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News and Information about the People and Programs of Ski for Light, Inc.
Skiing. Sharing. LearningThe mission of Ski for Light is to enhance the quality of life and independence of visually or mobility-impaired adults through a program of cross-country skiing.
By Tim McCorcle
Back in September, Ski for Light guides Lynee Forsyth and Patrick McManus collaborated to spring me from my bubble in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle for a day on the water near Lynee's home in Kingston, Wash. It was my first excursion beyond my friendly confines since my last day of skiing in March, thanks to the pandemic. I could not have imagined a better day; temperatures near 80 degrees, a light cooling breeze riffling the water, the sounds of children laughing and playing on a nearby beach, and my getting to spend time with good friends. I had not solo paddled a kayak or canoe in decades, and quickly discovered that it's best to be centered, and that, much like cane commuting or skiing out of the tracks, straight is whichever way my head and shoulders are pointed. Were it not for the (mostly) watchful eyes of Patrick and Lynee, I no doubt would have paddled in circles, while my very erring sense of direction told me that I was heading straight into Puget Sound, and north toward Alaska!
Reflecting on that September day--on the experience of pedaling and paddling in the late summer sunshine, sharing good food and beverages, laughs and conversation with Patrick and Lynee--has sustained me through another two months in the bubble, due to the upswing in infection rates in my area. For me, SFL and skiing have provided the connections to people eager to share experiences that spark the imagination, and that bolster one's spirit through both calm and troubled waters.
While I am disappointed that we will not be gathering together at Snow Mountain Ranch this coming January, I am excited by the new opportunities our 2021 SFL International event will provide for making connections, for sharing different types of experiences, and for refueling our energy stores. Please read on for an article from Bonnie O'Day, our fantastic event chair, with more details about what she and her planning committee have on tap for those of us connecting from virtually everywhere.
Please join us. SFL is more than just a week of skiing, after all. It's a spirit we try to carry with us into our everyday lives. Our upcoming event is a unique chance to do this in a strikingly immediate, practical way. It will be different. It will be memorable. It will be Ski for Light!
By Bonnie O'Day, 2021 Event Chair
While we wish our yearly gathering could be held in person, our 46th annual Ski for Light International Event, set for the last week in January 2021, will go virtual via the Zoom platform.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created many disruptions and hardships, but it can't prevent the Ski for Light family from exercising our creativity and our bodies, from connecting, and from sharing and learning via technology. Join us Wednesday, January 27, through Saturday, January 30, for this first-ever virtual event, featuring three to four hours of daily programming online, plus opportunities and encouragement to challenge yourself offline. We'll enjoy many of the activities we'd normally experience in-person, promoting fitness and friendships, plus a few fun surprises-all while safely at home. And for the first time, SFL attendance will be free! We hope to welcome many newcomers to our community with this uniquely accessible demonstration of our motto: "If we can do this (in a pandemic), we can do anything!"
To get the blood flowing, we'll begin Wednesday morning with a stretch or yoga class. Our official opening session, where we'll hear from SFL participants about how our program works, and about the impact SFL has had on their lives, will take place Wednesday evening. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday will bring other fitness classes and special interest sessions, which are typically held before dinner at our SFL live events. Of course, we will have our usual auction (see article later in this issue), and a virtual banquet and closing celebration on Saturday evening.
Our event goal is to enable attendees to get up and move every day through our virtual classes, and by identifying their own fitness challenges. We encourage participants to set and to achieve exercise goals during the event, whether it's a number of miles or minutes walking outside or on a treadmill, indoor cycling, doing your favorite online workout, weight lifting, skiing, or whatever forms of exercise you have access to at home. We'll develop an easy-to-use scorecard, which you can submit along with your personal fitness story via video, audio, or print on Saturday. We will share your accomplishments on our website unless you request otherwise. So be creative, strut your stuff, and we'll select a few stories to highlight at Saturday night's closing ceremonies.
Each registrant will receive an embroidered Ski for Light patch and an SFL logoed resistance band (handy for home strength training and stretching), free of charge. Additionally, we are making Ski for Light headbands available for order. Details are posted on the SFL registration page.
