Ski Manufacturers

Praschberger
Yetti
Tessier
IsoSki

Ski Schools and Courses

Embassy Disabled Ski
Back-Up Trust
Avoriaz Alpine Ski School
Total Skid Skolan
Adaptive Sports
Colorado Discover Ability

Before I ended up in a wheelchair I would never of thought it was possible for someone paralysed from the waist down (and in many cases, paralysed from the chest down) to hit the slopes and ski with just the same speed and control as anyone else. Indeed, the main reaction I get from people when I tell the that I ski is “So you ski, like on snow? How does that work?”, which is perfectly normal.

Even on the slopes, people will ask how the sit-ski works and comment on it being such a cool piece of equipment, which it is.

So I decided to introduce the equipment to people, so you know just how we ski whilst sitting down, and to hopefully answer a few questions from other people in wheelchairs who want to try skiing but arent sure if they have the necessary strength and control.

The easy answer is that pretty much anyone, no matter what disability, can let rip on the slopes.

I ski in a Praschberger Mono Sit-Ski which is basically a chair attached to a ski.

The chair basically comes down to form a base, which is a metal block formed to the same shape as a ski boot, so it just clicks into binding in the same way that someone would clip their feet into a ski with a normal ski boot.

In this picture you can see the metal “boot” fitted into a normal ski and binding.

The chair (commonly referred to as the “bucket”) itself is normally made form fibre-glass and should be measured to fit very snugly, in theory it is the same as a good fitting ski boot, in that it is how you control and maneuver the ski itself on the snow. There are straps across the tops of the knees and across the waist to ensure the ski is forming as much of an extension to your body as possible, and to make sure you stay in the thing when you wipe out. Which happens. :-)

No special ski’s are used, just a normal ski with a normal binding, although its a good idea to have the DIN settings on the ski binding cranked up as high as possible so the sit-ski wont pop out of the binding if you wipe out.
I ski on a mono-ski, using just one ski, but different models are available with two skis, giving a more stable platform.

Anyone who ski’s standing up will tell you how sore their legs and thighs will be after a day on the slopes. That is because when standing up to ski, the legs are used as suspension, bending at the knees to absorb the change in terrain. Sitting down takes away the natural suspension and shock absorbency of the legs, so something else is needed. All sit-ski’s are fitted with some sort of shock absorbers to help with deal with the bumps and jumps. You can see the shock absorber on this Praschberger sit-ski with its white compression coil.

In the picture on the right you can see the ski in its “extended” position, a quick flip of a catch and a lean forward extends the ski into this position so that you can load onto a chair lift. This is an awesome, and vital, little design addition to the ski. Allowing you to load and unload onto chair-lifts unaided and basically ski completely independently. Getting into position and allowing the chair-lift to come forward and under the seat is a lot easier than it sounds, honest.

Plus, its always funny when you forget to lock the switch, get a bit of air on the hill and end up landing in this position. That is always good fun.

A simple piece of rope, with a quick release system, means using T-bars is just as quick and simple as ever too.

Although we have little crutch type things with small ski’s on the end, called outriggers, these arent really used too much whilst skiing at all. These are mainly used to push yourself around at the bottom of the hill, and to hit annoying snow-boarders.

While actually skiing the control is all from balance, leaning the ski over onto its edge, very much in the same way that you would lean a bike over to one side to steer around a bend, without actually moving the handle bars.

In the picture on the left, you can see a skier starting a turn by leaning to one side, leading with his arm. But the outrigger isn't actually bearing any weight, all the control and direction is coming from his body position and the ski itself.

Yeah, he is pretty good, and not exactly hanging about either. Show-Off.

So that is a basic introduction to the type of ski equipment I use, and how easy it is to around the slopes. Skiing is one of the most accessible outdoor sports for people in wheelchairs. If you have a local ski resort with a ski-school, or are planning a ski holiday somewhere, then chances are they will have equipment for you to hire, and instructors to teach you. If you are from the UK and want to see if skiing is for you, without having to buy the expensive equipment first, then you should get in touch with The Back-Up Trust and get a place on one of their ski experience weeks to Sweden or Colorado.

Even disabled people with a fairly high level of spinal injury can ski. Although I have just shown the mono-ski, other types of sit-ski’s are available with two ski’s, giving more stability and allowing for less balance control.  People with the highest level of spinal breaks can get out on the slopes and feel the thrill of fresh snow, specially designed ski-carts are available in some places, especially in Sweden and Winter Park in the USA.

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