Anyone who has skied will tell you how exhilarating it is, how the thrill of feeling the wind on your face as you carve down the side of a hill and look out over pristine white slopes cant be explained until you have done it for yourself.

Ive always associated skiing with fun and freedom, its about being outdoors and just enjoying yourself, with nothing to think about other than the snow and how it feels blowing past you as you carve through it.

When I had the accident that meant I would probably be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life, the very first thing I did on leaving hospital was organise myself a weeks skiing in Sweden, with The Back-Up Trust. I didn't want to waste any time getting back into things, and needed to find something that didn't just challenge me physically and mentally, but that fulfilled my sense of adventure.

I returned from a weeks skiing in Sweden, being introduced to skiing sitting down using a sit-ski, and was ecstatic at how things hadn't changed.

The freedom and fun were all there still, probably more than before in-fact. Sitting down and being so close to the snow made things much more exciting and the sense of speed was amazing.

The techniques were pretty much the same too, in so much as the ski behaves the same whether it is connected to a seat or a foot, so I found that I took to things fairly well, which was great and I had no frustration at not being able to do things that I had been able to do standing up.

So after getting back from Sweden I set about finding out as much information as I could about disabled skiing and how to get more involved. I bought myself a shiny new Sit-Ski, a Praschberger, with the distinct desire to make it un-shiny as quickly as possible on the slopes.

I found out about a training camp in Canada and spent the 2006 season in Kimberley learning how to ski to a higher degree of skill, and basically having as much fun on the slopes as possible.

Skiing is part of my life now, it lets me get back into the kind of environment that makes me feel at home. Riding that first chair-lift each morning has never got boring and every-time I get off the lift, look out over the landscape in-front of me, I break out into one of those stupid smiles. Every-time.

So the natural progression was towards racing, with a shiny new race cover and paint job for the ski. Things didn't go smoothly though, and it wasn't until I made a trip to Colorado that I got the ski working just the way I needed.

Its still all about fun though, as long as Im having fun and enjoying that first chair-lift each day then I’m happy

Right now I train in Canada, on the resort slopes in Kimberely getting ready for the season ahead and preparing for races around the world. 2010 seems so close and everyday is needed if i am to stand a chance of getting to the Paralympics.

Getting up at 0600 each morning, skiing all day for 5 or 6 days a week, even in temperatures down to minus 30 Celsius can be hard, but being back amongst the hills again, and the freedom of skiing down them always makes up for it.

Skiing and Training alongside Paralympic athletes never lets me forget how much I need to improve and push myself everyday on the snow.

I will be keeping this page updated with news from training and upcoming races as and when it all happens, but the best place to read and see how I am getting on is via my blog.

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