While hosting a virtual "skiing" event has some obvious challenges, it also presents us with some unique opportunities. Because the event is free of charge, anyone with an interest can attend as little or as much as they want, and can learn why veteran attendees find SFL gatherings so enriching and exciting. What a fantastic chance for your friends, who may have been thinking about attending for years, to get over that snow-mogul hump of indecision! So please, publicize this event widely, and encourage all your friends-skiers, guides, and the simply curious-to join this year's virtual adventure. More information and the short application form for the event are posted at www.sfl.org/events/next. This 2021 event may be our largest one yet!
By Wendy David, Special-Interest Session Coordinator
Please consider volunteering to organize and conduct a virtual special- interest session for the 2021 International event. Special-Interest Sessions are informal gatherings to hear and learn about someone's hobby, job, culture, or recent activity--or just about any topic of interest to others in our vibrant community. Some examples of popular Special- Interest Sessions from previous years are:
Special-interest sessions are one aspect of the traditional SFL event that will translate quite well to a virtual gathering. Accordingly, they will be hosted on the Zoom platform and offered on several days during the 2021 Virtual Event, lasting between 45 minutes to one hour in duration.
Zoom will allow you to include audience participation in your session, if that is what you desire, as well as screen sharing of audio/visual aids in your presentation. SFL personnel will work with you beforehand to help familiarize you with Zoom, and will provide a host for each session so you can focus on your presentation and on connecting with your audience.
With all the talented and creative folks among us, we are bound to have another great year of sharing our skills or expertise with each other!
The possibilities are endless! Be bold. Be creative. Make a proposal! These one-hour presentations are so popular, and-necessity's being the mother of invention-the virtual platform may provide even more opportunities for the sharing and learning that make SFL so vital!
Please consider doing a virtual Special Interest presentation for this very exciting venue!
Email me your ideas and creative thoughts, and I will explore them with you. Then, complete and submit the form on the SFL website at www.sfl.org/events/special.
Bring It On and help make this virtual SFL year of Special Interest sessions the best we've ever had!
For questions and encouragement, contact:
Wendy David, Special-Interest Session Coordinator
wendydav@mindspring.com or (206) 257-0077
By Einar Bergh
A few days after returning home to Stavanger, Norway, from that eventful 45th anniversary Ski for Light International Week in Casper, Wyoming, I headed out on another adventure--one that had always been on my bucket list. Together with a dozen other fishermen, including my neighbor and fellow Ski for Light guide, Ivar Saethre, I went to the Vesteraalen Archipelago in Northern Norway to try to catch a few of the big skrei, or cod, which come in from the Barents Sea, from February to April every year, to spawn in shallower waters on the coast.
Just getting there was an experience. We flew from our home town to the Evenes Airport between Harstad and Narvik. From there, a two- hour bus trip to a place called Sortland was followed by another leg to a place where a mini-bus took us to a pier. There, an open rib boat was waiting to bring us to the island, which was to be our headquarters for five days. By now, darkness had set in, the wind was blowing and the temperature was several degrees below freezing. We put on survival suits to keep us warm--and safe--on the trip out to the place called Finvaag, which has been inhabited since the 1200s. That was the most refreshing part of our trip, to say the least. On arrival, we took off those suits, and headed to the main building for a delicious welcome dinner.
Asle Sordahl and his wife were perfect hosts and great cooks who shared with us some of the culture and history of the area. Our dining room was in a converted school house. In the old days, the local children were rowed to school in open boats, were picked up afterwards by their parents, and were rowed home at the end of the day. Now, the place has been completely refurbished and is used for team buildings and conferences, as well as to house and feed fishermen like us during the season.
On the first morning, we took in some of the spectacular scenery in that part of Norway, with steep, high, snow-covered mountains dropping straight into the sea. A couple of big eagles came by to check out the new arrivals as we headed to breakfast. The weather reports weren't too encouraging: gale force winds. We were going out in the classic, 58 foot fishing vessel Sjoblomsten, or The Sea Flower. The first hour or so, we were heading toward the fishing grounds in fairly sheltered waters. Then, we were out on the open ocean with nothing to block those winds and waves! We were told that, because of the weather conditions, our boat was the only one to brave the elements that day. Eventually, the captain said "Here they are, at about 90 meters (or 280 feet) water depth. Lines out!" All we could do was to hang on to the boat with one hand and our fishing pole with the other. By now, two or three of my fellow fishermen were seasick, and weren't too keen to fish at first.
