Winter sport: how Erwin ticked another item off his bucket list
Erwin te Boekhorst (52) recently checked something off his bucket list again; monoskibob. Since the motorcycle accident in 2017 and the double lower leg amputation that followed, he has not been in the snow. Until now. Because as a winter athlete, he keeps a soft spot for his passion.
On Facebook, his eye fell on a post from "De Vereniging van Gehandicapte Wintersporters (VGW)". VGW from the Netherlands organizes trips to winter sports areas to teach people with physical disabilities how to ski and snowboard. As an introduction, the association offers clinics in which participants are taught crutch skiing (skiing on one leg), skiing with a prosthesis (i.e., skiing on two legs), snowboarding and monoskibob.
Going hard
Erwin: "I love winter sports and was curious about what was possible next. That was reinforced when I watched the last Winter Games. It all goes so nice and hard. I wanted to experience that feeling again myself." So he immediately signed up for the clinics at SnowWorld Zoetermeer (NL). Laughing: "I had to fill in all kinds of data, like my height and weight. I had some doubts about that, because without prostheses I am considerably smaller than with them, and about ten kilos lighter."
(Re)experiencing skiing
Such a clinic is all about the skiing experience, explains Erwin. The idea is that anyone with any disability can experience a winter sports experience. For Erwin that meant: "getting loose as fast as possible, descending as independently as possible. "That's the perfectionist in me. I go for 100 percent, always. And therefore want to know how to do it and what can be done better." So ski clothes on and go.
Once at the top of the mountain, it is high and steep after all, Erwin notices immediately. "Yes, I did have to take a deep breath in my tub on skis," he reflects. "You really have to let go of control that first time. You surrender to your companion." The person skiing behind the tub on skis steers and can brake to take the momentum out. "Death or gladiolas," Erwin sums up his first descent succinctly.
Immediately after, he has a taste for it. "It's still scary, but after about ten meters you notice it's going well. You have to trust the person behind you. And then the relaxation comes. On the following descents, I was even able to steer a little bit, feel turns. Thanks to my winter sports experience, I was able to apply my knowledge and technique of snowboarding. Moreover, I have good strength in my arms and can control my torso well, which allowed me to make my contribution during the descent."
Like old times
All in all, it felt like old times, Erwin believes. "You feel the wind, the turns. Sure a controlled independent descent never came off, but accomplishing this gave me renewed energy. Through exertion, I relax."
Next bucket list item: walking on blades
A few lessons he's definitely going to take. And that bucket list? There are still some goals on there. Running on blades, for example. "Not as a sport," Erwin quickly clarifies. "Running I didn't do with legs either, so definitely not on blades," he laughs. "But I just want to experience once what it's like to move around not on prosthetics but on blades."