Spring 2007
News and Information about the People and Programs of SFL International
Skiing. Sharing. Learning
The 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.
This has been a winter of weather extremes for much of the country -- severe storms one week, spring-like temperatures the next, snow where you don't expect it, no snow where there is usually plenty. Ski for Light 2007, held in North Conway, New Hampshire this past January, encountered some of those problems. Great Glen Trails, where we had planned to ski every day, had no snow when we got there-- just a patch of ice about 100 yards long. In a series of actions that all occurred in about 24 hours, Event Chair Judy Dixon and her Committee gave a brand new meaning to the SFL motto of "If I can do this I can do anything." A new ski area was found, the Jackson Cross-Country Touring Center. Due to a quirk of nature, Jackson had snow while the higher-elevation Great Glen Trails did not. New contracts were negotiated and signed, old contracts cancelled or broken. Tents for warming and lunch were on their way, new lunch arrangements made. On Monday morning skiers arrived to find everything in order. If we had not told them of the problems and changes, most would not have thought anything was out of the ordinary at all.
The week itself turned out to be one of our best. The skiing conditions were not outstanding, but they were good enough. Everyone skied all that they wanted. First-timers learned the basics, veterans improved their skills and technique. The hotel, which had been a bit of a disappointment the last time we were there in 1998, really came through. The food was by all accounts the best ever. The hotel facilities and the nearby shopping mall were great. Everyone joined together for a week that was outstanding in most ways, and which will not soon be forgotten. We all join in thanking Judy and her entire committee for making all of this happen.
As you will read elsewhere in this issue, next year's event in Bend is not likely to have any shortage of snow. Put the dates of February 10-17, 2008 on your calendar. Look for additional information and applications on the SFL website by late June.
If you are interested in getting involved with the work of Ski for Light and I have not already talked with you, please let me know. We are in need of people to work on fund-raising, recruitment, publicity, all sorts of things. If you are interested I will do my best to find a suitable fit for you. Let me know with an e-mail to LarryS@sfl.org, or a phone call to (425) 644-5663 (Pacific Time Zone).
This will be an election year for Ski for Light. All officer positions and about half of the seats on the Board of Directors will be up for election next February. You will hear how to make your interest in a Board position known in the Summer Bulletin, but please be thinking about it.
I hope that each of you has an active and enjoyable summer. Several of our regional affiliates offer excellent summer programs, and I am sure that you will find additional opportunities in your local area if you do some research. And if you do find something interesting, we'd love to hear about it.
Snow? What snow? As you read in the President's message, SFL Event chair, Judy Dixon, and her team faced a real challenge this year - creating a week of skiing out of nothing - well, almost! As always, what made it all work was the incredible, unstoppable SFL spirit. SFL guide, John Slade, sums it up well in this excerpt from an article he wrote for the Norway Times:
"Ski for Light met this year in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where once upon a time there was snow. The determined folks of Ski for Light had to break their contract with one ski area, which did not have enough snow, then valiantly found another area which boasted an inch or two of snow on a golf course. That meager snow was covered with a crust of ice, for it had thawed and then frozen. But anything on the grass is better than nothing, so Ski for Light shook its fist against global warming and proceeded to host a magnificent week of skiing. From January 21 to 27, roughly two hundred folks bundled up and maintained their high spirits." Meanwhile ... "Twenty-eight guide dogs had their own convention, especially when they gathered in clusters beneath the big round banquet tables at the hotel and thumped people's knees with their exuberant tails.
The temperature averaged a few degrees above zero, with a bit of a breeze across the golf course. The blind skiers had the advantage, because they could pull their knit hats right down to their chins. About sixteen Norwegians, some guides, some skiers, livened up Friday evening with Norway Night. The culmination was a rousing snake dance of wheelchairs and people following people with a hand on a shoulder, winding among the banquet tables while John Denver sang, "Take me home, country road." Anyone who has not participated in a Ski for Light snake dance has not really lived."
There was a little something for everyone: good old-fashioned storytelling, special interest sessions covering a wide variety of topics, the talent show, and some really great shopping! Rumor has it that a few people had to buy an extra suitcase just to carry home the extra loot they bought. And speaking of loot, this year's Silent Auction did very well for SFL, even with all the shopping options. The week culminated, this year, not in the usual race/rally, but in a rousing poker game. Again, everyone at Ski for Light found a way to make the most out of a less-than-ideal situation, making it, according to many, one of the best years ever.
First-time skier, Sila Miller says she's hooked. "How I wish I'd have done this about ten years ago. I'll tell you the truth, I went toe to toe with my fear, screaming down those hills but in the end, I'm proud to report, I conquered it!"
Miller offers this little poem as a reflection of her experience.
Friendly banter, liquid enhancer and skiing hard all the day long,
Singing and laughing,
eating and smiling, Working hard, getting healthy and strong.
Making Snow Angels, skating
on the ice, and playing without a care,
Trudging around in snow shoes, relaxing in the hot
tub, dancing in my underwear!
Snow on my face, learning new things, flying down a
challenging hill,
Building up speed and endurance, feeling new-found confidence and that
swell of pride and thrill.