Pretty soon, my lures were stuck at the bottom, or so I thought. But then I felt movement, and so there had to be fish at the other end. I had a heavy jig at the bottom, and two, rubber worms above. And when I was eventually able to wrestle them to the surface, there was a cod on each lure. The heaviest fish weighed 14 kilos, or 30 pounds--the other two somewhat less. And everyone on the boat caught fish in the end. I thought about Erling Stordahl's song "The Big Fisherman Waltz," which I had played for Norway Night in Casper.
While we were fishing, our host had fired up the large, wood-fired hot tub outside on the dock, which was very well received by our group! First, however, we had to filet our cods, and put them in plastic bags, and then in the industrial-size freezing room so we could bring them home with us at the end of our stay. Some went straight to the kitchen to be prepared for our evening meal. You can't get fresher fish than that! It was scrumptious! And, as the modern wine cellar in the old school building was well-stocked, we had some excellent wine to go with our fish. Most people drink white with fish, but cod can very easily be enjoyed with red wine, too!
By the next morning, the weather had, if anything, worsened. We headed out to open seas again, but weren't able to stay there very long, so we headed back inshore. We couldn't locate those big skrei this time, but we caught some smallish coalfish, or saithe. A number of sea eagles were keeping their sharp eyes on us, and swooped down to grab those fish when we threw them out. We counted nine of the majestic birds, and they came very close to us. Quite spectacular!
Our host, Asle, who is a practicing chiropractor when he isn't restoring old buildings or hosting fishermen from the south, had arranged for us to visit an old fishing village called Tinden--a cultural landmark restored by him and like-minded people. There were boat houses with authentic, open boats, reminiscent of Viking ships, which had been used to catch skrei for drying on racks outside before exporting them to Portugal, Spain, Italy, Angola, Brazil, and many other countries. There were houses to accommodate the fishermen, and a large one for the owner of the place who organized the export trade in the old days. In the living room there was an organ, and our host treated us to a short concert on that. There was also a building with a dining room and a working kitchen. Volunteers had prepared a delicious evening meal for us, including skrei tongues, cheeks and roe, all accompanied by beer and aquavit, the water of life. It has 40 per cent alcohol content, and we like to describe it as the most creative thing Norwegians have done with potatoes!
For dinner on our last night, we had an arctic menu with reindeer filets and a cloudberry dessert!
That trip to our northern waters was one for the books. Both fellow Ski for Light guide Ivar and I now have some new fishing stories to tell!
By Bonnie Hartman, Auction Coordinator
As many of you know, we hold an ever-popular auction during the SFL week. Though we are needing to "go virtual" this year, we won't be missing out on all the fun of our traditional Wednesday evening festivities. This year, though, the big day will be Friday, and the auction will be live! You will be able to explore and to bid on all sorts of fun and useful stuff, right from the comfort of your own couch! Past auctions have boasted over 150 items including jackets, gloves, and great dog gear products, all donated by our generous corporate sponsors. Lots of other unique and fun items are donated by SFL attendees. Many of us especially look forward to bidding on those mouthwatering, locally-sourced, edible goodies such as wild rice from Minnesota, almond roca from Seattle, and chocolate-covered cherries from Michigan. And who could forget Lynn and Jerry Cox's homemade caramels?! Sometimes, there is even a nice bottle of wine or two!
So, if you have a one-of-a-kind something from your corner of the world, please consider donating it to the auction. You will be amazed at how much money such items raise for Ski for Light! Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind, with some special requests, given that this is a virtual event:
If you have any questions, please contact Bonnie Hartman via e-mail at bonnie.jean.hartman@gmail.com
Please e-mail Bonnie Hartman by December 31, 2020, with a description of the auction items you want to donate, along with its photo and the suggested retail value of each. Be sure to mention whether you have a request for a minimum bid for your items.
As our event will be virtual this time around, you will need to ship your item to the person with the highest bid after the auction is over. You will be responsible for paying for shipping this year, and we appreciate the extra effort this will take. In times that feel like anything but normal, we want to bring everyone together around fun, familiar SFL traditions, and your time and generosity will be an invaluable, vital ingredient in this endeavor. Happy bidding!
