Going Downhill Fast

It was 1980 while in college I tried downhill snow skiing at Winter Park, Colorado for the first time.  By the end of the first day I caught on well enough to be running black diamond slopes.  I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience of downhill snow skiing.  Are you surprised?  It was so refreshing to inhale mountain air again, view the majesty of big mountains and take advantage of gravity on a slippery slope.

While there at Winter Park for the first time I noticed instructors helping the disabled get involved with the snow ski experience and was impressed that there were volunteers willing to be there for the disabled and that the disabled were willing to experience the challenge.  Little did I know I would personally benefit from such unselfish volunteer instructors years later.

Fast forward to November 2012.  I received a call mid-November from Sharolyn Snyder from Paradise Ranch over in Springfield Tennessee.  Recognizing me to be active outdoors with camping, handcycling, kayaking, and wheelchair she called to see if I would be interested in joining the snow ski experience for disabled at Winter Park, Colorado in January 2013.  I told her that I would be interested in going but probably couldn't because the expense of going would be prohibitive for me.  Sharolyn called me back a couple days later saying that she had found a sponsor for me if I still wanted to go.  How long does it take an outdoor junkie to reply to an offer like that?  I WAS IN!

Airline tickets were soon purchased for the January 14-18 experience.  What would it be like skiing in my paralyzed condition?  I would soon find out.

The next few weeks after that offer to go was spent in checking to make sure I had all the gear I needed to stay warm on the snow-covered slopes.  Much of the gear I already had for handcycling in winter conditions.

• Ski pants
• Very Insulated Jacket
• Ski Goggles
• Helmet
• Long Underwear
• Gloves/Mitts
• Insanely Insulated Boots
• Balaclava (covering my head and face)
• Go Pro Camera to record the experience

My sister, Malinda, volunteered to drive me to Nashville airport on Monday afternoon, January 14.  I felt like somebody important as I was delivered to the departure curbside.  A quick transfer to my wheelchair placed me on a roll that eventually ended beside a king size bed in which I would be sleeping that night.  Of course there was a lot of amazing hands, wheels, and wings that helped me span the distance from Cookeville, Tennessee that morning to Winter Park, Colorado that evening.  I didn't even have to worry about getting my boarding pass at the kiosk, and check my luggage in (thank you Jillian and Andrew)!  Even getting through TSA, to the correct gate, on and off the plane, to baggage claim, into and out of the rental vehicle was made so simple for me.  All I had to do was sit there and watch the expert travelers and caregivers take care of everything!  Thanks to everyone involved!

Tuesday morning (about 0630 in my room) started the flurry of activity necessary to make it to National Sports Center for the Disabled NSCD by the 0900 appointed time.  I was very impressed with the teamwork required to assist with preparing breakfast, dressing for cold weather, help those of us that needed help with ADLs, get us fed and out the door to meet the appointment time on time.  Happened all three days of skiing.

The NSCD volunteer ski instructor staff were well-informed ahead of time what each of our specific needs were to make skiing a custom fit for us.  My instructors for the day would be Tim and Loren.  They were extremely sensitive to my needs and invited my communication for maximum success of my snow ski experience.  They worked well together and with me.  It felt SO good to be back in the crisp mountain air although I discovered that by the time I arrived back at the condo that evening 20 below zero proved a bit frisky to my ability to stay sufficiently warm.  It took most of the night for me to warm up.

Wednesday morning was a repeat of Tuesday morning with the exception of a few minutes later start, yet we still made it to the NSCD on time.  The majority of our Tennessee group chose to go snowmobiling today but I was there for snow skiing so snow skiing I went.  I am so glad because something clicked well with the instructors I had.  Emily and Beck had excellent team working skills.  Emily works full time with NSCD.  Beck is from Alabama where he does lawn maintenance by summer and ski instructor by winter.  Emily is exceptionally good at communicating directions from behind my sit chair as she tethered me down the slopes.  Today we were taking more risks than yesterday... and more crashes!  I felt that I performed better at a higher rate of speed.  Four o'clock quitting time came much too quickly.

 Me and Tim stopping long enough for a photo before heading over the hill behind us.

By Thursday morning we are beginning to develop a rhythm for getting out the door on time for our NSCD ski instruction appointment time.  Rather than making multiple runs with the rental SUV a local bus service with a wheelchair lift was used to get us to the base of the slopes.  Today Tim and Rich were assigned to work with me.  I had a positive experience with Tim on Tuesday and was glad to have some familiarity with his style.  Brent and Sharolyn Snyder made arrangements with Tim and Rich to be at the top of the chair lift so they could get pictures and videos of my ski experience to add to their slideshow at Paradise Ranch.  Brent and Sharolyn would ski ahead and video as we approached.  During the morning I learned that there are different instructor styles that work for better or for worse for me.  I crashed a lot more this morning but noticed those crashes happened at slower speeds.  A third instructor was added to the mix during the afternoon.  Patrick was younger than Tim and Rich and much more aggressive when it came to getting me in position for the next chairlift to the top.  By afternoon it was beginning to click with me how to carve turns for controlling speed and direction. 

A well fed fox at our condo.  Notice the size of his shadow.

Before we left the condo that morning it was discovered a well fed fox was curled up on a sunlit snow bank near the garage entrance at the base of the condo.  An attempt to draw him close was made with leftover breakfast being tossed at him.  He gobbled everything he could possibly fit into his stomach and then carried a muffin to a snow bank where he dug a hole and then buried it with his nose.  The leftover breakfast scraps also interested the raven's and magpies.  I counted at least 15 ravens and five magpies hopping around for their part of the leftovers.  The Fox finally gave up trying to defend the food.

The amazing teamwork continued for our Friday return trip from Denver to Nashville.  We left Denver at 61° and arrived in Nashville with 47°.  Doesn't seem quite right.  Malinda met me at the curb where I was quickly inserted into the front seat of her van and my luggage loaded.  I counted 54 transfers Andrew assisted me with from Monday through Friday.  It's a good thing I'm fairly lightweight and he had sufficient strength for picking me up out of my wheelchair to insert me other places such as vehicle seats, the bed, etc.  It was good to sleep in my own bed that evening.

The overall snow ski experience was so liberating to my mountain and motion starved gypsy blood.  I am told that in order to become competitive at snow skiing I will need to graduate to a mono ski sit chair.  I feel I have a lot of work ahead of me with the bi-ski sit chair before considering a mono ski which means I need to spend a lot of time in snow country.  So many details would have to be overcome in order to get there, details such as how to cover the cost of living, a snow worthy vehicle, caregivers, lift tickets, instructor fees, and much more!  Unless some pretty amazing financial gymnastics are discovered I will probably need to discover contentment in waiting for spring with more kayaking, handcycling, and wheelchair pushing.  The same January snow ski trip with Paradise Ranch in 2014 will be here before I know it.