Never heard of Ski-Biking? It’s like a mountain bike with skis on: easy to learn, difficult to master, and it puts amputees on a level playing field with the able bodied. 

Held in Austria amongst the spectacular Tirol Mountains, Blesma has been running Ski-Biking Courses for Members for over 25 years.  It’s so popular; most of the instructors are Blesma Members!

The last time I had put on skis was in 1988 in Norway and that was to take part in a 10 day Nordic Ski expedition, but Dave assured me that ski-biking was easy. I was to be part of the advance team, and coordinate with Blesma volunteers Brian Hogg and Gavin Thomas in Southampton on the 23 February to transport the ski-bikes and kit to Austria by road.

Brian Hogg is a military veteran  and currently employed as a civil servant who gives up a huge amount of his free time for Blesma. Gavin is a stonemason who gave up his time as part of the Army Reserve and is a member of the Royal Logistics Corps TA. 

Our road trip to Austria was relatively hassle-free and we arrived at the Hotel Neue Post, in Solden late afternoon on the 24th February – via an overnight stay in Aachen, Germany. Later that day, Gavin and I set off to Innsbruck airport to collect Sam Fitzgerald, a Blesma Member and instructor and Bob Cook, a volunteer helper. Bob works for GE Aviation, a supporter of Blesma and is another military veteran and a qualified skiing instructor in his own right. He also took part in Blesma Members’ Cycling event SR UK last October.

Over the next couple of days Gavin, Bob and I received some much needed instruction before the main body of Members arrived. The rest of the Members arrived on 28 February rearing to go and after a safety and admin briefing from event coordinator and Blesma Member Brenden West; we all set about getting to know each other in the usual way in the excellent hotel bar.

There was to be 3 groups: one of potential instructors, another of bronze and silver qualified Members and the third of novices. It was great to see the Blesma spirit shining through even at this stage with more experienced Members putting the first timers at ease.

1st March saw us all trooping up to the Giggijoch and getting everyone issued with their trusted skibob for the week. For many of us the lack of queuing etiquette was a shock – but we soon developed our own techniques for dealing with that.  Again, the more experienced were quick to get stuck in helping those new to the sport and it was amazing to see the way some overcame difficulties in such practical way.

The skiing itself was brilliant fun and despite some poor weather over a few days but we were pretty spoilt overall. The various groups would split up to do their thing and we would often meet up around lunchtime to share stories of near disasters getting on or off ski lifts, or individual brilliance at making falling off look so easy.  On a serious note though, everyone was being assessed for the relevant Ski-Bob Association of Great Britain Bronze, Silver or Gold award and some as potential instructors. The group instructors, along with the assessors, would quiz us all regularly about Piste etiquette and safety. 

Lunch times were a good opportunity for some to take their legs off and check their stumps and make sure everything was fine for the afternoon. As always we finished with an oral and skill-based assessment. On the panel were regular Member participants Colin Rouse, Bob Monkhouse, Doug Davie and Sam Fitzgerald. Suffice to say we were all happy with our report cards! 

Typically we close with an awards presentation. Most notably was the annual award for best instructor.  The award was presented to Paul’s very good friend Brenden West by Doug Davie.