Chilling out

It was a little strange unpacking all our winter gear in the middle of a heatwave. Just carrying the winter coats was making me overheat. But it was so worth it.

We love visiting Disability Snowsport UK. The staff are so incredibly talented, patient and have a great sense of humour. They are so keen to support and help and I had multiple families grabbing me to tell me how amazing all the staff were.

Chill Factore is proud to be the 2010 winner of the Manchester Tourism ‘Access for All’ award which recognises excellence in accommodating the needs of guests with disabilities. And we could see why on our last visit. Nothing was too much trouble for them.

Disability Snowsport UK is a nationwide registered charity, based at Chill Factore and they provide adaptive skiing for individuals with any disability, including physical, sensory and learning difficulties. By using adaptive equipment and specialist instruction and support, they are able to cater for even those with very limited mobility, so they had us whizzing down the slope in no time!

At this event we had Sitski’s which is a modified ski aid which allows the children with mobility issues to be given access to the full slope. They are taken down the slope by an instructor several times. Though I had one very confident young man tell me he had a go himself in true #NoLimits style.

For those of us that have more stability, we got a go on the stand up skis. We were on the beginner slope – and its enough! My kids were off – I was less confident, though managed a little hop by the end. Our instructor was so lovely and a lot of fun and the hour honestly flew by.

And for this event, we also had access to the Snow Park with the Ice Slide, Downhill Donuts and Sledge and Slide. I haven’t laughed so much in ages and my normally shy and clingy 6 year old was nowhere to be seen – she was off and loving it! All I can say, is that I’m glad the padding was available as there were multiple crashes! Honestly hysterical.

And a huge thanks to Chill Factore for the very delicious food that was provided as well. The pizzas were some of the best I’ve had in a while – and if you are ever that way, I recommend them!

We’re already looking at booking this again – so watch this space!

This event was also made possible by Whitehill Chase Foundation Trust who provided a grant to help pay for the families to visit. It was because of this grant that we could make this bigger and better and access the Snow Park and the very yummy food as well as the skiing. Little Hiccups would like to say a huge thank you for this donation.

What our families say

“I just want to say thank you so much for organising the chill zone day. All your efforts are hugely appreciated. ”

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“Just wanted to say thanks for organising the skiing yesterday. It was really fun and it was so nice for us to be able to experience it!”

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“Just wanted to drop you a note to say thank you so much for today sessions at Chill Factore. The girls absolutely loved it. Daisy especially had a fantastic time and absolutely loved the sit ski. It was so lovely to be able to access these kind of activities as a family x”

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“I just wanted to take a minute and write to say thank you for today.

The skiing experience was just fantastic for Elliot at the Chill Factore today. It was so great to have the privilege to watch him take part and have the opportunity as a wheelchair user to SKI, something we thought wouldn’t be possible.

Elliot’s instructors from Disability Snowsport UK were just fantastic, and really helped to make the experience special. They took the time before we went on the slope to find out about Elliot, how he expresses himself when he is happy and unhappy, and what things he enjoys.

This information was priceless as it really allowed Elliot and his instructors to “bond”, so much so, that when the instructor did a rendition of “hickory dickory dock” whilst skiing down the slope, that this made Elliot truly relax and enjoy the thrill of the ride. From here on in, Elliot was all smiles. We heard excited squeals, and saw lots of fist pumping as he travelled up and down the slopes time, and time again.

Thank you to Little Hiccups and Disability Snowsport UK for this truly unforgettable experience. We look forward to doing it again soon!”

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“Thank you for organising today. Oli and Erin had a fabulous time.”

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“Thank you Little Hiccups. Another fantastic event. The boys and I had a fantastic time this afternoon. Staff at the venue were fab, really patient in explaining things to the boys. Took a few videos, even managed to get a rare one off Miriam!”