Colorado Ski Trip

At the start of February I was lucky enough to be chosen to be the Personal Assistant on a ski course in Colorado with the charity Back Up. 

Back Up was set up over 30 years ago by a bloke named Mike Nemesvary, who was a James Bond stunt double and former British and European Freestyle Champion! Back Up supports individuals who have had a spinal injury and their families. They hold a range of different activity courses from going back-to-work to skiing.

We had a group of 15 - 10 wheelchair users (including one of the group leaders) and 4 'A-Bs' (able-bodies) which included the other group leader, a nurse and a PA (me!) and 2 corporate buddies from the Bank of Montreal.

Back Up courses are available to anyone with a spinal injury which means that you're not likely to come across the same people every time - which means new friends!

We all managed to get to Heathrow on time (except for the group leader Luke who wanted to make a late entrance) and onto the plane without too much hassle.

plane selfie

It's around a 9 hour flight from London Heathrow to Denver and our flight was full.

Although the course was predominately about learning how to ski independently, Back Up uses any situation to teach new skills and to adapt to the situation and a long haul flight definitely can do this. Not to go into too much detail but if you have a catheter and a bottle and a helpful friend to empty the bottle feel free to go to town on those free bottles of alcohol!

After the flight we collected all of our baggage and got straight onto a bus to take us to Winter Park. We had a huge 50 seater bus for the 15 of us so it was a great opportunity for us (read: me) to have a nap.

After an ok night of sleep everybody was pumped to get up to the National Sports Centre for the Disabled (NSCD) and get kitted out. Winter Park has its own 'wheelchair' bus which is free for users and includes a lift.

 

Mike getting loaded onto the bus

Everybody and their chair loaded

The first day consisted of the participants getting measured and fitted into a mono-ski. This was an all day process as the staff and volunteers at NSCD make sure the skier is secure and comfortable in the bucket seat, which may require multiple adjustments.

Daniel testing out the mono-ski

Fitting was an all day affair, so I asked the group nurse Wanda - self confessed ski (semi) expert - to take me on the steepest slope (according to everybody else this did not count as a 'slope' and was more of an incline) and refresh me on the basics. Before this trip I had exactly 3 days ski experience which turned out not so good. The lovely Caro from NSCD also took me on my first ever chair lift ride and talked me down a green slope.

Monday was our first proper ski day and when everybody was all kitted up we hit the slopes of Sorenson Park. Well I say slope, everybody else says slight incline.

Throughout the week there were many, many falls, but luckily no injuries.

Michelle had a lot of practice getting vertical

After a hard day of skiing there's nothing like a pint (or three) with new friends.

Although skiing is the main attraction of Winter Park there are many other options that were available including dog sledding (unfortunately the company we had a look didn't bother to reply to our enquiry), snowmobiling - which is accessible - shopping (although there is about 5 different taxes on everything) and an ice rink!

Wheelchairs make good skates

Skiing all day every day for a week takes a lot out of you so we stretched it out with a short lesson of tai chai.

But the extra stretching and relaxation exercises did not help keep everyone awake, with Mike deciding the dinner table was a good place for a nap.

The group were all at different levels skill wise by the end of the week but everybody got up the mountain and were very happy with the personal progress that was made.

the Back Up crew and staff and volunteers of NSCD

Plane drinks for Kev's birthday

It was a bit depressing having to come back to reality again but *silver lining* our British Airways flight was only half full so I was able to make camp in 4 spare seats and pretty much slept through the entire flight.

safe and sound in London town

Edinburgh

Edinburgh has been a city on my must-visit ever since coming over to the UK (and possibly before that) and last week I finally got to go, and for a good cause too!

Last month I got a call for work asking if I would like to be a volunteer on a Back Up Course. 

A little about Back Up
The Back Up Trust is a charity that helps all those affecting by spinal injuries. It was first set up by James Bond stunt double and Freestyle Champion Mike Nemesvary in 1986 after he broke his neck.

 'Despite being paralysed from the shoulders down, Mike was determined to get back to the life he enjoyed.  Back Up was initially set up to offer ski courses for those affected by spinal cord injury. Over the years, Back Up has expanded its services to challenge and empower people to get ‘back up’ to a place they were at before their accident.'   

The charity lead around 17 courses a year, ranging from ski-karting in Sweden, water ski-ing, multi-activity courses in Exmoor to Back to work courses and skills for independence.

Edinburgh
I got to go on the Edinburgh City Skills for over 50s, the first time this particular course has been run.

So after a long journey on the train up from London (4.5 hours) and getting lost I checked in to the hotel and we all gathered in the courtyard for introductions. We had 12 people on our course, and everybody has a different role. We had 2 Group Leaders - one wheelchair user and one able bodied, 2 wheelchair skills instructors, 3 buddies, 2 Personal Assistants and 3 participants. 

Our ice breaker was 2 Truths and a Lie.

Can you guess my lie?

