French ski holiday recomendations for our 9 year old niece who is wheelchair bound

am i bovvered

Hey all,

Back for more advice from everyone here
We are planning a family ski holiday for the beginning of January, approx the 5th to the 15th for our extended family. There will be about 12 of us aged from 9 to 41 we are skiers and snowboarders from good intermediates to beginners. We feel it must be a French resort as a lot of my wife's family (including our Niece will be driving from Plymouth in the UK) but are open to all suggestions, maybe Scotland ??
As the title explains, our wonderful Niece has cerebral palsy, and is full time wheelchair bound, my wife has and is in contact with "ski to freedom" which looks promising. However we thought that maybe some personal recommendations here may suit.
So at the moment we feel, it's important that the drive from the uk is not too daunting. We are looking at something that is good value as we are on a tight enough budget.
A village that is ok if you are not skiing, some of the beginners may choose not to.
Handi ski facility is essential where we will be skiing.
We would prefer a self catering chalet, the village or chalet needs to have pool/ spa facilities.
It is not nessecary to be in a big resort but I would like to be able to catch a bus no more that 30 mins away to a large ski area (I am selfish regarding my skiing /)

Thanks as always
Stephen

a148pro

Is she going to be skiing? I know there's a British guide who teaches disabled skiing in Hochfugen in Austria.

Beyond that I can't really help beyond suggesting that France would probably be closer to Plymouth than Scotland.

Try Snowheads, think they have a whole disabled skiing forum:-

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewforum.php?f=44

am i bovvered

The plan is our niece will be with a guide who will be steering a monoski chair that she will be strapped into. She is a kick ass girl !!!! She goes to the skate park with her chair, rock climbing and even kick boxing (in her chair using her good leg )
I will also post on snow heads, thanks

lexa

Maybe look at Morzine in France.
It's a big resort so plenty of skiing, it is also a big town so maybe some activities for the non-skiiers.

I was there earlier this year and saw a big group of people learning how to ski on monoskis. Each being brought down by a guide. It's the first time I've ever seen a group learning how to ski on a monoski so I'd say that there is a good set up here for learning which may not be available in every resort.

We did a catered chalet, so that probably wouldn't suit you. But if you book far in advance you should have plenty of options.

Fattes

am i bovvered: La Plagne is the base that Disability UK use for their ski holidays and trips to introduce people to the sport. Probably as good a place as any to start as I am guessing they have done all the research and looked at all the issues and choose it as the best location.

fannymagee

Does she have her own monoski? If not just make sure it's handy enough to get the rental one to the resort, you don't want to have to drive miles to pick it up

am i bovvered

fannymagee wrote: »

Does she have her own monoski? If not just make sure it's handy enough to get the rental one to the resort, you don't want to have to drive miles to pick it up

Hi Fanny... She has never been skiing before, we were hoping her experience would be similar to this ......
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IT34008_h9A
Thanks

Thanks Fatttes, looks good, any recommendation to find suitable accommodation in La Plagne

fannymagee

am i bovvered wrote: »

Hi Fanny... She has never been skiing before, we were hoping her experience would be similar to this ......
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IT34008_h9A
Thanks

Thanks Fatttes, looks good, any recommendation to find suitable accommodation in La Plagne, thanks

That video looks lovely, but by the sounds of your niece it might be a bit tame for her!! different schools have different equipment & methods, but the ones in that vid look a bit dated, I would hope she'd get something more like this:

http://youtu.be/4fe71f7oa3w

A monoski tends to be for people with a lower spinal issue, and a bi-ski for higher spine, so she'd probably be in that category with CP.

Definitely go on their disability forum for advice, because if you get it right this year you'll be set up for every year from then on if she loves it- which it sounds like she might!! There is a huge variation in the standards of equipment, since she has no mobility her ski will need the facility to lift the suspension to allow her chair to go on the lift while she's still in it (like in the video) Otherwise there's carrying and transferring every time she uses a lift and that's just no fun for anyone.

The very best of luck with the organising! I hope you get great advice & it all falls into place easily, it'll be a phenomenal holiday for her all going well!! :-)

fannymagee

Sorry am I bovvered, I just reread your first post, and by the sounds of it she might be grand on a monoski either, depending on her stability & upper body strength.

When you said she was full time wheelchair bound I thought she had no mobility, but then I saw she's going kick boxing & skateboarding!! If she can walk at all or is independant in her chair she'll likely be on a mono ski, and the outriggers (with the miniski on the bottom) flip up to become crutches for when she stops at restaurants etc.

Obv I've no idea of her specific needs, the school will assess all that but just in case any of this is helpful for ideas!

Here's a good example of a beginner kids monoski lesson: http://youtu.be/WobFVnvQJ24

She sounds like a kick ass kid (literally!!) I hope she loves every minute :-)

Xx

Fattes

Monoskis are now the standard for al sitskis used in adaptive skiing. They are VERY expensive pieces if kit and also very clever, the contain a shock absorber under the seat similar to a car suspension and a gas powered lift that allows the seat to raise and lower for acces to chair lifts!

