The Winter Paralympics can give people inspiration to change their lives | Ade Adepitan

This powerful competition has a more important job than the Olympics in opening doors and lifting the oppressed in society

I was taught to ski by a guy called Bill Bowness. He has sadly passed away now, but he was an American Paralympian with this big beard and a proper chilled vibe. He took me up a slope at Lake Tahoe once in one of the early sit skis and I remember it to this day: a fibreglass bucket seat bolted to a frame on top of a ski. Even balancing on one of these things was hard enough. I was horror-struck, but there was Bill teaching me, cool as you like, and he was literally skiing down the mountain backwards as he did it.

Skiing is one of the most liberating sensations you can feel and that's especially true for people with disabilities. You're thinking if I do something wrong here then I'm toppling down a mountain at 50mph, but if I get down safely then I've played with death (or broken bones) and I've won the game. As humans we like to feel like we're in control and if you feel like you're in control of danger, that's really exhilarating. I almost feel like a psychopath talking about it in those terms, but that's what I think of when the Winter Paralympics come around.