Hello again!
Tried 360 yesterday, love it!

The rest of the British team arrived a few days ago, and we’ve been having fun racing around the mountain with them, and doing drills together. It’s great to follow, listen to and learn from the other athletes and coach; a real privilege to be a part of the team. NorAm (North American) races are fast approaching, I can’t believe how quickly this season’s gone!

We’ve had a week of bright sunny, warm weather, a welcome shock to the system after the cold snap. We’ve been mostly training GS which is fun and fast, and slalom, which is really technical. I had a big crash last week, flipped over a couple of times, not pleasant in a sit-ski but inevitable once in a while. Somehow both the ski and I survived despite a face full of snow. I should have taken a few more minutes to recover, but got up and skied down through the powder close to the B (safety) netting, where the powpow was freshest. Unfortunately my outrigger got caught in the snow, which spun me round, and I ended up exceedingly tangled in the netting. A sense of humour is vital for learning this sport!

When I first got on the British development squad, I was hiring or borrowing equipment, and couldn’t afford a lightweight wheelchair let alone a sit-ski, but a ‘Mystery Donor’ came to the rescue, sponsoring me with a sit-ski. Thank you very much Mystery Donor! I would also like to thank my incredibly generous friends, family, and other anonymous donors, Two Seasons Snowboard shop and everyone who’s helped me get this far. You have been so kind. An incredible £3081.81 has been raised through my sponsored biathlon, which has paid for me to get out here, train and pay for skis and kit. Without everyone’s generosity I would have seriously struggled to be where I am today and it really is much appreciated. After this season I shall be looking for a job!

Thanks for taking an interest in my blog, if there’s anything you’d like to know, email me at annaturney@gmail.com

It’s been a busy month; I’ve learnt so much and have so much more to learn. I went from having never skied gates to doing a speed camp and being the fastest female sit-skier in a local super G! What a rush! Riding the course at speed was an incredible buzz, the same intense shot of adrenaline and satisfaction as snowboarding down a steep tree run, pushing it to the limits. In one word, ‘awesome’! I broke 78km/hour on the radar in a speed trap, gimme a skin-tight racing suit and a steeper hill and I’ll be flying!

Andy, a mechanically minded sit-skier on the Canadian team has been working on the suspension of my sit-ski whilst I watch and learn. I’ve also been learning all about ski tuning and practising lots! The right kit is essential to succeed in this sport and I’m enjoying learning how it works.

Tim and Sean from the British team have returned from competing in Europe and the World Cup and joined Jane and me training out here. We’ve been working hard on slalom, trying to lift the tempo and get those turns really quick, which is great fun out of the gates but somewhat frustrating for me at present in them. I hit a gate wrong the other day, somersaulted and broke my slalom ski, but at least skis are replaceable.

Mogul training with the team and tree skiing with locals was a good challenge today. By the end of the season I will be bouncing down through them at speed! I managed to avoid all the trees and got some air too, which reminds me of the delights of snowboarding!

Otherwise life’s going well. Last weekend I ventured out of Kimberly to explore Cranbrook, the next town along, with lovely Canadian Aly. It made a nice change from the hotel and the ski hill that have been my home for the past month. So my skiing progresses, I’m getting to know the locals and the days fly by.