The World from Pole to Pole in a wheelchair

Igor Skikevich - a wheelchair traveler, para-climber, inventor, continues his story about incredible adventures. The beginning of the story can be found here.

Official website of Igor Skikevich: skikevich.ru

Part 2

– Which extreme entertainments have you tried? What does extreme tourism on a wheelchair mean to you?

– As for extreme entertainments, I’m not fond of them at all. My life is very eventful, so I spend all my time on learning something new, training and creativity. I try to aim my energy on achieving more important goals.
By the way, when I got a spinal cord injury, in which my spinal cord was torn, and doctors had to remove one of my cervical vertebras, and replace it with an implant, it was my inner spirit, obstinacy and creativity that helped me, after a year of complete paralysis, stir myself and sit on a wheelchair. I invented my own rehabilitation method, as the doctors’ verdict was unappealable: to be confined to bed for the rest of my life! 

It was an enormous psychological shock for me. It was a real extreme for my brain. And in the moment of complete desperation, when I even didn’t want to live, and when it was clear that I had nothing to lose, I, out of curiosity, decided to use strength of thought and started to do auto-training. Nobody: neither my friends, nor the surgeon who operated me and saved my life – believed that I could move. But the great purpose and the dream about travelling made my muscles gradually move through certain brain commands. And, as a result, I’ve won the circumstances, and, when I already could get on the wheelchair and sit, I felt that I’m a pioneer within myself. In this moment of supreme happiness, I felt something in my soul which I cannot describe. I’m writing a book about it, and I’m going to publish it this year.’

Experienced doctors couldn’t understand anything when they saw my records indicating my confinement to bed. I started to study medicine in order to better understand structure of a human body, which enabled me to recover up to 80% of lost functions of my body in future, and then to start an active life on a wheelchair. Studying all the things I need for my life is my “entertainment,” which brings me great satisfaction, even if I’m really tired or dead on my feet, and sometimes I sleep 4 – 5 hours a day because of frequent pains. But now I know how to get along with them, and I cope with them for a short time until the next attack. So, I got used to live against the stream! The main thing is to be positive and not to lose heart. 

But let’s return to the question about extreme entertainments. Still, once I’ve “entertained” myself having made a 69-meter bangy-jumping on a wheelchair to overcome a fear of height, and I determined to do this within a couple of seconds. When people fight with their fears, it gives them confidence and strength to overcome the fears. However, I’d like to highlight that someone has once used the word thrill-seeker for artificial self-assertion in the society, and this word was caught by others who don’t understand its meaning and are unaware what can really happen during their sport or touristic activity. 

People who call themselves thrill-seekers are a sort of potential self-murderers. They program themselves with this word, like, for instance, once you called yourself a kamikaze, it is clear at once what you want to say about yourself. And for good reason it is said: “A bad beginning makes a bad ending”. People who call themselves thrill-seekers purposefully seek the ways of losing their lives. 
There can be extreme situations in which people can get during travelling, when they risk their lives, and it is necessary to get out of such situation at any cost to stay alive. That is why it is necessary to study extreme situations and avoid moments when there is danger and risk for your life. And the more thoroughly a person will get ready, the easier it will be for them to overcome unforeseen difficult circumstances during the routes and make adequate decisions. 
In the recent years, I often see people who call themselves thrill-seekers. They buy jeeps and expensive equipment and think that it will help them go through any obstacles. But, as a rule, half of these people are absolutely not ready to perform difficult tasks during their travelling. They often cripple themselves, and sometimes even die. And all this happens because of thoughtlessness, pathos and negligence of training.

For me, extreme tourism on a wheelchair doesn’t exist. And, as I’ve already said there is no extreme tourism as such. However, I’ve got in extreme situations on a wheelchair more than once, even in the urban environment, not mentioning the nature. Once in Omsk, I rapidly got down the road along a high fence near a building under construction. And, when there were a few meters before the end of the fence, I have already imagined a situation in my head: “what if a car will rush out of the gateway?” And within a few seconds, I stopped, and, at that moment, a minibus rushed out of the corner and bumped into another car which moved down the main road. The minibus was empty. As we found out the driver left his bus on the road under the slope, didn’t put it on the parking brake, and when he went out, the minibus has rolled down. This way, I could have found myself under the wheels of a car. 

