04-05-05
Talk about a SLACKER! Where does the time go? My presents on the web
sharing information, images and my personal journey has spanned a decade.
It was January 26 1995 when I took my first monoski lesson over ten years ago.
If you showed me a video of me how I ski now back then and told me this will be you. I would not have believed you. From being told, with my level C6-C7 I can not mono but should Bi-ski, to feeling so awkward sitting in that thing and thinking what can I do in this, to falling over every ten feet. Sore shoulders and neck, struggling. But I did not give
up. I loved skiing before I was injured and I believed I would be able to do it again. I never thought I would be able to do it better then before. And some hold back getting out there after an injury. Thinking, It will never be the same as before. Well your right, it will not be the same. It’s better! I say then now after years of practice, and even pain. But now
I can truly express myself through my ski. It is a freedom unlike any other. No curbs, no steps, where ever there is snow, there, I can go. It amazes me how much of a difference equipment makes. Just when I thought I was skiing okay you know, managing most terrain with out a problem, but still feeling out of place on some terrain. I figured well
some stuff is just out of my league. I then tried another piece of equipment. Everything fell into place and I was amazed at what I could do and feel totally at home doing it. If you find yourself at a plateau in your skiing, try different equipment. Even if it means renting to taking a lesson from a program just to get in it. Then there is the ski itself.
Most manufacturers offer a boot type mount so we can plug our sitski right into
a standard ski binding. The downside is pinning it properly so you don’t pop out.
The up side is skiing some of the greatest ski binding systems the industry has to offer.
From Atomic and Rossignol, Head/Tyrollia to the Volkl/Marker motion system that totally ROCKS! I was on some current and real good strong product. Part way through this decade of mono skiing, I decided to get some formal training and become a ski instructor. I have been teaching for the past four seasons and in early 2005 I passed the PSIA level II adaptive exam. It was not easy for me, and had it not been for the great instructors and examiners at Windham giving clinics and training and encouragement I would have dropped the ball. There is something about showing someone what is possible for them to do even from a position of so called disability that is awesome.
“Maybe you don’t walk so good, but you can fly” It is a gift, a gift of freedom, self achievement, confidence and something they can be proud of. I guess the highlight of this season for me was teaching Melanie to mono-ski. She is an incredible child with many gifts. I thank God for letting me be in the right place at the right time to meet her and her family. Her dad Scott and I have become friends and she is an encouragement and an inspiration to me. And she is not even seven years old yet. There is more to come.
I will post more info, images and video from this season. Some of you need to contact me. I had a computer meltdown this winter and lost a lot of data. STEEN!!! YO Bro!
Give me a call if you want you skis. Anyone else? I am not blowing you off, I lost you contact info. Contact me. Please use sitskitom@hotmail.com or sitski@isp.com.
A few more days on snow and I will put the skis in the quiver and switch gears for the spring season. This is my favorite time of year to ski, no jacket!
All in all I am really not that excited, not good! It seems my passion is dwindling fast, plus this numbness in my hand does not help. Not sure what the rest of the season has for me and I find the joy I use to get from writing to you all is diminishing. I thought my SCI was my cross to bare in life. I will take an SCI over emotional torment any day. We all have issues to deal with and I won’t bore you with mine. I’ll take a prayer or two though.
Well on a lighter note. I tested some skis out and want to give you a heads up. The Volkl six star supersport 168cm with the Marker Motion binding. This is one smoking gun of a ski. Strong, powerful, bad to the bone. To say I like it is an understatement. This ski offers a lot to the sit down skier. Like I said, it is strong, and very stable. If you want a performance ski this is it. It really does have a go anywhere and rip it up attitude. It was a wicked cold morning and it was not a problem finding some real hard pack and ice. This six star is the ice breaker. This bad boy of a ski cut’s in and holds like a vise on the ice. It’s a keeper! Also the Volkl PRO 7.24 is an all mountain bad boy that does it all with style and grace. Push it hard and it smiles back at you as if to say HURT ME baby! You really can’t go wrong with a Volkl, just stick to the advanced skis. On the Atomic front, I skied the Metron M11 162cm. This is another go anywhere do anything ski. One guy coined it the SUV of skis. I like it so much. It floats on powder cuts through hard pack and responds quick in bumps. It can be a little soft and I did flatten mine out, but it was not a new ski when I started my assault on it. I want another one. It is a ripper, a keeper, BIG tip and tail a lot of fun. Also the Atomic SX:9 in a 180cm was a fun ski. I am not a fan of anything over a 174cm but far be it for me to put my self in a box especially when it comes to trying out new planks. I would like to start chasing some gated and I figured this ski would be a fast all mountain ripper and it is. It is strong and lively, and likes to be skied hard. If you have any questions on pinning the Marker motion or the Atomic binding feel free to contact me. I will post images and info when I find my head and screw it back on. Thanks for all the notes, e-mails and encouragement.