By Janis Andol
I thought I would share with SFL friends how I spent SOME of my time while staying home and safe from the virus.
In 2015, for Christmas, Leif's son-in-law gave me a puzzle, a 5 foot by 3.5 foot jigsaw with 5,000 pieces! He also gave me a piece of plywood to put it on. Leif allowed me to set it up in his basement, on an antique table that wasn't being used. I had a few people who helped some with the puzzle, including that son-in-law! My daughter, Tristin, enjoyed working with it, too. It's been almost five years, but she and I put in the last pieces on September 26! It's a lovely picture of multi- colored fish and lots of blue ocean.
It's been a wonderful conversation piece, though I haven't worked on it steadily at all. Over the years, we had many visitors who went to the basement to see it! It's too big to hang on a wall, but we will enjoy it for a long time before we take it apart!
To all the SFL friends, please take care and stay well. We will see you again when everything gets back to normal.
By Bernie Newman
One of the interesting experiences filling my time lately, and which is currently on-going, is that I am working (for the fourth year) as a temporary employee, helping to make wine during the grape harvest. Winemaking is a significant activity in Walla Walla: There are a number of wineries that produce, and 140 tasting rooms. Washington is a distant second to California in production, churning out about 5 percent of the wine in the United States. The work is primarily manual labor and keeps me on my feet 8 to 10 hours a day, 6 and sometimes 7 days a week. In past years, I have lost about 10 lbs. during the harvest season, which is good for me, given that I like to eat! I became interested in doing this, in part, because I enjoyed hands-on work during my previous career as a chemical engineer. It involves moving hoses from tank to tank, and connecting them to tanks and pumps. It entails a lot of cleaning, which means, in some cases, getting inside equipment, spraying water and scrubbing with detergent solution. It also requires shoveling out of the tank grape skins left over after the fermentation is complete and the liquid (red wine) has been drained off.
It means working as a team with both permanent and other temporary employees. All of them are in their 30s. I am almost 70, but can keep up, maybe due to my motivation to keep fit for skiing. The exception to this is that I needed a nap before working in the late evening. While all of us participate, to some extent, in all aspects of the work, I seem to be the person who likes or least-minds the wet, dirty jobs required, which on one Sunday morning, included pressure washing 30 "pick bins," plastic containers used to ship grapes from the vineyard to the winery, and, at other times, cleaning the wine press, a piece of equipment used to force and to separate wine from the wine skins. My proclivity for the job probably comes from my experience working in personal protective equipment (PPE) in the chemical industry.
In much of my previous career, both as an engineer and as an engineering faculty member, my effort, on a day-to-day basis, was as an individual, not as part of a team. Wine-making has served as a nice contrast in that regard!
According to the SFL bylaws, the responsibility of the Site Selection Committee is to identify and to evaluate potential, new locations for future Ski for Light Events. While there is an official Site Selection Committee, we like to view all Ski for Lighters as valued members of that group.
A site with the right stuff is a unique combination of location, hotel, and ski area. The hotel should be accessible, and should have: At least 150 rooms, and banquet facilities for 250 to 300 people, as well as meeting rooms and space for the Information and Sales Rooms, morning stretching, equipment storage, and Special Interest Sessions. The ski area should be reasonably close to the hotel. It should have reliable and consistent snow, with 25 to 40 km or more of double- tracked cross-country terrain. A good balance of beginner trails and trails for more advanced skiers is a must. There should be accessible lunch facilities and restrooms for a group of 200.
It is also important to consider how far the location is from a major airport. Smaller airports with limited flights may have difficulty accommodating a large number of people traveling on the same day, and multiple airline transfers can increase costs.
If you know of a spot that seems just right, you can help the Site Selection Committee by filling out the Proposed Site Information form at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdlJyP6hLhYjogfEpK6AlnwpPhOySo_5MJSsDeRkX3yGkFq8Q/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0
The form takes only minutes to complete, and asks a few, short questions about the proposed hotel and ski area. So, while you are out cross-country skiing this winter, be on the lookout for that just right site!