* I can drink a glass of vinegar straight
* I played basketball for the state defence team without ever playing beforehand
* I've been travelling for the last 3 years

The course included a day of wheelchair skills. We were lucky enough to invade RBS headquarters on the outskirts of Edinburgh - it's like a town unto itself! Starbucks, Tesco Express even a flower shop!

As an able bodied person you don't realise how much you take for granted. Simple things like curbs or manoeuvering around objects, carrying a beverage, even a slight incline on a road are made that much harder for chair users. 
We had two great skills trainers on our course J and R who went through some tips on how to navigate obstacles, like flicking the front wheels up onto a curb at speed and then using the momentum to get the back wheels up.

Or having a friend that has a power chair ;-)




The next day we hit up The National Museum of Scotland. The museum is housed in a grand old building looked over by this bloke. 

I'm not sure who he is, but he definitely needs a bit of a bath!

The museum is amazingly huge! Set over 7 floors, the exhibits range from a Chinese Dynasty, the animal world, science, Changing Scotland and much more! You definitely need a whole day to prattle about.

One of the interactions is driving a F1 car. Which I did. And I failed dismally. Besides that one time when I crashed, i'm a great driver (if I do say so myself) and I stand by my judgement that the museum staff have buggered up the steering on this ride. 

My favourite bit of artwork/painting/photo was this one that I found in 'Common Causes'

Can you guess which photo is of the Australian Scottish Regiment?

In the afternoon we had a bit of a treasure hunt around the city. At one stage the clues sent us hurtling down a hill the wrong way - but there was free fudge!  Who knew a 'crag and tail' meant crossroads? Google sure didn't!!

There was a bit of controversy when we got back regarding the last clue. 
'Take the ramp down to Waverley Station and take a photo that includes every team member - must not be taken by another person. hint, head towards Left Luggage'

My team and I had no idea why we had to head to Left Luggage, but we got there and took our selfie that included all 3 team members and even the left Luggage sign. When we got back, the other teams were in uproar because we outselfied them. Well, we had different interpretations of the out of date clues. Apparently the clues were ridden before selfies were invented so you supposed to get a photo from the photo booth right next to Left Luggage. We still won though! WOOO!

Selfie at Left Luggage

                     

Sunday included a trip to the Castle. I love a good castle and Edinburgh is awesome, especially for the views over the city. 

We started at the bottom of the Royal Mile and had to go uphill on cobblestones, which isn't the most pleasant experience in a chair. You can buy a contraption called a Free Wheel that clips on to the footplate and lifts the small front castors off the ground and turns the chair into an all-terrain vehicle.  

As an AB (able bodied) if I see someone struggling, my first desire is to give help. Don't do it! Offer help but don't do anything until you've been specifically asked. The course was all about gaining the skills to be independent. One of the participants is over 70 and pushed himself up the Mile without any assistance! With anybody or anything, you never know if you don't try. 

Knowing when to ask for help is important as well. One way we assisted the chair users is by pulling them up steep inclines. This is done with a loop of rope or similar. Put it down on the ground, roll across one side and pull the rope up so that it's in between the castors and the back wheel and under the knees. If you're assisting it's much easier to pull than push too.



 Edinburgh Castle
There is a bit just in front of the drawbridge that is supposed to have spectacular views, but the Tattoo grandstands had already been set up, so we missed out on that unfortunately.

Once inside the inner castle walls, the ground kind of flattens out a bit and to the right are the battlements and canons. We saw the canon that they shoot off every day at 1pm except Sundays. We went on a Sunday so we missed out but we got to see the gorgeous views.



Sunday afternoon was spent just like the Scottish do - Whisky!
I'm not a big fan of Scotch so the best thing about that was the free glass you get ;-)

Monday morning we headed down to Holyrood to go to Dynamic Earth. I love interactive stuff so this place was amazing! The floor shook, there was 'snow' dropped on us and a AI who answered the  most stupidest questions. 
The exhibit takes you through a series of rooms depicting the universe, from the Big Bang, right up until today. The rooms changed temperature from warm (volcanic era) to really cold (ice age) which I thought was great. 

I was lucky enough to grab a kiss off this handsome fella:

                                                           

Monday afternoon was free time, then we all came together for one last dinner. This one was participant's choice and we headed to Cafe Andaluz on George Street for Spanish Tapas. They were amazing! The staff were attentive, the food was delicious and the company was great. 

Tuesday morning was farewell unfortunately. I had booked my train for the afternoon so I caught up with an old friend for lunch. I got to try the Scottish National Dish of Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. 



It was delicious! Haggis tastes just like the insides of a meat pie, only a bit more peppery. 



My 5 days in Edinburgh were amazing. I got to see nearly everything I wanted, spent time with some quality people and learnt a lot that I can hopefully apply to my job. 

Back Up is always looking for volunteers and support. If you are interested contact the team through the website: http://www.backuptrust.org.uk/about-us/volunteering 

This was my first course but hopefully it won't be my last!