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JOSH'S TOP TEN
LIST
By Josh Sundquist
When Josh Sunquist was nine years old,
doctors found that he had an aggressive form of
bone cancer, Ewing's Sarcoma, in his left leg.
When chemotherapy couldn't shrink the tumor,
his leg was amputated from the hip. Later that
year, he heard about the disabled skiing
program at Massanutten. He tried skiing for the
first time while still on chemotherapy. Now,
five years later, he still loves skiing and he's
compiled a list of "Ten Reasons Why I Love
Disabled Skiing."
The Ten Things I Love About Disabled Skiing
1. Single Skis - Skiing on one leg, I have never
been too interested in having to buy a pair of
skis. Fortunately, I haven't had to yet. For the
past couple of years, I have skied on random
mismatiched skis that a ski shop provided for
me. This past season, a friend of mine on Ski
Patrol came across a single Dynastar 4x4. I was
excited to have my own shaped ski. But half
way through the season, I took a sharp right
turn to avoid a downhill skier. I fell pretty hard.
After I got up and looked at my ski, I saw a
crack in front of the boot. I decided I was
doomed. It was the end of skiing for me. Little
did I know that that very week, in Colorado,
my friend Justin's dad was skiing in a few feet
of fresh powder. Like me, he fell, and his skis
popped off. Normally this would be all right,
but he was on a very steep slop next to the
woods, and one of his skis slide away under the
powder. After a fruitless hour of searching, he
gave up hope and returned to Virginia with one
ski. Justin, remembering that I was in need of a
ski, put me back into ski season with his dad's
ski. Now, whenever I ski on my Dynastar Max
Zero, I'm thankful that Justin was looking for a
solution to both our problems.
2. Falling - I gues this is not really a word
you'd normally expect in "The Ten Things I
Love About Skiing." Let me clarify. There are
two kinds of falling: good falling and bad
falling. For a fall to qualify as a good fall, there
are a few conditions that must be met. First,
you cannot be in view of the chair lift where
people could see your fall. Second, there is a
mximum of two people allowed to be watching
(if either of these is a girl you're trying to
impress, it doesn't qualify). Third, you must fall
in a challenging situation (i.e. being upside
down at any point before the fall, speeds over
sixty m.p.h., or anything that involves switching
skis with someone else while moving). If these
conditions are not met, it is a bad fall. My
personal philosophy has always been, "If you
never fall, you aren't challenging yourself."
3. Little Kids - They're easy to identify because
generally they don't use poles and have no
knowledge whatsoever concerning turning.
Anyone in their way will tend to get knocked
down. As long as you stay out of their way, I
find that little kids provide great entertainment
as they knock over other helpless skiers. I also
chuckle when they notice my disability while
on the lift. I can tell they have noticed when
they scream, "MOMMY, that boy's skiing with
ONE LEG!"
4. Being Cold - I think this one's more a matter
of personal preference. Everyone is either a
cold person or a hot person. some people are
born sweaty. I, on the other hand, was brought
into this world naked and cold. Since that day, I
have preferred the cold weather of skiing. I
think that skiing in a T-shirt and a jacket at all
time keeps me more alert. If I was warm and
relaxed, I might not pay attention to obstacles
in the trail.
5. The Humor Of It - Anyone who thinks
skiing is not funny has never actually tried it. If
you ski for a couple of years, you hear and see
many funny things. I am reminded of a time my
friend Tony, an amputee who also skis with one
leg, was skiing. He and some of his friends
were standing on the side of the slope, taking a
break. A skiers, whom we shall call Type I
Skier (not his real name), was bombing down
the expert slope, totally out of control. Type I
Skier smashed into Tony at full speed. Type I
Skier stood up and wathced horrified as Tony
stood up on one leg. "Your leg is gone!" he
screamed. Seizing the opportunity to get back
at the pale faced Typed I Skier, Tony looked
down and cried out, "Oh my gosh - what
happened to my leg?"
6. Skier vs. snowboarders - I have always been
fascinated by the enmity that exists between
the two classes. I guess it's not harmful, a sort
of democrats and republicans of the slopes.
Personally, I will never forget the time a
snowboarder attempted to jump over me. (It
didn't work. He mumbled, "Sorry" and left me
lying on the ground. What did I ever do to
him?)
7. Catching Air - No article about skiing would
be complete without a discussion on jumping. I
believe good air can be the best part of a run
down the mountain. I've pulled my fair share of
grabs, but nothing amazing. If you want to get
good, remember always throw your weight
forward as you jump. Also, never forget that
bridges freeze over before roads.
8. Hearing people talk about themselves - It's
fun to sit on the life with someone and hear
them go on and on bragging about their skiing. I
love stories where my lift partner goes "at least
fifty miles per hour" or gets "like twenty feet of
air." Hearing these things reminds me that I,
too, once believed them about myself. If I ever
can do them, I hope that I don't realize it.
9. Racing - I've heard the average skier can
improve their skiing sever time over once they
start racing. Though I've only done a few races,
I love the challenge of trying to "keep an edge"
around the gates. Next year, I hope to be
competing a lot more in races.
10. The life lessons I've Learned - My
instructor, Mark Andrews, taught me that "the
slope always looks steeper from the bottom of
the mountain." Once you're at the top skiing
down it, it doesn't look quite so tough. Many
times a problem in life looks a whole lot worse
when I just sit around worrying about it. Once I
actually set my mind to try to make the best of
it, I realize it's not as bad as I thought it would
be. Most ski responsibility codes include some
phrase about "looking uphill before crossing the
slopes." You do this, of course, to avoid other
skiers. In normal life, I'm surprised how may
people are constantly looking downhill at their
mistakes and failures. If they would look uphill
toward their successes and challenges of the
future, life would get a whole lot better.
Check out Josh's web page and send your
comments to him regarding his Top 10 List at:
http://members.aol.com/besoldout/bio.html
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