By Mary Hiland
It started 19 weeks ago. Why 19 and not 4 months? Read on.
Since March 13th, the only times I ventured out of my house were to take my dog guide, Dora, for walks around our neighborhood. I longed to ride my tandem with my bike club, but it's impossible to be 6 feet away from my captain. After about a hundred days of going nowhere but on walks around the neighborhood, we both were getting bored. Yes, dogs get bored, especially when they're used to getting to work to all sorts of meetings, church, beauty shops, and stores. Suddenly our world had shrunk to a walk in the morning and a game of fetch when we got back.
In a stroke of inspiration, I called my friend, Dan, and asked if he could take us to a park once in a while for a change of scenery and an adventure for Dora to break up the boredom. He was all over that.
We started with one of the Columbus Metro Parks a few miles from my house, and we all had a blast. Dan was happy to get out of his apartment, and he was in awe of how skillfully Dora took me around ruts in the roads and roots in the trails. He had such a good time that he suggested we do all 19 Columbus Metro parks-one a week. I was thrilled. It's been the highlight of my week after week--after week.
We average about three to four miles, our goal is not to set any distance records. Dan describes the flowers, and I try to identify the bird songs. He reads the information plaques, so we learn about the park and its features in addition to getting an interesting walk. We wear our masks only if Dan sees someone walking our way. It was summertime when we started, so the masks were hot, but we were diligent in wearing them.
If you'd like to know more about the adventures we had and see the photos, I've described our walk in each park on my blog, www.seeingitmyway.com
Ski For Light's communications, recruitment, and publicity teams can use your help getting the word out about our organization, events, and mission! If you have experience with or interest in learning more about social media posting, videography, writing, podcasts, data entry, and sending e-mails-- and would like to be more involved with telling Ski For Light's story-- please reach out to Melinda Hollands at mlhollandstc@gmail.com to find out more. SFL's all-volunteer structure means that our members' skills, talents, and passions directly influence the organization's success. If you are searching for a way to match your skills with our mission, please reach out!
Editor's Note: A version of the following article first appeared in the Spring 2020 edition of "Soundboard," a publication of the National Federation of the Blind, edited by fellow SFL VIP Annemarie Cooke.
SKI FOR LIGHT WEEK FILLED WITH ADVENTURES!
By Linda Melendez
A bucket list is a collection of goals, dreams and aspirations that you'd like to accomplish within your lifetime. At the top of my list this year was to participate in the Ski for Light International week with Annemarie Cooke, a veteran of 13 such events.
Ski for Light was founded in 1975 for blind/visually impaired and mobility impaired individuals to learn how to cross country ski. Skiers and their non-disabled guides move along in groomed parallel tracks in the snow. Some downhill ski techniques also are used, depending on the terrain.
The 2020 Ski for Light week took place February 9 to16 with our home base at the Ramkota Hotel and Conference Center in Casper, Wyoming. The 250 participants--some, like me who were first-timers-- came from the U.S., Canada and five other countries. The event consisted of skiing Monday through Friday at Casper Mountain Outdoor Center, at an altitude of 7,900 feet. It seems that all the snow New Jersey didn't have this year settled in Wyoming!
The daily skiing prepares participants for a 10K race, a 5K rally where participants try to match their own best time on the shorter course, and the Challenge Loop, a mini course mainly for first-timers or recreational (rather than competitive) skiers like me.
I had no idea the week would be filled with so many adventures, and they were about to begin! Prior to our arrival, Casper, Wyoming had a huge blizzard, which made for rough road conditions. On Monday, some of our buses made it up the steep and snow-covered road to the ski area where we were able to get a hot lunch and shelter from the wind (in the 10 degree temperature). We had an amazing time skiing; however, the weather conditions changed abruptly and drastically, and we ended up stranded and not able to make our way back down the mountain.
Making lemonade out of lemons, I took the opportunity to mingle with the other participants and get to know them better. Local residents and guides who had personal vehicles were able to take us halfway down the mountain to the Nordic Center where staff and volunteers from the local visitors' bureau provided us with food, snacks and water in a warm and safe environment. That evening the local school district's buses brought all of us safely to the hotel--hours later than usual, and just in time for dinner--and with more stories to share!
