Norway is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.
To even get to the hotel we had to cross Fjords, mountains and even mile long
tunnels.
My first impressions of Norway was….WET. For the first week
we had pretty much non stop rain on the hill but glorious sunshine at the
hotel. Which made for great recovery
post training. We could ski in the mornings, come back soaked and then go and
swim in the sea to relax….
Oh yeah the Hotel was a 5 – 10 minute walk from the nearest
Fjord, which was tidal and had a very low salt content. Which meant it was
really nice to swim in. There was even a
diving board, which I HAD to jump off, at least once. It wasn’t in the easiest of locations to get
to. We had to walk over rocks, slippy cambered surfaces and even climb a few
steps with no hand rail and then when we got to the board there was no rail or
anything to hold onto whilst you were on it. I set off on the trek, picking my
line through rocks and climbing onto the slippery camber, making sure to avoid
the rock pool, Catherine the physio caught up with me and asked me the question
“are you sure this is a good idea?” My reply “Yep it will be fine”. I was
determined to have a go and needless to say when my mind is made up, there is
no going back. Catherine just sighed and and helped me climb the steps by guiding my foot, making sure I don’t
drag my toes up the rocky steps and cut them (isn’t she a good un?.) I get to the top and stand on the board, I
then decide to let the rest of the group know, I don’t like heights… The board had two metal bars going across the
bit you walk on at different points, which meant I would have to really pick my
legs up if I wanted to walk. As the
water was so deep it meant that If I jumped in with my crutches I wasn’t sure
if I would ever get them back and that wasn’t a situation I wanted to be in. I suggested dropping the crutches and just
running for it….needless to say that went down like a ton of bricks. I decided (with
some slight persuasion techniques from the rest of the guys) the best option
was to crawl to the end. I crawled to
the end, posed for the obvious photo opportunity and flopped in. It wasn’t the
most graceful of things I have done, but it was fun to say the least. I swam to small ladder, climbed out and
decided that was enough for me, so I spent the rest of our time there relaxing
in the sun. 
This was the first camp we have worked with Dougie Mill as a
coach. He was a lot of fun and has a strict but fun work ethic. He really cares
about your development and definitely thinks outside the box. As mentioned in my previous blogs I have
moved to a rope holding my skis together rather than a steel bar. Dougie was a key part of trying different
types of ropes and straps to see which worked best. I must have broken at least
one a day…some days two, if I was on form. These ranged from belt, to a bit of
paracord, we tried everything. Towards the end of the fortnight, I think we
found the method that worked the best with a bit of input from John Clark. Whenever I broke one, Dougie would disappear
and come back 5 minutes later and it was fixed…mega.
A bit on the technical stuff . At the moment I am working on
a couple of aspects. One is to flex the front of the boot to be much more
progressive in the turns. This will allow me to control my speed and really
regulate the amount of pressure I can put through the ski. The second is to turn my feet together on the
steeper terrain to give myself more direction and control as I head down the
hill. I felt a lot of positives from this camp, I am starting to feel more and
I think my new boots are working perfectly. 
As I mentioned in my last blog, I was looking to secure
funding for a orthotic lycra suit that would help pull my body into the
position it is meant to be in. I have been
lucky enough to secure this and I have just started training with it. It is a bit of a devil to get on without a hand. I definitely feel this is an invaluable investment into my development.
So what's next?
Currently I am in Wittenburg Germany for a week training in
their indoor ski slope. This is a great training place as the snow is very
consistent and is basically bullet proof, which is a great challenge and means if
you are not on your edges you are on your backside. I will update you all when
I am back.
Much Love
Alex
If anyone would like to sponsor my cause please click hereOr email me on alexclarke1992@outlook.com