Once I’ve nearly strangled myself with the ropes. Three years ago, my climbing instructor and I began to learn independent methods of vertical climbing on a wheelchair, which I further called para-climbing.  There are neither methods, nor recommendations in this direction in the world, and I set a goal to develop this sport. We did everything using trial and error method. We searched for methods of climbing and getting down. Though nothing foreboded any troubles, and we used standard methods of getting down, my wheelchair, together with my body, started to lean forward, then back, and the constructive knot of ropes with carabiners started to squeeze my throat.  But here I also was saved because I’ve insured myself with additional, and, as it turned out, necessary appliances. 

There were cases when I nearly choked in water on my wheelchair, or nearly suffocated during a mere food intake. I really had just a few seconds to breathe. I rescued myself only thanks to the knowledge about what to undertake in this emergency case.

My first and unprecedented hitch-hiking 20,000-kilometer expedition on a wheelchair from Sevastopol to Shikotan was truly super-extreme for me. Eight times I found myself in the hardest situations, after which I could completely stop the travelling I’ve planned. But I always found decisions and got out of the difficult situations. And in all the cases of my rescue, I’m grateful that I always train myself and prepare myself for different extreme situations. 
 

– How do you plan your travelling? Do you use any websites or applications?

– Any travelling has three main components: thorough preparation, finance and purpose. You can undertake a travelling even if you don’t have much experience. But if you really want to do it, you should have a starting point and take the first step towards travelling. Preparation for any travelling starts with the search for necessary information, which meets the format, objectives and goals of the travelling.

I plan my travelling several months or even years ahead. I try to learn all the information from experienced people or travelers who visited the same places which I want to visit. In the internet, via Google or Yandex, I study general, basic components of my point of interest, including everything connected with weather and environmental conditions. Currently, there are many interesting websites for travelers and tourists where you can find exhaustive information. Above all, I use FORECA.ru (weather website), MAPS.me, City Maps 2GO (offline-maps), OruxMaps (offline-maps for hikers), 2GIS (great application for travelling around Russia: addresses, telephones, working hours of the companies are always accessible). But as for compass, I always use mechanic - not electronic one. 

– What was the most unusual thing you saw during your travelling?

– Two years ago, in Novosibirsk, when my friends taught me to steer yacht on the river, I was lucky to observe quite a rare natural phenomenon – lenticular (lens like, in the form of UFOs’ flying saucers) clouds. They are formed on the crests of air waves or between two layers of air. The characteristic feature of these clouds is that they don’t move however strong the wind may be.
And once in the wild Taiga, where long ago iconic Dersu Uzala had wondered, at night, the clouds suddenly ran over, and thousands of insects flew on our tent city. In a few minutes, it started to rain heavily. And at that moment, there were so many insects that even the torrent couldn’t drive them away for a long time. I faced such phenomenon for the first time in my life. Amazing sight!

– Have you ever got into funny or dangerous situations?

– There was a case when my friend and I went a small hiking, and he forgot to take our fishing-tackle. And what to do in hiking without fishing and fish-soup, moreover, when there is fish in the river? My friend was blaming himself for negligence. And I was laughing. He was desperate because we were eager to catch a lot of fish and eat a lot of fish-soup. Then I showed him how, by means of lengthwise splitting of long grass, to make thin threads and spin them like plait, stretching the plait by tipping over up to 1.5 meters. At first, he was taken aback and thought that I’m having a go, but he didn’t argue, and took up to my “strange” task. As a result, we made quite a strong fishing line. While he was spinning a thin plait of the grass, I took out a spring from my lighter and made a hook of it, having sharpened the tip on a suitable river stone. As a bait, we collected caddis flies in the river and found some worms. An ordinary branch instead of the fishing-rod – and, by the evening, we got a good catch and the long-awaited fish-soup. And the next day, I taught my friend to spin a fishing trap of branches. So, thanks to this case, my friend started to go through beginner’s training of surviving in the wild. 

