From the Ski for Light Bulletin - Spring 2013
Compiled By Peter Slatin
Editor's Note: When you bring more than 250 supercharged folks together for a week of intense activity someplace where most of them have never been before and throw Northern Michigan's fast-changing weather at them, you might expect newcomers and veterans alike to grumble. But -big surprise -that's not what we found when we asked people to let us know about their Ski for Light week. - P.S.
By Elvira Basnight
This year's Ski for Light event ranks right up there as one of the high points of my life. I will always remember it and am so glad I had the opportunity to ski, and best of all to meet such a fabulous group of people. It was a joy talking, laughing, skiing and even falling with my guide, Marvin Liewer. The group Alabama has a song called "Angels Among Us," which really describes my first week at Ski for Light. The chorus goes something like this:
"Oh I believe there are angels among us
Sent down to us from somewhere up above
They come to you and me in our darkest hours
To show us how to live, to teach us how to give
To guide us with the light of love."
Are those not just the most appropriate words to describe the SFL experience? Thank you, thank you, thank you.
By Shelley Wine
To try to isolate the most wonderful part of the Michigan International SFL is challenging. I will share five favorite events.
1. Getting up by myself after falling off the trail and landing in
knee-high fluffy snow.
2. Gliding down-hill in a smooth controlled snowplow.
3. Participating in an outdoor aerobics class with nine other loonies
with snow falling on our heads.
4. Meeting Harald, a skier and fitness enthusiast from Norway, who
uses sign language to chat.
5. And getting to know my roommate, Elvira.
By Gretchen VanOrmer
As a newbie to Ski for Light, I have to ask, how could this not have been a life-changing event? It has been several years since I have spent time with anyone else visually impaired, and participating this year at SFL and watching so many people with less vision than I have accomplish so much really gave me a great sense of empowerment. I guess all the chickens stayed home, because watching someone learn to ski for the first time or wander lost around the hotel reminded me just how much courage people have.
I just thought this was an event to get me out of the house, but it was indeed life changing. I could not be more proud about the events of the week. The matching of guides to skiers and the bonds we form is miraculous. The weather wasn't perfect, but it didn't really matter. I watched my first narrated movie, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," at first wondering if I could sit through it and then wanting more. I felt welcomed by long-time Ski for Light folks. From the encouraging talks with the dog walker in the hot tub to the tear shed as people crossed the finish line this experience will forever stand out. Just the training sessions alone brought me new self esteem even though I still can't seem to line up the three little holes on the boots with the pins on the skis! Even so, I now understand how unifying the sport and the week can be.
Ski for Light, you have touched my life in ways you'll never know.
By Larry Ngayan
It was great visiting with you again and again and again. It hasn't gotten old and I look forward to seeing you next year. I remember Thursday, the day after the rain brought us a no-ski day on Wednesday. I want to give a big shout-out to Transportation Coordinator and MIP guide Tim Byas and Trackmaster Ken Leghorn. Along with others, they worked really hard to set a trail that was MIP-friendly, not only in terms of getting to the trail but also actually had tracks that were good enough to ski on. It was snowing so hard in the morning -snowplows and trucks got stuck -that the vans couldn't get through to the Meadow, so we went to lunch at the ski area. Ken had spent the morning setting a 3-K trail at the main hotel, and Tim came by to say that the new tracks were ready and we should come back to the main hotel, because it had stopped snowing there. By the time we got skiing on the fresh tracks and the new 3 kilometer course it started to snow and become very windy again. My trusty Norwegian guides Sigurd and Svein and I had a very refreshing 3 kilometer tour through the meadow and back to our hotel.
Later that evening, as I enjoyed the concert by a group that sang about the Great Lakes, I had fond memories of -and felt I really knew lake- effect weather.
Much thanks and appreciation to Deb Wiese and all the event organizers.
And a Note from . . .
By Suzanne (aka Frau) Pedersen
Who could have said 38 years ago that Ski for Light would still be going strong and better than ever? Of course, my favorite memory was the amazing talent show. I'm already dreaming up an act for Anchorage. See you there!
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