Adaptive Skiing is Exciting

First, we practiced walking in our ski boots to get a feel for them. It was a bit challenging, but it didn’t take me long to get used to them. They were uncomfortable at first because I couldn’t straighten my legs, but I liked them because when I walked, they sounded like Storm Trooper boots from Star Wars. We started walking down the hill just to get a feel for it, and then we learned the different ways to position your feet in order to ski.

Then we started with just the right ski. I didn’t really feel comfortable balancing on one foot yet my first time, so I just let my right foot slide down the hill and kind of pushed off with my left foot as I slid. I had ski poles so I liked having something to hold on to. The second time I wanted to try balancing on my right foot with the ski, but I fell. I sort of learned how to get up, but since it only happened once I don’t really remember how to do it. The powder snow definitely didn’t feel great when I fell, but I’m the kind of person who can just dust myself off and keep going. Then we tried with just the left ski. There was always an instructor at the bottom of the hill talking for us to follow their voice, and he tried to show me how to balance on my left foot with the ski, but I wouldn’t do it while moving.

Then we put on both skis. I did MUCH better with both skis than just one, but liked getting a feel for it first. The first position we learned was the pizza wedge, which is where you spread your toes, but keep your heels together similar to how a penguin would walk, and it slows you down and stops you. I had to practice that for a while because I would try to stop, but I wouldn’t move my toes far enough apart so I kept going and I would run into the instructor. It was either that, or my skis would cross in the front because I didn’t realize how close together they were and I would almost fall. I always had an instructor walking next to me down the hill verbally helping me with my footing, so that was very helpful. It’s still really hard for me to move my feet with the skis on them, but I’m pretty patient!

The next position we learned was French Fries, which means you just keep your feet as if you’re walking, but spread them out a little. That’s how you pick up speed, so that one was my favorite. I couldn’t learn French fries until I got the hang of pizza, but it didn’t take me long to get to the point where I was beginning to stop. When I was able to do French Fries, the instructor jokingly stepped out of the way so I wouldn’t run into him. I was able to stop, but it was a very slow stop, which they said was pretty good for my first time skiing.

Then we took off our skis and went on a carpeted Ski Lift to take us back to the top of the hill with just our ski boots, and then in our skis. I did much better with my skis than just the boots and I have no idea why! Now we were going down a much bigger hill. I practiced the pizza wedge all the way down because I was still struggling to stop. I think it will just take more practice, but I definitely got better each time.

Then we learned how to turn, and I think that was the hardest thing. At this point I was able to stop much faster than I could before, but I had trouble turning. After a few tries, I did okay turning to the right, but I couldn’t figure out how to turn to the left. I definitely want to practice more and get better at it because it was really fun!

Overall, I really enjoyed Skiing, and I would love to do it again on actual snow. Vermont actually has an adaptive skiing program for anyone with any disability.

If you’re interested, feel free to check out this link for more info https://www.vermontadaptive.org/

The Whole Person is also hosting the Kansas City Ultimate Games in June that includes adaptive sports like Boccia, Para Power Lifting, and Cycling. It will be held at Basehor-Linwood High School from June 13 through the 16th. If you’d like to learn more, sign up to participate, or volunteer, head to this link. https://kcultimategames.org/

For other Adaptive Sports, check out what The Whole Person has to offer at our Adaptive Sports page