Pitztal 2017 - In which I nearly raced (twice)…

My last skiing adventure of the year took place in Pitztal, Austria, where I was due to compete in two races, one of which would be my first giant slalom race. As usual the races followed a few days of training where I got the chance to build on my skills.

Having just taken ownership of the new chest strap on my monoski I spent the first day of training focussing on proprioception and what I could feel through various parts of my body. This, with time will allow me to identify when to put my body into the best positions to deal with the conditions I am facing. I also found the new chest strap a massive help as it helps keep my trunk more stable as I can get it tighter much more easily; it is also more comfortable than the old one, which is another bonus.

We spent the next few days gate training, both slalom and GS, I’m getting more confident skiing faster and closer to the gates but I still have a lot to work on with regards to being smooth and consistent. One big lesson I learnt was just how many layers I could be wearing and still be able to move! (It was extremely cold all week, with temperatures averaging at around -20° most days.)

Unfortunately when it came to the race days there was no improvement in the weather. The day of the slalom race was particularly stressful as to get to the glacier in Pitztal you have to go on a train first. This train can only take nine wheelchair users at a time (and around half of the competitors are wheelies) and I am not a very assertive person, this led to me not getting on until the fifth train up, leaving me a bit worried about timings. However, as my train pulled into the station, I was informed that the race had been cancelled as the weather made it too dangerous.

The next day, GS race day, we headed out with optimism as the sky was clear and the snow on the ground relatively good, I was looking forward to getting my first giant slalom race done.  Inspection took place as planned and then the first run began. This was not to last, as it soon became apparent that a storm was coming in - fast. This happened three skiers before I was due to set off (bib 41 was in the start gate, I was bib 44). After pausing the race for a while (just after I had taken off my coat in a -30° snowstorm), once again for safety, the race had to be called off.

This was a bit disappointing but I will have plenty more chances to race in the not-so-distant future, and with the additional training I will be able to perform even better.

Classification 2.0 - It's Landgraaf Again!

I recently made the journey to Landgraaf in The Netherlands once again, this time to be re-classified and to compete in the first slalom races of the season, I also took part in my first ever Europa Cup race.

I wrote two years ago about the classification experience, but this time round it was a little bit different due to the nature of my disability now (I have HSP which is progressive and I have deteriorated significantly over the last few years). Last time I was still able to move my legs and walk so the session mostly paid attention to my leg function, but this time, after the basic reflex and spasticity measurements in my legs the focus shifted towards my arms and core. The classifiers realised pretty quickly that I have no sitting balance due to lack of trunk muscle use, by my attempts to sit up unsupported and by feeling my body as I carried out certain tasks to try and detect muscle activation (at one point they thought they had found an ab - this turned out to be my baclofen pump!). I also had the strength and coordination in my arms extensively tested. Then it was on to the wobble board test - this was very short lived as it instantly became apparent that I wouldn’t be able to make any of the movements they were looking for.

The result of my classification was that I am now in the LW10.1 class, this is for athletes with the most severe disabilities who have no leg or core function, who rely entirely on their shoulders and arms alone to ski. This was a bit of a surprise to me as it was quite a leap from the LW12.1 I had been racing under for the past two years. (I had gone from the second least disabled class to the most disabled class.)

After a day of training it was time for the races, the first of which did not exactly go to plan. The conditions on the course were not very good, providing a combination of sheet ice surrounded by big mounds of snow, and due to this, I ended up falling half way down the first run. As I turned the tail of my ski got caught in one of the snow banks, whipping me over, unfortunately I landed in a bad position, so I was unable to get myself up, putting me out of this race. This failure actually turned out to be quite helpful though, as it meant I could watch the rest of the race (which had some of the world’s best skiers competing in it), paying particular attention to those with the same classification as me, so I could watch their technique and try to implement it in my own skiing.

The next WPAS (World Para-Alpine Skiing) race was much more successful. The courses had been set slightly differently to account for the icy patches, making the conditions much more conducive to racing. Knowing the state of the course I made the decision to ski relatively cautiously, this worked well, allowing me to get through both runs 1 and 2 without any drama. Run 3 turned out a bit differently. It was all going pretty smoothly until just two gates from the finish; I skidded on some ice and fell. The few seconds it took for me to get back up may have been some of the tensest seconds in my life, but I managed to finish the race in a respectable 4^th place. (And after looking at the results we realised that if I hadn’t have fallen I could have taken 3^rd place!)

The next day was supposed to be my first Europa Cup slalom race, however, with the previous days being so busy, and my condition itself causing quite severe fatigue, I was left absolutely exhausted. After struggling to keep myself awake during the course inspection, I decided to pull out of the race and dedicate the remainder of the day to resting prior to the final race. This turned out to be a great decision as although I was still pretty tired the following day, I could at least get my arms to do what my brain was telling them. I actually managed to ski the first two runs pretty well, with faster times than the previous days, but once again run 3 was my downfall. I managed to topple over half way down, and just didn’t have the energy left to push myself back up. Although slightly disappointing, it wasn’t too bad, as I knew I had skied well leading up to the fall.