Dangerous situations always happen to any traveler. Once I flew by a moto-parawing as a passenger, sitting in front of the pilot on a small seat which was attached to the frame of the aircraft. My legs rested on an ordinary metallic cross-piece. The aircraft was new, just from the plant, and the guys were testing it. I was fastened to the seat with a belt, I held to the frame, and we took off. At the height over 700 meters, the pilot started to make steep turns swinging the moto-parawing from side to side under the angle over 70-80 degrees and sing loudly. And at that moment, my body started to slip from under the belt of the seat. I had nothing to hold to anymore. Everything went on quite fast. I started to shout to the pilot to slow down, and that I was falling, but he didn’t hear me, because the motor sound muffled my shouting. My hair stood on end for fear, and I tried not to fall with my last bit of strength, stretching my arm muscles at full extent not to fall down. And when it was almost dark in my eyes, and strength started to leave me, the pilot started a free flight and stopped the engine. And only then he heard my shouting which already became hoarse and noticed the dangerous situation. He collared me, pulled me up, and we started to land. This case revealed the error of constructors who haven’t considered the fastening belts which intersected from the shoulders. It was only a miracle that I’ve stayed alive!
 

– How do you take care about your wheelchair while you travel? Has it ever been broken?

– My wheelchair is made of light titanium alloy, with the folding back and seat. Moreover, the wheels are easily removed, so it is very comfortable to put it even in the smallest car boot when you travel by car. For five years I’ve never broken it, though I’ve already gone on it half of the Earth, and used it in extreme conditions:  under the water when I do diving, during hiking under the rain, and when I go on it along earth or rocky area or climb cliffs. The most terrible thing which happened to it were tie punctures, and the elbow-rests and the front cast rubber wheels are worn out. I regularly smear the wheelchair with motor oil and anti-corrosion substance where it is necessary, and also check and tighten the bolts in the places of the wheel-chair fastening.

– Who helps you during your trips or during the preparation?
– Certainly, my friends help me during my trips wherever I may be. Some help me in preparations and departures, others help me during the trip itself. Each of them makes own contribution as much as possible if I need something. From accommodation, technical devices, food or necessary financial support. And, certainly, on my way, on the railway stations, in the airports, in the hotels, in shops and so on, I always get help from strangers if needed. 

– What will you recommend travelers on a wheelchair? What should they consider while preparing for a travelling?

– Always control the situation, and never let the situation control you – this is my credo. And as I’ve already said, before you go somewhere, you should plan everything very thoroughly. Ask yourselves relevant questions and, according to them, prepare yourselves for the goals you set during your travelling. 

The most important thing for me is a medical chest, then the equipment, and only after this, is food. Even if you completely equipped yourselves and took the food for the whole month, if you don’t have a necessary medicine somewhere where there are no pharmacies or hospitals, far from civilization, you can find yourselves in a very difficult situation. I select medicines, ointments and other remedies considering various situations which may happen to a person on the way. For example, allergy, food poisoning, heart attack, bites of insects, burns, cuts, infectious diseases, etc.

It is also recommended to have a “grab bag” (survival kit) number one, which contains up to 30 objects which are needed during travelling, from fire stone, super-glue, whistle, compass, insulating tape, monocular, fishing kit, to the signal flare. It also should contain a life blanket which can go in a palm and keep up to 80 % of human warmth. Such survival kit can be bought in special touristic shops or completed on your own.

– Where did you want to, but couldn’t get?

– I’d like so much to climb Fujiyama in Japan, to Avachinsky hill in Kamchatka, and to overcome Guam Gorge in Krasnodar Region. But it requires a lot of financial investments and at least a year of my physical training. Now I’m looking for interested persons and organizations for joint participation and co-financing. Because climbing to Fujiyama is forbidden for people on wheelchairs, for two years, I was trying to get the permission, and, eventually, the positive response has come. To get to Avachinsky hill, I will need the self-propelled wheelchair “Bars”, and to climb to Guam Gorge, I need a long preparation, considering the difficulty of the cliff landscape. Anyway, I set the goal to visit these places sooner or later. 

– Where would you like to return by all means?

– I’m always yearning for the places where I grew up and spend most of my life.  This is Sakhalin and Far-east Taiga in Primorsky region.

– What are your nearest plans for travelling?

– The nearest plan is to get to Syargilakhta village and its vicinities in Karelia, where the film “The Dawns Here Are Quiet” was made according to the events of the Great Patriotic War. I want to find myself in the atmosphere, where, against the background of beautiful nature, there were selflessness, courage, strength of mind, devotion to the Motherland, and to honor the memory of the lost girls who wanted to live in the peaceful, bright future, to love and be loved, to have a family, to bear children and live a happy life. I want to honor the place where the light, pure, tender, sincere souls of the lost girls are soaring. 

Photo by Igor Skikevich

Translated by Anna Fomina