Thierry Cattaneo, a BNP Paribas employee at Evian-Les Bains, has been one of the beneficiaries of the Helping Hand programme supported by the BNP Paribas Foundation .In the story below, he explains why he got involved with the AFEPA Association (Association de Familles d’Enfants Polyhandicapés) and how he sees tandem skiing developing in the future.

“The association AFEPA was set up in 1999, on the initiative of several parents of children who attended a centre for disabled people. I myself have a child with multiple disabilities and since I am quite involved in the skiing community, I told myself that something should be done. So I consulted the Handisport Federation in order to find a solution and we came up with the tandem ski chair.

As not everyone knows how to operate a tandem ski chair, accompanying persons must follow a one-week course, for a fee, naturally, and then take their operator’s license. Parents can also learn how to operate the tandem ski chair but they have to follow a two-week course. I have to point out as well that the chair itself costs 5,000 euros.
This course provides certification of the holder’s ability to accompany both children and adults on the tandem ski chair – all those who do not have the ability to ski independently. I started tandem skiing with disabled people four years ago, financed for the most part by BNP Paribas, and it’s given me such pleasure!

My daughter goes out on the tandem ski chair each time she comes skiing and each time her face lights up with a radiant smile. And that brings me great joy.
But I don’t just accompany my daughter, I accompany others as well. So anyone who wishes to take part is very welcome and of course I offer my services on a voluntary basis.
Tandem skiing is beginning to be more widely practised. In Haute Savoie, France, where I come from, there are increasing numbers of tandem ski chair operators. Training is not only available for ski-school instructors and voluntary instructors within clubs but also for the many parents who want to learn how to operate the tandem ski chair in order to take their own children out skiing.
This year I have begun developing this activity in my valley (the Vallée d’Abondance), and I am trying here and there to find people who would be interested in tandem skiing. This is not as straightforward as it sounds, because, when it’s very cold, we can’t go out on the tandem ski chair: most users are paraplegic or tetraplegic and have no feeling in their legs and are therefore quickly affected by the cold, so we need milder weather. This season, both at Christmas and in February it was too cold and we couldn’t go out. We’ll try to make up for it at Easter!
I don’t think tandem skiing is practiced in any other country, other than Switzerland, where I think it’s only just starting up. I have heard some talk of it being practised in Canada, but I haven’t really got much information on that. However, in France, it is full steam ahead; the sport is really beginning to take off! I should also point out that you’re not allowed to take the drag lifts with the tandem ski chair; you have to take chair lifts with a minimum of three seats. And when you arrive at the chair lift with the tandem ski you’ll only be allowed to use it if you meet all the required safety standards. So it’s not always an easy task…
The manufacturer of the chair, a Mr. Tessier, is based in Saint Michel de Maurienne in Savoie. He runs a small business, employing three or four workers and manufactures tandem ski chairs, dual skis, and uni-skis, and he is now starting work on prototypes for mountain wheelchairs for use in the summer. Mr. Tessier also produces wheelchairs for the French Handisport teams and is the main manufacturer in France.
They only make eight large tandems a year, so they must be ordered in advance and for some people the price of the chair is often an issue.
Our association is currently seeking out volunteers to operate tandem ski chairs for the disabled. The difficulty we are experiencing in finding volunteers may be due to the fact people don’t know enough about tandem skiing or because they are afraid to put themselves forward. So, we have to look for operators, offer them training and then once the training is complete, we can buy the equipment we need.

The satisfaction you get when you take children out skiing, when you bring them to the top of a slope where they’ve never been before, when a bit of wind or snow whips against their faces, when they go down the slope; you can’t imagine just how delighted they are, and how we you see the delight in their faces immediately. Laughter, gestures, expressions… it’s very motivating, and you have no regrets in terms of the investment you’ve made in terms of both time and money. I certainly don’t regret it for an instant.
You must come one day to the mountains and take a little trip on the tandem ski chair. I personally invite everyone (whether they’re disabled or not) who’s listening, or watching, to visit the ski resorts where tandem skiing is being developed to try out – and it would only be to try out – the tandem ski chair! And, if everyone could then spread the word…”