Any ski school offering lessons will tend carry one of their own that the instructor is familiar with.


Do get in contact with disability snow sports UK, they guys will be really happy to help and are an excellent bunch! An odd side effect of the recent wars has seen a huge uptake in their services an increase in instructors completing the L1 & l2 adaptive trainer cert (yours turkey is taking his in Sep) and a massive jump in funding.

Fattes

Josh Dueck is one of the most interesting skiers on the planet! A former alpine athlete that found him wheelchair bound for life he embraced it

http://youtu.be/k2FNNK2ggr0

am i bovvered

fannymagee wrote: »

That video looks lovely, but by the sounds of your niece it might be a bit tame for her!! different schools have different equipment & methods, but the ones in that vid look a bit dated, I would hope she'd get something more like this:

http://youtu.be/4fe71f7oa3w

A monoski tends to be for people with a lower spinal issue, and a bi-ski for higher spine, so she'd probably be in that category with CP.

Definitely go on their disability forum for advice, because if you get it right this year you'll be set up for every year from then on if she loves it- which it sounds like she might!! There is a huge variation in the standards of equipment, since she has no mobility her ski will need the facility to lift the suspension to allow her chair to go on the lift while she's still in it (like in the video) Otherwise there's carrying and transferring every time she uses a lift and that's just no fun for anyone.

The very best of luck with the organising! I hope you get great advice & it all falls into place easily, it'll be a phenomenal holiday for her all going well!! :-)

That link you gave looks way better I am going to message her Dad & Mum to let them see. she is full time in her chair , although she does have movement on her left hand side (she can write... and kick ) her right hand side is very restricted. That video looks great, even though she is a toughie, it still will be daunting to brought down even a blue run at first. Thanks for the advice... keep it coming :pac:

am i bovvered

Fattes wrote: »

Monoskis are now the standard for al sitskis used in adaptive skiing. They are VERY expensive pieces if kit and also very clever, the contain a shock absorber under the seat similar to a car suspension and a gas powered lift that allows the seat to raise and lower for acces to chair lifts!

Any ski school offering lessons will tend carry one of their own that the instructor is familiar with.


Do get in contact with disability snow sports UK, they guys will be really happy to help and are an excellent bunch! An odd side effect of the recent wars has seen a huge uptake in their services an increase in instructors completing the L1 & l2 adaptive trainer cert (yours turkey is taking his in Sep) and a massive jump in funding.

Great, I will send them an email. Need to check out with her Dad and Mum whether the monoski or bi-ski is more suitable . Thanks

fannymagee

Looking forward to hearing how they get on!! :-)

Fattes

am i bovvered wrote: »

Great, I will send them an email. Need to check out with her Dad and Mum whether the monoski or bi-ski is more suitable . Thanks

Also check out snowbility on FB, they do special needs skiing in Hemel and a few other snow domes in the UK

fannymagee

Here's a great site for you to check out, am_i_bovvered. It's based in Tyrol (so not France!), but it'll give you a good insight into the equipment available. The owner is a wheelchair user himself, so really passionate & knowledgeable about his business. They're only 15 mins away from us here in Soll, and he runs a fantastic service- the right equipment is a game-changer. If you end up coming this direction I'd highly recommend! :-)

fannymagee

PS... CAVEAT!!! Some of these are real race-machines lol, I'm definitely not suggesting you put your niece in one of them!! But the OH has a 9 year old client who comes every year for instruction & this is the crowd her parents rent from. She's only skiing three years and they used to use one they rented at home themselves, but there was a huge difference when she got a proper monoski sorted. As I said, game-changer! :-)

am i bovvered

Hi Fannymagee, thanks, great info !! Could you repost the link for Austria, our Nieces parents are now thinking of flying so maybe Austria is an option

fannymagee

am i bovvered wrote: »

Hi Fannymagee, thanks, great info !! Could you repost the link for Austria, our Nieces parents are now thinking of flying so maybe Austria is an option

Oh my God, did I not post it the first time? Haha sorry!! Here it is http://www.praschberger.com/

dzer2

Hi AIB

I know the ski school in KItzbuhel have a ski skedge for wheel chair bound customers they have a special instructor for it.

am i bovvered

Just a quick update....sorry for not replying sooner, busy couple of weeks. Thanks to everyone for the help and advice esp Fannymagee & Fattes for the links etc
I'm delighted, as we are booked up to go to les Saisies, in the Espace Diamont. Turned out the hardest part was finding suitable accomodation, a poster on snowheads recommended.... http://www.gites-de-france.com/location-vacances-Villard-sur-doron-Gite-Le-Gite-De-Bisanne-73G317117.html
Looks like a beautiful area, if anyone has any tips or advice it would be great.
Looking forward to researching, planning and trying to get a little bit fitter

Fattes

Great news hope it is perfect for you all!