On Tuesday, even though the winds were whipping at 30 miles an hour, we skied again. The wind at my back steadied my balance, and I was able to successfully ski on some hilly terrain. Encouragement from my guide was also helpful. Due to the blowing snow and high winds, the buses headed back to the hotel early for everyone's safety. The hotel hot tub was the best!
The severe weather conditions continued through Wednesday and the fun of skiing in a blizzard was cut short as we again left earlier than usual for the warmth and safety of the hotel.
I thoroughly enjoyed being challenged in this environment to push past my comfort zone. Where else could this Jersey girl be stranded on a mountain and rescued, ski in 30-mile-an-hour winds and blizzard-like conditions with friends, and still be safe at the same time?
Thursday's weather was beautiful, and so I thought that certainly my adventures would be over. The snow was prime for skiing. My guide and I decided to be daring and take a shortcut over the fresh snow to meet the bus. Well, needless to say, another adventure found me: I fell and couldn't get back up on my skis. The only way to get out was to take off our skis and walk about 30 feet through hip deep snow to get to the bus. Fortunately, there were two other guides nearby who assisted my guide in getting me out. Instead of panicking, I made light of the situation. They trudged through the snow first to create a flat path, which I was then able to follow easily while using my ski poles for support.
The weather remained unfriendly on Friday, so in small groups we explored downtown Casper, a location important in 19th century American pioneer history because the Oregon, California, Mormon and other trails intersected there.
Saturday dawned clear and sunny, and my guide and I opted to participate in the Challenge Loop because of my limited ski experience. I am happy to report that I achieved my goal of successfully completing the Challenge Loop without falling! We all enjoyed the banquet that evening and headed to our homes on Sunday.
I always like to come home after a vacation and get back to my normal routine, but more adventures were waiting for me. I came down with Influenza A and spent the next five days in the hospital due to complications with asthma and bronchitis. I was then quarantined at home for another 10 days.
I'm happy to say that I am back to my healthy, energetic and enthusiastic self. Some of you may be saying you would never do this or survive in these conditions. I'm here to tell you that you can do this and yes, you would survive in these conditions because you are a Federationist! To find out more about cross country skiing, check out this link to a YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjC96E7cyzg
Despite all the challenges, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and plan to participate in a future Ski for Light event because I had the time of my life.
Ski for Light has a new listserv to keep the members of the SFL community informed about important happenings related to SFL activities and people. It is SFL-Announce@groups.io, and is replacing the old SFL-Announce@sfl.org. This is an announcement only low- traffic list. Many of you were migrated over to the new list automatically, while being given the option to opt out if you so desired. If you did not receive a notice telling you that you had been subscribed to the new list, and you wish to join, send an empty email message to SFL-Announce+Subscribe@groups.io. You will receive an email message asking you to confirm your request, simply follow the instructions in that message and you will be subscribed.
Our thanks go to the following companies that have provided products or services to help support Ski for Light. Many of these companies have stood behind us for years - and we're grateful. Be sure to think of our friends when you're gearing up for your next adventure.
JanSport * Beyond Coastal/Chums Sun Care * Big Agnes * Black Diamond * Borton Overseas Travel * Clif Bar * Columbia * Crazy Creek * Dansko * Darn Tough Socks * Energizer * Farm to Feet * Fjallraven * Fox River Mills * Garmin International * Glerups * Haiku * Kavu * Leki * Lodge Cast Iron * MountainSmith * Patagonia Pro * Peet Shoe Dryers * Spyderco * Travelon * Wallaroo Hat Company * Wigwam
The SFL Bulletin is published three times a year. It is available in ink-print or via
e-mail. If you wish to change formats, please send your request to: webmaster@sfl.org
The current as well as past issues of the Bulletin are also available online at www.sfl.org/bulletin. In addition to an online edition that may be read in your browser, you will find a downloadable pdf version of the current issue.
For future Bulletins, remember that your contributions and feedback are always most welcome. You may submit articles as e-mail or as a word or text attachment. Send all items to:
Andrea GoddardThe deadline for the Spring 2021 Bulletin is March 15, 2021. We look forward to hearing from you.
Ski for Light, Inc. is a registered trademark. All rights reserved.