Colorado Ski Spectacular

Departure

Other than the occasional limp it was impossible to tell who was an amputee and who was not. You could definitely tell the serving soldiers from the rest as they all appeared with identical luggage ...the big black operational bags that have served us well in hot dusty climes were to see some cold wet weather for a change. The Heathrow scanners beeped and flashed as amputees with various prosthetics and bits of shrapnel caused security to throw their hands up in despair.

Arrival

US customs weren’t as accommodating. What do you do with four arm amputees who can’t provide fingerprint scans? When Ibrar Ali handed his passport there was sure to be trouble. After being escorted away and sitting in a room for 30 minutes, he explained how he was amputated and what his occupation was. It dawned on the officer that he wasn’t a terrorist but in Colorado at the invitation of American organizations to ski. Guantanimo was avoided.

Breckenridge

Breckenridge is at approx 11000ft. The group was split into pairs, with the arm amputees being put in a room with a leg amputee... a wise move on the part of Colin Rouse as the putting on of ski boots could have been difficult each morning for 2 arm amputees!

Being military men, we organised our kit, ironed our clothes, polished our shoes and then attended the first of our daily ‘O’ groups. Everyone had seen the mountain range that we would be skiing and everyone realised there was a challenge or two in store over the next week. That evening, as part of our group bonding and acclimatisation, we finally began to meet our American counterparts from the Wounded Warrior Project.

Meet the Yanks

No matter what your personal feelings on the current deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is a sad sight to see so many young men and women so seriously injured in such large numbers. As a group of 15 Brits we could have felt quite isolated, but we were joined by almost 100 wounded soldiers from the American armed forces and 600 members of Disabled Sports USA which was comforting. We were amongst those who had been through similar experiences and we were all about to face the same challenges. For those on their first BLESMA rehab event, it was quite an experience to go from being in a minority group to suddenly being part of a 700 strong group of individuals with a whole range of injuries and disabilities.

It can be easy to forget that there is strength in numbers. Over the next few days, as the British contingent gelled as a group, individuals grew stronger.

On the slopes

The group was split according to activity. These were snowboarding, mono skiing and three track skiing. We were lucky to have one on one tuition for all for a minimum of 6 hours a day. We all breakfasted together and met at random times on the slopes before a group lunch after which we headed back to the slopes until the ski lifts closed or until we were too exhausted to continue.

You can rightly be proud of the fact that throughout the resort the Brits developed a reputation for being fearless and hardworking. In fact we were the only group to be on the slopes morning and night for the 6 days of tuition, as well as a seventh day when we were deemed safe to go onto the slopes under the supervision of our leaders (Colin Rouse, Colin Whitworth, Brendan West, Jamie Gillespie, Rob Copsey and Swifty) …the novices were soon scattered all over the slopes with not one of the above able to locate them. Next year, GPS may be a wise purchase!

Sloping off

It would have been sensible to assume that after a hot shower and dinner we would all get a good nights rest …if only. An important part of any rehabilitation is the social part, and Colin Rouse ensured that as a group we did not neglect our historic relationship with our American counterparts. We represented BLESMA and the British armed forces at a number of dinner nights held by DS USA as well one held by Wounded Warrior and a charity casino night to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project.

It was extremely moving for us to be shown such huge respect and gratitude by every one of the Americans we encountered. On a personal note, it was difficult to comprehend the stark contrast in the support given to the American armed forces by their public and the lack of recognition given to the British armed forces by ours.

Competition

The culmination of training was an opportunity for some to compete against one another, and the Americans, in the mono-skis and the three track skiing. Stuart Pearson and Adam Nixon went head to head in the mono-skis, whilst Lionel O’Connor and Mark Sutcliffe, both with 1 Royal Anglian, battled for Battalion bragging rights in the three track race. Alex Donnelly was one of a very few blind skiers on the slopes for race day. He had never skied before, his instructors stated that he could easily make it as a competitive skier if he wished to do so.

At the closing dinner BLESMA was invited up to say a few words. In keeping with the reputation we have gained with our American counterparts, there was a huge amount of cheering before Alex even began his speech. Alex weaved a speech which was humorous, sentimental, respectful and most importantly, honest. The Brits were given another standing ovation and Alex was unable to buy another drink for the next 3 days.

Until next year

So drew to an end another Rehabilitation Ski Spectacular. After 6 days of tuition, everyone was able to ski or snowboard unsupervised. Some had attempted the black runs with supervision and the group had become a close group of friends.

An article written by Martin Fletcher was published in the Times Magazine dated the 5th of January 2008; titled ‘The Fight Back’. It can be found at www.thetimesonline.co.uk by typing ‘Martin Fletcher’ into the search section.

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