Having discovered mono skiing whilst watching the X games earlier this year I knew I just HAD to have a go. I surf a lot in kayaks, but after a worsening of my condition I suffered a major collapse (whilst in one of my kayaks) and was pulled off the beach by the Coastguard, RNLI lifeguards and Paramedics with a core body temperature of just 34.6 degrees, lucky not to have drowned. These two things happened about 6 months apart and led me to start properly looking into adaptive skiing, figuring I can’t drown if my brain shuts me down whilst sat in a mono ski!!!
I found my nearest(!) indoor slope at Tamworth and got in touch with Holly Oughton, the DSUK instructor there. Given the distance to travel, a round trip of 430 miles, I asked Holly to give me 3 (1 hour) sessions in one day, which she agreed to. My Wife and I booked into a local B&B the night before to make sure that we could get there for 9am, my Wife was going to spend the day snowboarding whilst I had a go at mono skiing.
I found my nearest(!) indoor slope at Tamworth and got in touch with Holly Oughton, the DSUK instructor there. Given the distance to travel, a round trip of 430 miles, I asked Holly to give me 3 (1 hour) sessions in one day, which she agreed to. My Wife and I booked into a local B&B the night before to make sure that we could get there for 9am, my Wife was going to spend the day snowboarding whilst I had a go at mono skiing.
When Holly came to meet me in the morning we first went through the paperwork and then she went and fetched a ski. She got me to sit in the ski whilst she held on to it then said "can you balance?" and let go. I didn't fall over so she went "Oh, okay, can you do it with your arms over your head?" and let go again, but I still didn't fall over, so she then said "Might as well go from the top then!" So off we went!!! I guess we must have spent 2 hours or so on that first session, but with breaks to adjust the outriggers (the breaks really get in the way!) and for me to take medication. I think I smiled for the whole time! We had a 2 hour break for lunch as the SnowDome put on a tobogganing session, during which my Wife got me to pay for some new snow trousers that she ‘needed’, then got back to it at about 2:30 after some more meds.
It’s at this point that I have to tell you just how amazing Holly is! She was so keen and was having so much fun that it just really boosted my confidence and made me want to try and go as far as I could in the time that I had. By the end of our 3 hours I was shot (I’m not sure which hurt more; my arms from the outriggers or my facial muscles from grinning!) , but I’d only fallen over 3 times and had made a few turns on my own too, in fact the only real disappointment of the day was when my Wife told me she only got 2 photos because I “was going too fast all the time”!!! Still, one thing I am CERTAIN of is that I will be back, 430 miles though it may be, and I will be doing everything I can to get in a monoski as often as possible. The whole experience was amazing, but the things that really made it were DSUK and Holly; you guys have given me a new passion, something I really NEED to do again and do as often as I can.I guess the only question now is how long have I got left to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics..?
You are always an inspiration to me Chris, you live your life more fully than most able bodied people. You were awesome on that slope in that ski and Holly was so impressed with your attitude and efforts. I am looking forward to sharing many more days on the slope with you.
ReplyDeleteWife (who 'needed' new snowboard pants because my waistline is not what it once was!!) ;P