 Poster: A snowHead
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Just back (literally - stuff in washing machine already!!) from my annual sojourn to Selva val Gardena. We had a fantastic week with sun shining every day. No flight delays - everything went perfectly.
When I was out skiing one day, I noticed a guy coming down the slope who only had one leg. I didn't like to stare (cos its rude) but what i could see was that he was skiing; he wasn't using conventional poles, like the rest of us do, but they were sort of poles with mini skis attached to them. Has anybody else seen this?
I only have one word for this guy - Respect!
Put a lot of able bodied people to shame.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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jb1970, very common sight - adaptive ski programme makes skiing accessible to peeps with all sorts of disabilty.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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There's a disabled ski club who meet at Tamworth - saw someone being taught to ski in a chair that had a monoski attached; he was using the same type of poles. Then there was an expert in a similar outfit - fantastic skill & balance.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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jb1970, there's a BASI instructor somewhere with one leg. Great too. He was an instructor on a ski clinic I did, but wasn't instructing our group.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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In Austria a 2 years ago there was a guy with only one leg skiing but he had an artificial leg with a small ski attached to it. Damn fine skier he was too.
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| jb1970 wrote: |
Just back (literally - stuff in washing machine already!!) from my annual sojourn to Selva val Gardena. We had a fantastic week with sun shining every day. No flight delays - everything went perfectly.
When I was out skiing one day, I noticed a guy coming down the slope who only had one leg. I didn't like to stare (cos its rude) but what i could see was that he was skiing; he wasn't using conventional poles, like the rest of us do, but they were sort of poles with mini skis attached to them. Has anybody else seen this?
I only have one word for this guy - Respect!
Put a lot of able bodied people to shame. |
Michael Milton (http://www.michaelmilton.com) is the Australian speed skiing record holder at 213.65kph...that's the record whether "able bodied" or not (it's not exactly appropriate to suggest Michael isn't able bodied if you've ever skied with him!). At various races over the years, he's been beating a good proportion of the guys with two legs!
When asked "how the hell do you do it, Mike" he replied..."I don't know how you do it...it's hard enough controling one leg!".
Legend!
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Frank Gardner was on Ski Sunday a couple of weeks ago doing the celebrity race course, he's now a sit-skier. choodalls did his training (rather than Graham Bell), as I understood it the little outrigger skis are the key to initiating turns on the main ski - you sort of stretch out with them in the direction you want to turn and that initiates turning on your single full sized ski.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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We shoujd raise some dosh for GB disabled skiing.
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There's a blind school / home near here and the Blind skiers are on the mountains every day.
It is simply amazing and I have great respect for them and their assistants/ 'eyes' ...... you see them at many levels of competence and some are really good ... the most 'advanced' skiing right next to their 'eyes' responding to verbal instruction ....
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Some years ago I met a mum with a one-legged son at a mountain restaurant (at Serre Chevalier IIRC). She asked me if I could be with him down a red run, since she could not keep up with him on a red, but she did not want him to ski it on his own. We went, including down a gun-barrel. He skied with panache. First time I had seen this type of skiing - I was most impressed.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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pam w,
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| there's a BASI instructor somewhere with one leg |
- that's Mike Hammond, who was 7th in the world overall in slalom, downhill, super G and giant slalom in 1998. (I think) he used to teach at the Hemel slope - maybe still does. He instructs able bodied skiers, then can remove his leg to instruct the disabled. Quite a guy - check his details here
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geoffers, yes, that's the person I was thinking of, but I'd forgotten his name. However, on the course I did, he skied entirely on one leg - I only ever saw him with one ski. The people in his group said the fact that he could not demonstrate "two legged" moves (like "long leg/short leg" turns) didn't seem to matter at all, because his explanations were so clear.
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You know it makes sense.