I came home from this trip having achieved the goals I set out to. Namely getting my new classification and finishing my first race of the season, now I just have to see what the rest of the season has in store for me.

Hintertux (x2)

I spent the beginnings of both the months of September and October in Hintertux, Austria with the British Parasnowsport Development Squad, focussing mainly on Giant Slalom (GS). Unfortunately on the first camp, I wasn’t very well, and on the three days I did manage to ski, it wasn’t a massive success - the main lesson I learnt on this camp was that trying to force the body to do high intensity exercise when unwell is not a good idea, especially if you already have problems with fatigue. Luckily the camp a month later was much better, and I managed to make some good progress in both my general skiing skill level, and in GS race courses.

Prior to this camp (the successful one - the earlier camp I have chosen to pretend didn’t happen) we had made a number of adjustments to my sit ski in order to maximise performance on snow. A strap was added to the backrest allowing it to be fixed in place to enable me to lean forward into a turn without falling into my knees (as my core function has deteriorated significantly).  This worked very well and makes it much easier to put pressure on the tip of the ski when needed. The other main change we made was adding extra padding to the seat itself and the backrest, as I appear to have shrunk since I got the rig two years ago! This has been useful as it brings the sides of my rig into contact with my body, which makes it much more responsive to the movements I make, so I can be more precise when skiing and generally have better control.

Throughout the block of training there was a lot of experimentation on different lines to take through the course to determine the best outcome. In addition to this I was also working on ways to maintain speed even on flatter terrain by skiing closer to the gates and getting the transition between turns smoother. By the end of the camp these were improving, although there is always room for improvement. 

Over the course of the ten-day camp, I managed fairly well on the crash front…

Until the last run on the last day, I was heading in slightly early due to fatigue, and my body went into spasm, throwing me onto my head with a few rolls before I came to a stop. I was fine - I escaped with only a mildly battered face, unfortunately the same cannot be said for one of my outriggers, I managed to snap the ski part of it off completely. This effectively rendered me trapped at the top of a rather steep and icy slope! Fortunately one of my coaches was able to bucket me down (ski for me by holding on to the back of the rig and skiing behind - not an easy job) safely to the bottom.

My skiing has improved quite a lot over the summer and pre-race season camps, and I am looking forward to putting it to the test in the races over the coming months. Events will kick off in Landgraaf in early November where I will be re-classified (as my condition is progressive) and take part in my first races of the season.

Landgraaf - Summer Edition

My next adventure as an official member of the British ParaSnowsport Development Squad was a slalom-based camp in Landgraaf (because going away skiing in August wasn’t strange enough we also had to do it in The Netherlands!).

I did find this block of training a bit more difficult than those in the past as my body decided to throw a bit of a tantrum and my spasms were completely out of control. This meant I struggled to tolerate being strapped into my rig in the cold, I also spent quite a lot of time quite violently kicking both the dinner table and whoever was unfortunate enough to be sitting opposite me! There was a bit of concern that my intrathecal baclofen pump could have been malfunctioning but since coming home my doctors have done tests and come to the conclusion that my pump is fine and that it is just my condition that has got worse (this sounds bad but is actually the better outcome as most pump-related problems require surgery to fix). In a bid to try and counteract this progression I have now had my pump baclofen dose increased as well as Botox injections in my legs, so hopefully my next camp should be a bit easier.

Now onto the interesting stuff - the actual skiing! This camp gave me a great opportunity to work on the two aspects of slalom racing that have caused me the biggest problems, the start ramp and hitting the gates to get a tighter line through the course. I think I can now declare that I am over my fears of these things; yes my technique in tackling these still needs to be refined in order to tactically maximise my speed and control through the course, but no longer being so scared has definitely helped. (In the past when approaching something I am not that comfortable with I had a tendency to completely stiffen up which only made things more difficult.)

Over the course of the week I managed to not fall out of the start gate once! My gate hitting clearly came on as I had the evidence of massive bruises on both upper arms, my helmet also took the force of many a gate too as I found it turning from blue to white. At some point I also managed to break a ski, so it can’t be said that I was lacking in aggression!

This training camp gave me a great chance to ski with so many other sit skiers (there were six of us in Landgraaf - and a there are a few more who couldn’t make it this time), this is something I find great benefit in, as it allows me to watch the styles of other people and incorporate the good parts into my own skiing. Skiing with other people who sit also makes it easier for me to track my own progress, as my weekly training at the Chill Factore takes place with able-bodied skiers, in courses that are designed to challenge even the best of them. This has done wonders for my slalom technique, but it can be somewhat disheartening when I repeatedly fail to do something that the rest of the group can do with ease, and I also have nobody to compare myself with. The fact that we now have enough sit skiers for our own training group is great, as for a while we were a bit of a rare breed.

To improve further I now need to keep working on the same things I have been focussing on for a while such as maintaining smoothness throughout the whole turn (avoiding jerky movements at the end) and increasing my edge angle by bringing it into the turn sooner. This will take time and effort but luckily I am very determined and have plenty of training camps coming up in which I can put this into practise.