Ben Clatworthy's Blog

With all eyes in the skiing world focused on the Paralympic Games in Vancouver it seems fit to write a blog on Disabled Skiing. Ben Clatworthy gave it a go last season, with the help of an instructor; this year James Cove the editor of PlanetSKI.eu tries it for himself. It’s harder than it looks… really!

There have been major developments in the last few years, and now it is a common sight to see a disabled skier enjoying the freedom and exhilaration of a day on the slopes.

For Stefan, my bother, skiing has changed his life.  He is a disabled child who never lets his disabilities get in the way.  Before we discovered handiski, he used to be left at home when the family went skiing, but now he is also able to join in with the excitement that the slopes bring to thousands each year.

Last season I swapped my skis and gave sit-skiing a go. It was truly terrifying as you can see here in my video reports.

However, our experiences vary in different ski resorts, and even within one ski area.  Les Trois Vallees, the

Even the young can have a go!

world’s largest ski area, has 3 different lift companies managing the 183 lifts.  In the Vallee des Belleville, Setam and Sevabel manage the lifts of St Martin de Belleville, Les Menuires and Val Thorens.  In the past few years, they have adapted most of the ski lifts to make then accessible for disabled skiers.

In the other two valleys, one company, S3V manages the lifts in Meribel and Courchevel.  But the attitude to disabled skiers is markedly different between the two valleys. In Meribel there are only 9 lifts that can’t be accessed by disabled skiers, whilst in Courchevel there are 25.

Ski resorts were designed for able bodied people so many hotels, chalets and apartments are unusable.

Last week James Cove, who is the Content Editor for PlanetSKI.eu, a website I write for, gave sit-skiing a go for the first time and found it difficult but very rewarding.

“After several attempts I managed one turn and then after a few more I managed to put 2 linked turns together before crashing over.

I had an enormous sense of achievement.  I though was on a basic nursery slope.” Cove wrote in his article for PlanetSKI.

You can read the full report on PlanetSKI here

There is no doubt that skiing for the disabled is becoming increasingly more accepted and wide spread, but some change still needs to happen before all disabled people will be able to take up skiing. Its not easy for the resorts either, often expensive to make changes and sometimes in their eyes not worth the effort.

However this are changing and more and more disabled people are giving the sport a go. The tour operator Crystal is working closely with Disability Snowsport UK  to raise its profile and provide help for people with a disability who wish to give skiing a go.

It’s a fantastic sport and well worth a go!

Ben Clatworthy is the ‘Racing and Sports Correspondent’ for PlanetSKI.eu and writes for other ski publications too, including InTheSnow Magazine.

Snow, wind, rain, cloud and surprisingly even a little bit of sun! Christmas and New Year in the Alps are notoriously 2 of the busiest weeks of the season, and two of the most important for businesses, so how did everything do?

I would be lying if I said the ski season started with a bang this year. It did in the Austrian resort of Ischgl as I blogged back in November. Many resorts were left with a problem on their hands when the opening date came and went, but the snow didn’t come. Things weren’t all that bad though.

The snow did come, and in places where the totals were lacking absolutely freezing conditions allowed for vast quantities of snow making across the Alps. Snow cannons were firing out snow 24 hours a day in many resorts, topping up any bare patches. Temperatures of -25 degrees C were common across France, Switzerland and Austria. In higher resorts the wind chill was bitter. The Pitztal glacier in Austria recorded -38 in late December.

However, it’s not the best year to be blasting snow all the time. The big ‘R’ word seemed to have impacted

Snow Cannons top up the pistes in Austria

booking figures for the festive period. For those of you in doubt that ‘R’ word I refer to is the rescission. There were of course other factors too, reports of snow-shortage didn’t help, the poor exchange rate and of course the fact that it seems every holiday company has some sort of offer on holidays not in the peak season. Hiring a whole catered chalet for a week in January for £300 would have been unheard of a few years back – this year they are throwing holidays away… quite literally.

In the 3 Valleys, France bookings were down over Christmas. The 3 Valleys include the resorts of Courchevel, Meribel, Les Menuires, Val Thornes and St Martin de Belleville. A contact in Les Menuires told me that the resort was just 70% full over Christmas this year; it would normally be full to the brim with people being turned away. Things were better over New Year, the resort was full as expected. The figures are worked out from Agency figures, lift pass sales and hotel bookings. The data is normally available by Wednesday as more and more chalets do Sunday to Sunday bookings.

Things really are on the up now, just today I read a snow report and it seems that the constant snowfall across much of Europe over the New Year has improved snow conditions dramatically.  The picture out in the Alps now is great with loads of snow and great deals to be had. Book a cheap flight from EasyJet (who currently have their biggest ever sale on) and get out to the slopes for some late January fun!

Ben Clatworthy stayed at ‘Ski St Martin‘ in St Martin de Belleville which is a village in the 3 Valleys, France.

This is not a snow report. Views expressed are those of Ben Clatworthy. If you are looking for a professional snow report then Ben recommends PlanetSKI.eu, who publish a detailed report regularly.

Last week I had the brillinat oppertunity of watching the FIS 4 Nations Summer Ski Jumping World Cup in Courchevel (FRA). Equipt with my Press Pass and V.I.P access I viewed the competition whilst ‘Tweeting’ live for PlanetSKI.eu – a new mountain based ski website. Below is the report I sent for PlanetSKI.

Summer ski jumping

Ski Jumping is something we tend to associate with the winter. Not so, as PlanetSKI reporter Ben Clatworthy has been finding out in Courchevel.

The 4 Nations Summer Ski Jumping World Cup takes place over one week in August in Italy, Germany, France and Switzerland.

It’s a hard tour for the competitors and with little rest in between the stages meaning the fitter person often comes out on top by the end.

Courchevel is the penultimate stage of the tour, bringing added competition as the jumpers try to acclaim a lead going into the final event.

But the big question is how can one ski jump in the summer when there is no snow?

Preparing for the off

Preparing for the offThe jump, which in winter is covered in snow, has tracks built into it for the competitor’s skis to sit and run in.

These are constantly wetted and have water flowing in them. Just like for snow the skis are waxed, but with a very hard wax, similar to that one would apply to a ski for use on a dry ski slope.

The landing area is covered in special matting, again similar to that of a plastic ski slope.

For the competitors the landing is the same as on to snow, however stopping is very different. The matting runs out as the slope flattens off and is replaced by grass. Instead of making a giant snowplow like position the skier sits on the back of their skis as they approach the grass area.

This very quickly stops them, as you will know if you have ever skied on to mud or grass when skiing.

To keep the skis running the matting and grass are regularly sprayed with water and the finish area goes uphill to help the skier to slow.

It really is an amazing sight to see a skier flying through the air off a full sized ski jump with no snow to be found. The majority of the competitors jump full time during the winter on the world cup circuit.

Stars of tomorrow

This summer event is a great opportunity for them to get together and compete in some summer jumping.

The stars of tomorrowDuring the event Courchevel snatched the opportunity to open its new 25m ski jumping hill, which will be used as a great training venue for children in the local teams and clubs wishing to ski jump.

The two days really are quite an event with fantastic air displays, live music and fireworks bring the event to a wonderful climax.

For the competitors there is no time for fun; as soon as the competition in Courchevel finished I saw the Austrian team bus depart to drive through the night to Switzerland for the final day of competition.

Article written by Ben Clatworthy for PlanetSKI.eu – Not for reproduction, copyright both parties listed.