Sit-skiers: read the news, feedback on resorts and see the film clips and photos of paraplegic and disabled skiers using dual-ski, mono-ski.....

We are delighted to share the experiences of people with a disablity skiing - paraplegic, amputee anyone who is a wheelchair user and therefore in some cases a sit-skier! Please note that these comments are from the skiers themselves and Ski 2 Freedom is not responsible for any of the comments made.

Sun Valley Ski Resort USA

"Sun Valley adaptive ski gives me access to free equipment and discounted lift ticks as well as a discounted lift ticket for my buddy - a great deal! Sit skis are easy to load and unload." 

Glen Rabie 2012 (L2 partial paraplegic)

youtube.com/watch?v=xEEZrQ-qAAQ

Niseko Ski Resort Japan

"With the help of Ski Japan and their ski school / equipment shop Niseko Base Sports we managed to get a hire sit ski sent to Niseko. 72,000Yen including shipping for 5 days. The ski was not ideal as the bucket was a little small and the ski way too skinny for the conditions but I managed to ski bumps, steeps and off piste powder!

There are a lot of old chairs without bars at Niseko, however there are enough modern chairs across the main resort to enable us to ski most of the mountain. No discounts on lift tickets etc. but given my knowledge of Niseko we were able to ski without guides. Pretty damn cold but heaps of powder! Great ski school for the kids too and a great range of accommodation and dining options. The resort while very much changed retains its village feel and unique charm. We will be back - probably with our own sit ski."

Glen Rabie 2012

Les 2 Alpes - Vish Patel winter 2012

"So here it is disabled skiing in Les 2 Alpes - the Neilsen Hotel Aalborg has a good room with a spacious wet room shower and the hotel is fully accesible via lifts. Aalborg is half board - not the nicest food (Chalet Laforet in Villandry was much better) - this was more like school dinners, but you get what you pay for! The town of le deux alpes is not too inspiring but as with all French resorts there are off course great restaurants and I don’t think it was too pricey. It is not ski-in/ski-out but it’s a short push (5-10mins) down the road to the main Jandiri Express cable car in town/near the tourist office where Loic, the ESF instructor, met me every morning with the sit ski. The wheelchair can then be left behind at the base station as you transfer into the sit ski and head up the mountain.

The only thing I would say is although the Aalborg is at the bottom of the slope….skiing down to there at the end of the day is hairy…..i only did it on the last day, every other day I took the Jandiri express down from station 1. Skiing down to there involves either a very long, narrow and by the end of the day slushy green - which is not easy or a steep black which is equally slushy and busy! Not recommended! I wish I had taken the Jandiri down that day - I had sense of humour loss at that point, didn’t so much ski down the mountain as slide!!!

The ESF school there was very good as they allowed me to ski on my own with the sit ski….they allowed me to use it all week as long as I booked 5 sessions with Loic….so instead of having to pay for the whole day I had Loic for 5 mornings which was great as he showed us around and helped improve my skills in the mornings, then I could go ski with my friends for the rest of the day. Really appreciated ESF allowing me to us ethe sit ski on my own - most ESF schools I contacted would not allow that i.e. I would have to pay for 6 full days with an instructor with many of the schools had it not been for your introduction through Xavier! They even let me take the sit ski away to Alpe d'Huez for a day without an instructor.

The majority of the lifts are wheelchair accessible and the Jandiri Express is fantastic/modern/super quick and easy to get in/out off - takes you all the way up to the glacier. I even used the T-bar from there to get to the very top of the mountain - 3421m! A lot of good, long red and blue runs.

All in all a great trip, different to Les Arcs - not as pretty up the mountain but great skiing nevertheless. We even went over to Alpe d'Huez for a day - good to see another resort but Le Deux Alpes was better."

South African Paraplegic in Val d'Isere 2013

"The hotel Kandahar was perfect. very helpfull. Airliner lost my baggage, they kept on phoning and sending faxes. For me the trip from Hotel to slopes was not to much, I enjoyed the warmup before ski. And after ski downhill in wheelchair was very quick..hehe

Phillippe Pouchkine (ESF Val d'Isere) was very helpfull and gave me a ski (Tessier) to try out for the 5 days for free. I skied on my own or rather with my friends.

Watch the video here.

Thanks again for all advise and prompt feedback about every question I had.

Ski2freedom your great!!"

Mathys Roet

Schladming 2011 - 2012 skiing with Freizeit

“We have skied through the Freizeit organization which is based at the Schwaigerhoff Hotel just outside Rohrmoos. The Planei ski resort is wonderful with 3 great mountains easily accessible/interlinked by car."

Poland sit-ski with Active Therapy

"The Ski Mountain was just outside of the hotel and the slopes ran 12 hours a day, this in itself was a spectacle, 7 pm and the ski lifts and runs were as busy as ever. Night skiing had a true meaning and hence why dinner at lunchtime worked so you could go back as and when you wanted to."

France sit-ski in Val d'Isere with ESF Val d'Isere

Arnon is 22 and was injured two and half years ago with C6/C7 spinal cord injury and now uses a manual wheelchair but is very active. Before his accident he was a good skier and snowboarder. During December 2009 he did a week’s skiing in a sit-ski with Antenne in the ski resort of La Plagne. This a great start to getting back on the snow and is looking to go again this winter as he can’t wait to get back on the slopes.

He has expressed an interest in going to Val d’Isere and wonder if you can help with a suitable ski school and wheelchair accessible accommodation? We will be grateful for any recommendations you can give.

"Arnon stayed in Val d'Isere with a school friend at La Savoyarde hotel (S2F recommendation) and had eight days of skiing which he fully enjoyed! He had lessons with both Xavier and Philippe from ESF Val d’Isere (S2F recommendation).

He texted me that its : “going great... all hurts.. and we are ski beasts and my shoulders are in danger of falling off” Arnon is happiest when moving fast and on the edge. At the end of the trip he was doing blue and green slopes without assistance and red with the instructor helping at sticky turns. In the meantime his pal Daniel learned to snowboard for the 1st time.. hence the all hurting.. he was very happy with their equipment ... said the angle of the sit-ski and height was better than the one used in La Plagne the previous year.

In terms of instructors he found both Xavier and Philippe to be excellent and very focused on his needs.

Ski 2 Freedom you are quite amazing - thank you so much for your efforts and enthusiasm. Arnon will be more than happy to send photos and impressions from his holiday.”

Bonnie, Arnon’s mother