A ski trip to Chamonix

Thanks for tuning into my first blog. I thought it would be good to kick off with an overview of my most recent trip with TCS, which took me to Chamonix, a ski resort near the junction of France, Italy and Switzerland.

I’ve been skiing several times before. I used to be a member of Gloucester Ski Club and Weston Counties Ski Club. I was actually a Ski Instructor for a few years in the UK and went over to Canada to train as a snow ski instructor. Years of experience saw me take part in national races, where I picked up the odd medal! It was nice to be able to get back onto the slopes after my accident.

My trip to Chamonix was organised by a charity called Ski 2 Freedom. Before the trip I was slightly apprehensive and wasn’t sure what to expect. I think part of me worried whether it would be the same as before. When I arrived I had an amazing ski instructor called Dume who was with me every step of the way – he would ski down the slopes with me controlling my sit ski at all times. When I first got into the sit ski it felt amazing to be back on the snow again. I felt like I was flying down the mountain head first – a bit like going down in a skeleton bobsleigh! Some moments were petrifying and I had to keep reassuring myself to avoid panicking. It felt amazing to be back on the mountains – I had definitely missed the rush of skiing. I felt free.

My favourite part of the trip was the final run on the last day. We went to the top of the resort which was around 3000 metres up and I skied down the ‘black run’ (which for those non-skiers amongst you is the hardest run and should only be used by experienced skiers). It was a pretty steep slope and I flew down. I was over taking the other skiers in my sit ski. The run lasted for about 20 minutes. It was probably the most scary but fun part of the trip.

Special thanks to Maggie Sargent from CCMS and Irwin Mitchel who helped fund my trip. I'd love to go back – it was an amazing few days, but now to think about my next adventure. I have been wondering about mountain climbing recently? Stay tuned!

Jonathan