Deborah Kendrick
What do snow and technology have in common? Bonnie O’Day, event coordinator for the 2021 Ski for Light International, pointed out somewhat whimsically that for long-time attendees of the 46-year-old tradition, one connection between snow and technology is clear. There is always one key question that determines success or failure.
Since its 1975 debut in Colorado, Ski for Light International has gathered its blind, sighted, and mobility impaired participants in a variety of venues across the country always holding a collective breath in anticipation of cooperative weather.
Whether the event was held in New Hampshire, Minnesota, Alaska, Wyoming, Michigan, or Nevada, in the several weeks leading up to arrival date SFL organizers and participants have asked one question year after year: “Is there snow yet?” On the phone, via email and instant messages, they vigilantly followed reports and sometimes went to extraordinary lengths to make Ski for Light International week happen. In Alaska in 2003, they trucked the snow in. In South Dakota in 1996, there was so much snow that there was a complete whiteout, holding everyone hostage inside the hotel until the weather calmed down.
Snow, of course, has always been the defining condition, determining whether or not a few hundred people would spend a week reveling in the beauty of winter landscapes, perfecting or acquiring their ski skills.
Until the pandemic.
Like so many other events around the world, Ski for Light 2021 was held virtually. On January 27-31, 2021, long-time participants and first-time attendees gathered the way so many groups have been gathering for the last year: from their computers, smartphones, tablets, and landlines. This year the question was: "Will the technology work?" Miraculously, for the most part, it did!
Ski for Light History
Erling Stordahl, a popular pop singer in his native Norway, was blind. He was also an avid cross-country skier, entrepreneur, and apparent believer in the abilities of all people. The program he inspired in Norway to teach other blind people to ski continues to thrive with a national Healthsports center and the weeklong annual race event called the Ridderrenn. In 1975, Stordahl’s friend, Olav Pederson, who had retired and relocated from Norway to Colorado, convinced Stordahl to help him launch a similar program in the United States. Stordahl agreed, with the one condition that it not be a one-time occurrence, but an ongoing national event. Thus, Ski for Light International was born, with its inaugural gathering hosting people from throughout the US and Norway in Summit, Colorado..
The program has been expanding and thriving since that time, typically hosting about 300 people, including skiers with visual and mobility impairments and sighted guide-instructors who teach and facilitate. The magic, however, is in an intangible quality that has been carried around the country from ski site to ski site, a magic that creates an atmosphere of inclusion and equality like no other, and that sends participants new and old home inhaling and believing the Ski for Light motto: If I can do this, I can do anything!
The Virtual Version
The aim of Ski for Light is to teach blind, visually impaired, and mobility impaired people to ski. It is proudly an all-volunteer organization, which means that everyone who participates in the events works together to plan, organize, fund-raise, and keep the momentum of Ski for Light International going.
Part of the energy is always committed to spreading the word, and encouraging participants, both with and without disabilities, to join the fun. Ski instruction is an important piece of the schedule. But there’s much more. Special interest offer participants with a given talent or interest the opportunity to share their expertise with others. There are stretch classes, yoga sessions, and other exercise offerings to help participants ease into the day. Finally, because Ski for Light is just plain fun, there is a lot of time dedicated to hanging out in the lounges and bars sponsored by the resort.
The Ski for Light organizers did a remarkable job of replicating as many of these experiences in a virtual environment as possible. 438 individuals registered for the virtual 2021 Ski for Light International, with more than 100 of them being first time participants.
All events were held on the Zoom platform, thus enabling people to join via computer, mobile phone, or old-fashioned landline phone. For participants who requested a hard copy version, the schedule was mailed in advance in either print or braille. The event schedule was also emailed to all participants, and made available on the Ski for Light website. Each of the four days of the event, a schedule containing Zoom links and information for that particular day was also emailed to everyone.
Each participant who signed up for the virtual event was sent a blue exercise band (with the Ski for Light motto printed on it) and a commemorative 2021 SFL patch. On each of the event days, some kind of fitness exercise session was presented online. Each day, there were special interest sessions presented on a range of topics. Sessions ranged from how to make a perfect loaf of sourdough rye bread to how to live sustainably without the conventions of electric appliances and internet to how one blind athlete trained for the Ironman event. There were panels informing newcomers what the experience is like for a first-time blind skier and a similar panel for guides. Two mountain climbers, one blind and one using a wheelchair, captivated their Zoom audience with their recalled experiences climbing mountains.
As there is every year at the in-person event, there were opening and closing ceremonies and a fundraising auction.
Einar Bergh of Norway, who has been a member of the Ski for Light family since its inception (when he says he was a first “Seeing Eye ski guide”) led one special interest session with a fascinating and compelling account of the life of Erling Stordahl. So much we all owe to the one blind hero and his personal charisma, which attracted so many others, blind and sighted, to build the legacy we enjoy today. He ended his presentation with a recording of one of Stordahl’s hit songs, which was indeed a highly enriching and emotional moment.
Every night, in groups large and small, sometimes going into the wee hours, participants gathered in Zoom rooms with whimsical names like Ski Tips Saloon and Snowplow Snack Bar. You had to bring your own beverage and snacks, but the warmth of conversation among old friends and new was almost like being there.
Of course, there was no skiing, but fitness sessions, combined with a fitness challenge picked up by many, and all of the shared special interest and late-night sessions provided a close semblance to the spirit that has brought so many back to Ski for Light year after year after year.
There is a powerful element in music and storytelling to transport us in time, and my own favorite highlights of the week are evidence of that.
For me, two especially memorable segments of the event were, first, Einar Bergh’s account of Erling Stordahl’s life and work and the recollections of many Ski for Light milestones and, secondly, the musical performance by Jim Salestrom on the final evening. A warm and wonderfully talented singer/songwriter, Jim Salestrom has been with Ski for Light for many years, and hearing him sing the songs he’s written about the magic of Ski for Light had the absolute power to transport me briefly again to Granby, Colorado, where I first heard his voice and guitar more than twenty years ago.
The 47th Annual Ski for Light International
And speaking of Granby, that is exactly where the 47th Ski for Light International is currently planned. Ski for Light participants have a collective optimism and capacity for making things happen that made it possible to have a ski event with no snow and lots of technology. It was special for sure, but the real thing, a whole week with snow and real skiing, is planned to be back next year. While plans are still being formed due to uncertainties regarding health regulations, the event is expected to take place January 30 through February 6, 2022.
This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.
Related Articles:
- The National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind 2020 Conferences: Two Excellent Virtual Conferences in a Time of Uncertainty by Deborah Kendrick
- Highlights From the Much Smaller CSUN 2020 Assistive Technology Conference by Shelly Brisbin, J.J. Meddaugh
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