all year! I would recommend him to anyone looking for an excellent instructor who also understands how to make skiing fun for children.

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FAQs
Where is the meeting point?

You can arrange the meeting point with your chosen instructor by using the Maison Sport messaging system. We recommend agreeing this before you book your lessons, but it can always be arranged at a later date. The instructor should be able to suggest somewhere that is convenient for you both.

What qualifications do the instructors have?

Any instructor that has a blue ‘verified’ tick icon on their profile has had their qualifications vetted and verified by the Maison Sport team, the level of qualification required to have a verified account on Maison Sport varies slightly by country. As follows: France – all verified instructors must carry a ‘Carte Professionelle’ licence, the qualification requirements for this licence are very high. The licence is administered by the French Government (to attain a Carte Professionelle most instructors will have studied for an average of 5 years+ to attain the correct level of qualification). Aside from requiring the instructor to have the highest level of qualification, which includes numerous teaching and technical performance diplomas in skiing or snowboarding, European mountain safety courses and the Euro speed test, the instructors are also required to have a criminal record check and a first aid certificate. Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Finland, Scotland, Spain – all verified instructors must carry a minimum level of qualification which must be at the ISIA card level or above. Instructors working independently must provide documentation to show they meet the local regulatory requirements to do so and instructors that are working for a ski school must provide details of the school they work for.

How many people can take part in the lesson?

Unless otherwise agreed with the instructor no more than 6 people can take part in a lesson, each instructor will have their own policy for this, so it is best to just double check with them by sending a message. Most instructors won't charge extra if there is more than 1 person taking part in the lesson, but always best to check with them before booking.s

How do I book?

If you are on a desktop computer or laptop, you will see a box on the right hand side of the screen which contains various lesson options and pricing, simply select the lessons you would like and then click 'Book now', then follow the instructions to make payment. If you require further help visit the 'How to book' page - https://maisonsport.com/en/how-to-book

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