It’s funny how things turn around. I started this site to help those like me who could not find info, equipment and what not, even to chat with someone with the same type of disability and compare notes. And I find now in probably the hardest time of my life, some of you have come through for me. As I crack a tear… THANKS! Keep the waxed side down,
Your friend, Tom.
Season Log Click here
2005 is here. Wow 04 went quick all though it was a very hard year for me.
I guess it true that the holiday season can cause some to be more depressed.
For the past few years that has been me. Maybe some of you as well.
It's funny I was talking to a friend last year who had been reading my site.
I guess on the surface it looks like I am living the American dream. Well the surface is not very deep. As far as getting a grip on life with a disability I think I nailed that a long time ago. I never really focused on it. I just approached life as I always did and moved on, finding a job and pursuing the opposite sex like any other young man. I actually put my sport life style on the shelf thinking it was no longer part of my life. You see I was never really into team sports. Well I was on a skate board team, but when it’s your turn
to take a run it’s a solo deal. Skiing was my passion then and when I got hurt I just assumed it was gone for good. I was also into kick boxing. Mostly sports with a lot of lower body use. I guess I took that passion and drive and turned it toward being entrepreneur. I was a welder before I got hurt. After my accident I went to school for drafting. Across the street from the school I was attending was a guitar factory. That was my first job after my injury. It was not in the drafting field but I did like the job. Soon a job came up in my field for some righteous bucks so I took it. After working a few for a major player telecommunications company I left to start my own guitar company. Yeah Tom C. has a major Rock n Roll side to him. I got to meet some of my rock n roll heroes.
I even build guitars for some. I do have a creative side that is not easily quenched.
One thing is for sure, this industry I am in now no does not come close. When I met my wife I was working my own guitar shop and sports have been out of my life for about five years. I could see it was not bringing in enough income to support a wife let alone a family working my guitar shop so I went back to drafting with computers. CAD, Computer Aided Drafting or Design. At first this was okay because I landed a great job in the air and space industry working on satellite designs. The money was great but the creative side was a little weak for me. Well soon down sizing reared it’s ugly head and I was let go. With a child and another on the way trying to maintain that salary became priority. The American dream was soon a nightmare and I was not waking up any time soon. Through the worst of financial difficulty I always kept my faith. I know that God can and will make a way where there is no way as long as we do the right thing and live within our means. There are two in a marriage and how can a house divided against it’s self stand? About fourteen years after my accident I was introduced to adaptive skiing. In particular the mono-ski. Back then in 95 the internet was not yet a house hold tool. And there were no sites on adaptive skiing. I did a search on monoski and it produced links to the single big snowboard looking thing with the side by side boot bindings. I could see confusion already. When I told people I ski with a monoski they would question “oh the snow board thing”. Then I would have to explain. I am proud to say I was one of the first to create a website for adaptive skiers back in Jan.95. I had a site for my custom guitars and I added a page describing my first lesson in a mono. Soon I added pictures and manufacture information. I started to get more response from the adaptive skiing site then my guitar site. In early 96 I registered sitski.com. The sitski from years past (that covered kayak looking thing) had for the most part been out dated and replaced with the monoski, or mono-ski, confusing. I sit as I ski and so does a bi-skier.
