Tommy Chevrette loves winter, loves the snow and loves to ski. But the kind of weather conditions a skier craves most—temperatures hovering around freezing, fresh snow from parking lot to mountaintop—are obstacles to people whose mobility is limited. “Winter is not good for wheelchairs,” he points out. “They get stuck everywhere.”
After volunteering at a local disabled ski school, and working with adapted ski equipment that left instructors with aching backs and pulled muscles, he decided to make his own sit-ski. “It’s like your ski boot,” he says. “It has to fit very well.”
That’s why adjustability, not to mention a pushup cylinder that takes part of the skier’s weight for easy in-and-out, is the hallmark of Chevrette’s ISOSKI (Iso-Ski). Skiers can also remain in the sit-ski when riding chairlifts; it safely tips back to accommodate the seat underneath.
Working with aluminum, rubber, fibreglass and Kevlar, Chevrette builds five to 30 sit-skis a year in his garage in his spare time, selling to ski schools and disabled skiers across North America. His customers include ski racers in Ontario and Quebec aiming for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Whistler, BC. “I’ve been able to ski down a double black-diamond run using it,” says Chevrette. “It gives a person in a wheelchair freedom and autonomy. He can ski entirely independently.”
Quebec disabled skiers Jean-Louis Notelteers and wife Michele Sansregret agree. “The reaction of able-bodied skiers is usually, ‘Wow, how do you ski so fast?' or 'Amazing. I'm not able to follow you!’" Notelteers says. The couple purchased two ISOSKIs in 2001 and have used them on slopes of Quebec and BC. “We were able to run some black diamond, and sometimes double-black, tracks,” he says. “Finally, we felt included in the skiers’ family.”
Wheelchair or no, all are welcome to hit the slopes in another one of the Quebec ski enthusiast’s inventions, the Sno-Limo—a collaboration with brothers Paul and Guy Auger. It’s a single-person sled-chair with room for a driver—ideal for those who might not be nimble enough to tackle the slopes solo. The “chauffeur” stands directly behind his passenger, guiding the sled down the slopes on skis attached to the unit. On the Sno-Limo, Chevrette says you get all the exhilaration of skiing, including the gentle sting of blown snow as you schuss down the slopes, plus you can ride the chairlift (remaining in the sled).
The Sno-Limo is currently on offer at four British Columbia ski resorts: Grouse Mountain, Big White, Sun Peaks and Whistler, where Chevrette is hoping to watch the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, “and see my equipment in action.”
www.evaluation-pep.qc.ca
www.sno-limo.com