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The Red Bull Hike and Ride (pairs comp) winning Team last year, contained a sit skier. Quite an awe inspiring short video IMV, with music soundtrack. Take a good close look at the sit ski, most are a single ski rig, this one is built with a pair.
http://www.zapiks.com/Red-Bull-Hike-and-Ride-Switz.html
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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The French National Centre for Disabled skiing is in La Plagne at Aime 2000 We quite often see members of the French National team zooming about on their sit ski's, the centre also does weeks for disabled leisure skiers. Some info on their website http://www.antennehandicap.fr.st/
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Poster: A snowHead
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There seem to be more 'adaptive' (as they seem to be called) skiers in N.America. Some ski areas have well publicised facilities, providing kit and instruction, for example included in ski school publicity. I have no idea how the funding works. I suppose that the lower centre of gravity helps, but many of them ski beautifully and go like bats out of hell. I've seen adaptive skiers being taught, as well. It looks pretty labour intensive, with 2 instructors/pupil at least in the early stages, so it can't be an easy/cheap business to organise.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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pam w, He certainly was working for BASS in Avoriaz last year. Top bloke, very very entertaining. What's most impressive to me is that he learned to ski after losing his leg. Deep deep respect.
Not entirely sure how he demos snowploughs though... 
richmond, adaptive skiing is increasingly visible in Europe as well. It's been around for a while.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Mike is an amazing instructor. His website is www.skiskills.co.uk
A couple of years ago I was in a restaurant when Mike came in with a lower prosthetic leg attached, ski boot and leg all - all attached to each other and tucked under his arm. We didn't know who he was at the time and thought it a little, err, "strange".
5 minutes later another bloke arrived on one leg, other leg flapping.
"You seen Mike?"
"The bloke with the leg?"
"Yep. It's mine. I lost it, literally, on a corner!" 
Aparently the leg had come off and Mike had had to chase after it because the ski, boot and leg and continued down the hill.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Have waterskied with disabled people in particular one blind guy, Steve, who ski jumped!!!!
Total respect, I would not do it with all my faculties intact never mind not being able to see the ramp or where I was going to land.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| We shoujd raise some dosh for GB disabled skiing. |
That's a good idea.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Kramer, I agree too. Maybe FtS could organise it?
My favourite memory of Mike was watching him take his leg off and stuff it in his backpack before whizzing off on one ski..
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Keeping your balance on one leg travelling at more than 200kph can't be easy - Milton is the only one-legged skier ever to have done it - but Kirshner has no doubt his record is about to be broken.
"Speed skiing on one leg is definitely a disadvantage for a normal mortal but not for Michael Milton," Kirshner said.
"You try and do squats on one leg and see how you go. You'd probably fall over. Michael Milton doesn't and that's the difference.
"That's why he's the achiever and champion athlete that he is."
Then again "he can't get his skis crossed, can he?" quipped Kirshner, who's known Milton for about 20 years.
I remember watching him on the Flying K a couple of years ago.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Kramer wrote: |
| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| We shoujd raise some dosh for GB disabled skiing. |
That's a good idea. |
We are doing just that on CairnGorm Mountain on Saturday 15th March for Disability Snowsport UK (perhaps still widly known as the 'Uphill Ski Club') see http://whiteladychallenge.org.uk .
If you can't come along on the day and would like to support the event and Disability Snowsport UK, Winterhighland Forum member 'Hi Pennine' is collecting sponsorship online at http://www.justgiving.com/whitelady .
Alternatively if you'd like to sponsor a rider to raise money for both Disability Snowsport UK and the Cherished Uplift Fund drop me a PM on here (or on Winterhighland).
Jamie, Highland Instinct webmaster, has pledged to undertake the White Lady Challenge in his kilt... and aims to knock up an 'Everset'. So if you think that's worthy of a few extra £££££s.............
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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We met a blind snowboarder in Chamonix last april who was attempting some record or first ever, think it was blind heliboarding.
Just googled it and it was heliboarding. see http://www.feeltheedge.com/ and http://www.ifyouski.com/news/newsarticle/?ObjectID=7996515
It was very impressive to watch him and his team practising on the mountain with speed. He had an instructor connected by radio and a camera man and they were flying down Bochard.
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