To Ski or not to Ski ...No question!
One day, a strange thing happened to me in Winter Park, Colorado. It was late afternoon and I was heading off down the hill for a little ‘après ski’ when suddenly, I felt a bit emotional ! There was even a hint of a tear in my eye !! No, I hadn’t got my salopettes too tight ! It was just that I felt so pleased with myself having spent the day out on the mountain ...skiing ...where I wanted to. Just like everyone else.

I’d had a great day. I got on well with my instructor for the day (Ben Clarke) and we’d had a good laugh. I didn’t fall over much and I was in control of where my skis were taking me. It was whilst on the final run back, with other people on the piste all around me, that all of a sudden, I felt equal. Not that I usually suffer from much of an inferiority complex but I simply felt that I’d been out to play in the snow for the day like all the others. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. I guess that most of us just want the opportunity to achieve that feeling of equality. It really is a great feeling.

 At first you may think that skiing seems an improbable thing for a paraplegic or tetraplegic person to be doing, but for a lot of wheelchair users it is possible to go out on the mountain independently. You may be thinking "Oh yeah fine, but I can’t get onto the chairlifts can I ?" ...Wrong. We can use the chairlifts. The sit skis that we use have a brilliant cantilever system that alters the height of the seat. A handle, which you pull, or a small manual pneumatic pump under the seat usually operates this. When you use it, the whole sit-ski seat lifts into the air ready for the chairlift to come around and scoop you up. Dismounting at the top is simply a matter of throwing your weight forward to slide off and down to the piste ready to ski.

There are a variety of different styles of sit ski used to cater for various levels of ability. If your balance and arm movement is quite good you can sit yourself on one of the mono-skis. That’s right, mono as in only one ski ! You have a short pole in each hand with a tiny ski on the end. This is used in much the same way that ‘standing up’ skiers use their sticks. They aid balance and can be ‘planted’ to help induce turns. There are also bi-skis, which are a bit easier to balance on, but due to having two skis underneath you, turns tend to not be as tight as the mono-ski. If your balance is a bit ‘iffy’ the bi-ski should feel easier to control.

It is possible to use a sit ski even if you have a high-level spinal injury affecting your balance and arm movement. This is achieved by the use of a bi-ski equipped with fixed outriggers to act as stabilisers. Steering is achieved by holding onto a bar in front of you and leaning your body weight to either side. With this type of set-up it is possible for tetraplegics with very high level injuries, to get out onto the snow and have a great time.
One thing that you notice when using a sit-ski is the tremendous speed that you can build up whilst hurtling down the hillside. Though of course it is wise to keep it under control. There is the potential to actually go faster than other skiers due to the fact that you only have one ski, thus halving the amount of friction. Combine that with the extra weight of the sit-ski itself and you have quite a speedy set-up.

At the begining of this page I mentioned Winter Park. This is actually the American National Ski Centre for the Disabled (NSCD) and is an excellent venue for wheelchair users. They have at their disposal some 1,700 instructors and the ones I have met have been of a very high standard. The surrounding Rocky Mountains make a fabulous setting, with tremendous views from the 12,060 foot summit. The village itself has a very friendly atmosphere and the food is excellent with the chance to try a variety of restaurants offering Mexican, Cajun, Ranch Style and of course the ubiquitous Macdonald’s. There are also more than enough bars to keep you going for a couple of weeks.


Here's a few facts about Winter Park:

Average snowfall 370". Compared to Vail 341" and Aspen 300". Three hundred and seventy inches, thats 30' - YES THIRTY FOOT of snow falls every winter. Thats the most snowfall of any major resort in Colorado.
The NSCD is the largest program of its kind in the world. The instructors there teach almost 25,000 lessons each winter.
Winter Park is only sixty seven miles from Denver city and eighty five miles from Denver International Airport.
The top of the main mountain is 12,060 feet up and you can ski right from the top! There are 2,886 skiable acres. You can ski non-stop for five miles top to bottom on the longest run. Winter Park village is at an elevation of 9,000 feet.
There are quite a few Web sites with relevant information, just do a search in Alta Vista, or your favorite search program, for "Winter Park".
Official site: www.skiwinterpark.com
Chat group: www.skiwinterpark.com/wpmj/chat
Information guide: www.toski.com
Snowmobiles: www2.columbine.com
More info: www.skiin.com


If you have a spinal injury and you are interested in going skiing then contact Back-Up. They take groups to skiing venues in Europe and America and have a great deal of experience and knowledge in taking spinally injured people on ski trips. It was with Back-Up that I first went skiing and we had a fantastic time. If you want to know more about Back-Up you can either contact me and I'll be happy to help if I can, or contact them direct via:
back-up@backuptrust.org.uk
Telephone 0181 875 1805.
 Adaptive skiing organisations:

The British Winter Sports Commission (BWSC) is an association promoting winter sports for all disabled people. Telephone 0118 934 3377.
The British Ski Club for the Disabled (BSCD) attend venues nationwide through a network of artificial ski slopes catering for all disabillities. The BSCD also have a holiday programme. Telephone 01784 431918.
Scotlands Alternative Skiers (The SAS CLub) offer an open door policy to all disabillities promoting skiing on and off snow by dry slope facillities and annual weekend and club holiday events. Telephone 01224 324521.
The National Handicapped Skiers Association (NHSA) provide the equipment and expertise to enable the physically disabled to learn to ski and to reach whatever level they can achieve. Telephone 01279 420472.
The Uphill Ski Club provides equipment, helpers and tuition with specially qualified BASI/PSIA Adaptive Instructors for people with all disabillities, on residential week long courses or at their permanent Ski School at the Cairngorm Ski Area in Scotland. Telephone 01479 861272.

There is a specialist ski holiday company named Erna Low. A brochure is available and they can be contacted via e-mail at: ernalow@easynet.co.uk or visit their website at: www.ernalow.co.uk They say in their brochure that 50% discount can be had off ski passes for La Plagne, Tignes and Avoriaz so it is obviously worth a look ! They also mention a car with hand controls available at Lyon.