So sitski.com was the answer. Plus it is self expletory. SIT and SKI. Anyway. The response to the site grew and grew. I was reunited with my passion and in a way that would help me to be more open to other sports I might have just shied away from like scuba diving. As others found this site and were challenged to try something new, the testimonies came in as to how they got back on the horse of their old sport or tried skiing
and other sports for the first time. I started thinking the world does not need another guitar builder, but this is doing some good on many levels for many people around the world. That was mind blowing to me, that I could reach someone on the other side of the world through my little sight and helping others to enjoy life to the fullest, spirit, soul and body. I started using my CAD and long past welding talents to design and fabricate components to meet needs related to the equipment already existing. Like torso belts and boot systems, then moving into equipment like the mini hand cycle. My spouse does not share my passion and even feels betrayed that I have a passion other then her and my kids. I do understand to a point but I can not ignore all the good that has come from adaptive sports in my life, and also the feeling of having some purpose associated to my quadriplegia. The fulfillment some of you have by sharing your passion with the one you love is something that eludes me. Maybe it’s not that important and I am being selfish. But I have been so depressed the last few years that even my passion and dreams of going further with it are dieing. I find my self becoming cynical and angry. I have always been a pretty cheerful guy and this sinking knot in my chest is slowly killing me. So I have been seeking help. Talking to a Dr. and taking anti depression meds. Maybe some of you have been or are still in the same situation. If so I am here and have open ears and can use your advise. I the multitude of counsel there is wisdom, right. I have a friend who is married. The two of them share their passion for skiing and other sports together.
I see them on the hill often and was some what envious of them. But then talking over this summer it came out that there is a lack of deep communication. Not the day to day
stuff but the inner things you want to share and have reciprocation. This is a pain and need I feel daily. So old adage is true, the grass is not greener on the other side. I would
have thought they have it all. So we live and learn. Forgive me for just rambling on. But
I feel pretty shot these days and just wanted to vent. I know I am not alone and if you are in the same boat as me, you are not alone also. So try to take comfort in that. I know that God will not allow more then we can handle to come our way. So I take that to hart in my dark moments. Some times it takes those areas of discomfort that only a spouse can bring
to show us the areas God is trying to shape and mold in our life. He is the potter we are the clay. I guess there is a rock or some hard dirt stuck in my clay that he is working out
of me. I can be stubborn and fight or let him work. I think most couples split up because
because one or both will not compromise to help meet the others needs. I don’t want to be in that boat. So I struggle and struggle. And I thought I had it all going on. Pride is an ugly thing and will burn you every time. But it takes two to make it work. Agreement,
even if you agree to disagree at least there is communication. Compromise, putting aside our personal preference for a greater good. And putting others before ourselves. These are things we all need to work on. Things that bring us closer to who God is and it is not easy. This old body we live in has it’s own ides and it’s own agenda and it has nothing to do with God. And every thing to do with us and our own selfish desires. Don’t believe me. Try getting up early on a Sunday to go to church. Then try getting up early to go skiing or shopping or something else you like. Are there the ramblings of a mad man?
Have I lost it? :) Okay I will lighten up now. Thanks for listening though. If there are any of you who are a spouse of a person in a wheelchair could you drop me an e-mail I have some questions for you. Thanks! Where was I? Oh, yeah all that to say this. I have a new e-mail. The spam thing got to me. If you sent me mail and never go a reply I most likely deleted it with all the garbage mail. Please use sitskitom@hotmail.com to contact me. You can use my old e-mail but you must use a subject and start it with AAA or SITSKI or something that stands out or it will be deleted. Have a great NEW YEAR!
12-16-04
Season Log Click here
This is a video clip of Matt Bell skimming the pond
Some picture and more here
I only have a few of the Grove boot system left.
If you want one do not put it off.
I hope you all had a great summer. The kids are back to school and I see some early brown leaves on my lawn. So that can only mean one thing, winter is on the way. If you sent me e-mail and never got a reply it is because I have been inundated with junk mail. I gave up trying to sort through over ten thousand e-mails after my vacation so I just deleted it all. Sorry. Please resend any mail and please add AAA the subject line in front of your subject for easy sorting.
I had the opportunity to take a cruse in late July. I liked it, it was a good time to relax and party it up with about two thousand new friend, but it was a little on the slow side for me. I am some what of an adrenalin junky and no one in my family can relate. WHATEVER! The ship had good access to most all levels. I was on the Norwegian Cruse Line’s flag ship the Norwegian Dawn . We sailed out of NY, two stops in Florida and two in the Bahamas, and back to NY.
