Tribal Snow Academy

Whistler is not merely a resort, it is a community founded by dreams and aspirations. Whistler is a town created by the people who dreamt to live in the mountains and has become a “melting pot” of international diversity. There is a bond in people who share the same interests. At, Tribal we hope you can come to see and feel the awe-inspiring mountains, the warmth of canadians as they greet you in the village, and the calm of nature as you ski the Pacific northwest Coastal mountains.

Whistler was the main venue for all the snow sliding sports at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and with a prominent presence by the world’s eyes last winter, Whistler’s name has been set in stone, becoming synonimous as one of the top ski resorts in the World.

Tribal Snow Academy’s founding director and family have been one of the pioneers in the development of the resort.  in the late 1970′s , Toshi Hamazaki (director’s father) established the International Heli-Ski School into Whistler as a veteran ski guide/ patrol / and Instructor, and later introduced the Japanese Tourist industry to Whistler.

Whether you are an aspiring pro, or simply an avid powder hound, our multi-faceted ski program offers skiers the optimal winter season experience. Tribal Snow Academy is Whistler’s premier Freeride and Freestyle ski program offering both part-time and full time training programs.

Take advantage of the knowledge our world famous coaching staff have to share with you to master the steep and deep terrain at North America’s top ranked ski destination. Now with a decade of coaching excellence under our belt, and adding to that the myriad of mountain knowledge, Tribal has secured a positive momentum for our future members, and aspiring ski stars to take their skiing to the next level.

Many Tribal Snow Alumni have gone on to aquiring equipment sponsors, and have set off internationally competing in notorious competitions such as WSSF (World Ski & Snowboard Festival), X-Games, World-Cup, and even the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver! Live the dream and share the experience with international peers who are there for the same reason you are.

1. Tribal is the premier and longest running full time specialized training program for mogul/freeride skiers in Whistler!
2. Tribal Team has been running successfully for the past 10 years, starting in 1999-2000 season!
3. 12+ international Tribal athletes have become pro sponsored ski stars, competing at The US OPEN, WSSF, and X-Games.
4. Athletes can choose specialized programs to maximize their season, as well as extra curricular programs such as Co-op Ski Program.
5. Tribal Snow Academy is an accredited member of the PCTIA. Our veteran coaches are all certified elite level CFSA or CSIA members.
6. The coach to athlete ratio at Tribal is very small, and coaches are fully committed to each skier on the team.
7. Skiers at Tribal are from all different age groups, and all different levels, and are from all over the world!
8. In addition to our top coaching staff, the most notorious ski film stars do guest coaching appearances through out the course of each season. Mark Abma (Matchstick Productions), Dana Flahr (TGR), Rex Thomas (L1P), Chris Turpin (Poorboyz/Mystic Land) and many more!
9. At Tribal, Athletes excel at not only skiing, but life skills … working together, living together, positive vibrations fill the lives of each individual.
10. Having Whistler/Blackcomb as our main training hill, enables us to utilize the #1 ranked terrain park and backcountry riding in the world.

The History of Tribal Snow Academy…

Tribal was a concept that was dreamt up over the course of many years operating TMC FREERIDERZ PRO SHOP (North America’s 1st Mogul & Freeride Pro Shop – Est1994) and being the son of a pioneer heli skiing company president, ski patrol, and pro ski instructor… Toshi Hamazaki. Thinking “wouldn’t it be awesome to have a fully equiped Development Team” for our new sport to teach kids the fundamentals, I gathered up the best local skiers in the area who happened to be some of the world’s best skiers… Chris Turpin, Rex Thomas, Myles Ricketts, Dana Flahr, Oakley White-Allen, Ryan Mckeeman, Marc Amba… just to name a few, and set out on establishing the team in 2000. We started off with 10 members who Lived & Breathed skiing… After getting feedback and watching the improvment in these individuals… We knew it was going to be a success!

The Name

The Tribal name came from the ever prominent fact that we are a family… no matter what. The coaches are like brothers, in turn who coach their younger sibling (sometimes older)… and so forth. As a freeride/mogul coach with the Blackcomb Freestyle Ski Club, I sponged loads of coaching knowledge from the local kids on the team and many fellow coaches, Marc Mcdonell, Mike Douglas, and Brett Wood of whom I am ever grateful…

The Game

After a few years of steady flow through our programs, we sought for a new side to our program… creating a group for aspiring pros. This group consisted of skiers of various ages with a common goal… to become a proffessional skier… Either video, media, coaching & intsructing, sales rep, or competition… we wanted to see our team members create a career from skiing. We started sending our kids to regional competitions culminating top medals in freestyle skiing… We also tested our hard work at WSSF, and various high calliber comps. In 2006, Kiyoshi Terada who started freeride skiing with Tribal Snow Academy in 2001, launched himself to pro with a sweep through qualifiers, semi-finals, and into super finals at 2006 WSSF Super Pipe and glistened as top 12 in the world.

The Fame

We are very into promoting our team members who are in our team to follow their dreams and take themselves a step further… With many connections through our Shop, we hope to provide sponsorship from our brand TMC, and manage sponsor deals from various other companies… The future is bright for Tribal…

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