I am not sure how much longer I will be keeping up a log and updates. It seems like work and other things in my life has drained my motivation. I will do the best I can so please stop by. Thanks for all your help and support. I hope to see you on snow in about 65 days.
Here are a few of my video clips from the 03-04 season
please check out this video from my friend Luke He is 18 and he is one great mono-skier.
Here is a link to a bunch of images and videos of Sjees. He is from Holland and is one of the most active
and talented athletes I have seen. Be it snow, water, or the skate park, this guy
ROCKS it and rocks it hard. Check out his web site here
03-14-04
Season Log Click here
01-03-04
12-29-03
12-22-03
12-17-03
12-15-03
11-15-03
11-02-03
10-29-03
SKIS! Click here
10-14-03
New and improved Grove Mono-Boot Click here
09-23-03
Two new Video clips Click here
09-23-03
The eleventh annual Sarah Will and Chris Waddell
09-18-03 Re-Re-Release of "What If"
09-08-03 No Freeze Tips
Click here
07-24-03 Salomon Ski List
Click here
07-24-03 New Off Road Design
Click here
07-11-03 Ski Review Click here
07-09-03 Rock Video Files Click here
06-28-03 Season Log Click here
06-28-03 Fresh Pix Click here
06-24-03 Season Wrap Up! Click here
06-12-03 Nordica Ski Boots Click here
04-10-03 Video Clips Click here
New pics from Stacy Kohut Click here 09-19-02
New Single Boots Click here 7-21-02
The Freedom Factory New Location
We passed the PSIA Level 1 Exam 03-04-02
A great new book "Alpine Achievement" history of disabled skiing.
Prayer and inspiration Click here 09-11-01
Contact me and help the cause if you can.
Season Log Click here
03-05-04
Season Log Click here
Sorry for the late update, blame it on The SLACKER
02-22-04
Season Log Click here
Driving home from the mountain on the 8th
my car died again. A new motor this time. BOOM!
A week with no car is really a drag.
02-11-04
Season Log Click here
02-05-04
Season Log Click here
01-20-04
Hi Gang,
It has been a while since my last update and I am sorry about that.
I wanted to try and keep current but time is getting away from me.
The job is quite draining and many other factors are taking their toll.
If you have been out skiing a few times please take the time to check your equipment.
Check for lose nuts and bolts, worn straps, lose bindings. Check the out riggers too.
I lost an out rigger bolt while skiing. It’s a good thing I keep some spare bolts
in my “save a run” pouch. I was able to replace it on snow and save the run.
I was asked to join in a mono ski lesson. This student is a mono-skier from a few years ago. He had not been in the bucket over four years. Well talk about a come back.
The guy took to the snow in a Revolution Pro Comp like he never stopped skiing.
I was blessed to be a part of that lesson. The season has been off to a slow start as far
as the terrain goes. Still no good bumps for filming. But as soon as I can I will get some good bump footage and lesson plans posted. I am still not out of the woods yet and feel
as if all hell is coming against me. So if you are one who prays, please pray for me.
I am selling some skis Click here
Season Log Click here
Season Log Click here
Video post
Running the Nastar course. 3.39 M.
A Speed run down Whistler. 9.32 M.
Season Log Click here
Hi Gang,
Sorry for the delay in updates. Life is getting very busy. The job is pretty demanding
and after checking my e-mail at night and trying to fill orders it is hard to find time to
post log entrees, but I am trying. I have the last two weekends just about ready to post.
Mostly instructor training. Well for now I have a little taste of what my new Viosport helmet cam can do.
I took my daughter up to Windham on 12-13. I grabbed a few runs with the cam to test out the system. The result is these two videos.
Lets take a run together down a blue trail called Whistler to the tune of What Good by Third day. 13.8 M.
If a steep double black is more your style, try Wolverine
to the tune of One day at a time by Jeremy Camp. 14.2M. Both videos shot on my Revolution Pro Comp with a Salomon Crossmax 10 Pilot 170cm. This ski ROCKS!
Season Log Click here
God's timing here
Season log here
Ski the bumps here
Monoski Camp in Vail Click here
Click here
Click here for contact info 07-06-02
Click here for more info. 01-23-02
What WAS New on SitSki
Go Back