Being a carefree kid for a little while, letting go of some
inhibitions and fears,
So grateful to have that precious time of much laughter and at the
end, a few tears.
What happy memories I have and neat folks I met, Words can't tell the story completely of this trip, I'll never forget.
Thanks again to everyone who made this Event such a success.
For the first time in history, Ski for Light will be held in the Pacific Northwest next year. Where, you ask? For a hint, see if you know the answer to any of these four questions.
Which of America's great vacation destinations combines the moderate climate of a high desert plateau with outstanding skiing in the Cascade Mountains just 20 miles away?
What ski area has had 370 inches of snow so far this winter, while much of the rest of the country was suffering through another winter of marginal skiing conditions?
Where have the National Cross Country Skiing Championships for citizen skiers, the U.S. Masters, been held the past two years?
Where does the U.S. Olympic ski team go to train in May, when there is no snow anywhere else in the country?
The answer to each of these questions is Bend and Mt. Bachelor in Central Oregon, where the 2008 Ski for Light event will be held. The dates are Sunday February 10 through Sunday February 17, 2008. Additional information and applications will be available on the SFL website early this summer, but here are some tidbits about the event and location to whet your appetite.
Bend is located on the eastern side of the Cascade Mountains, on a sunny high desert plateau. Portland is 150 miles to the northwest and Idaho is 150 miles to the east. The closest major airport is Portland. There is a smaller regional airport in Redmond (RDM), just 15 miles from the hotel. United, Delta and Horizon have direct flights to Redmond from many major Western cities.
Bend was a sleepy little town just a few years ago. The moderate climate of the area coupled with easy access to just about every kind of summer and winter outdoor activity has caused the population to double to about 75,000 in the past ten years. The eight square blocks of downtown Bend, just five minutes from the hotel, is the center of the area's nightlife. It is filled with restaurants, lounges, brew-pubs, little shops and boutiques.
The event hotel will be the Riverhouse Resort Hotel in Bend. It has a well-deserved reputation for great food and outstanding amenities and facilities. The nearly 200 guest rooms are spacious and well appointed with every convenience from refrigerators to micro-wave ovens to DVD players to high-speed wireless internet access. There is a large indoor heated pool, both indoor and outdoor hot-tubs, a fitness center, a lounge with live entertainment six nights a week, and a brand new 30,000 square foot Convention Center where we will hold our events.
A distinguishing feature of the hotel, from which it takes its name, is that the various hotel buildings and the golf course that is part of the complex are situated on the banks of the Deschutes River. Three of the six hotel buildings are on one side of the river and three on the other side. Access from one side to the other is made easy via a covered and fenced walkway bridge. The gurgling sound of white water can be heard from many of the rooms, making it easy to forget that you are in civilization at all.
The Mt. Bachelor ski area is only 20 miles from Bend, but the mountain has a climate system all its own. At a base elevation of 6,300 feet it is only about 3,000 feet higher than Bend, but temperatures on the mountain are generally about 30 degrees cooler than the High Desert just below. Average annual snowfall is 370 inches, with a ski season that stretches from November through May, and sometimes longer. The skiing conditions are often described as the best in the West.
The ski area is a combination facility, containing both downhill and cross country runs and trails. The 3,700 acre complex includes 71 downhill runs and several terrain and tubing parks, while the cross country trail system has 12 trails with 56k of machine groomed and double-tracked trails. The trails are wide, with two sets of tracks and a skating lane off to the left. Much of the trail system is rolling with gentle ups and downs, but there is also some pretty flat terrain for beginners.
The Nordic Center is a small structure and not really big enough for Ski for Light. Not to worry, because just a five minute walk across the parking lot from the Nordic Center is the West Village Lodge, with several restaurants, a bar, shops and lockers.
Chair Marion Elmquist is hard at work putting together her Committee for 2008, and planning the details of what will surely be one of the best Ski for Light events ever. If you are interested in helping, contact her at MarionE@sfl.org, or (515) 279-3681.
During the Annual Meeting of the SFL Board of Directors earlier this year, the Ski for Light Hall of Fame was established. The purpose of the Hall is to recognize and honor individuals for outstanding contributions to the development, evolution and advancement of Ski for Light.
The first inductee into the Ski for Light Hall of Fame is Bruce Scharfenberg. A dedicated guide at nearly every event since 1985, Bruce has been the role model for many attendees of what a guide could be. An expert skier and outstanding teacher, Bruce has a way of helping each of his skiers achieve all that they can on the trails, while at the same time having fun. He has truly embodied the real spirit of Ski for Light.
The 2007 Ridderrenn Team was composed of two visually-impaired skiers, Renee Abernathy and Chris Leghorn, and two guides, Willie Aldrich and Mark Cullen. Here are some of the thoughts and memories they shared after their trip to Norway.
Chris Leghorn
The Ridderweek was, for me, a fabulous experience! Norway is a beautiful country and the people incredibly openhearted. In so many ways I could feel the similarities between Ski For Light and the Ridderweek. It's easy to see how SFL was born out of the same wonderful spirit. Being in a whole new culture brings a fabulous dimension to this experience. I so loved hearing all the different languages around me and meeting folks from around the world with a common purpose. I think one of the things I love best about both SFL and the Ridderrenn is that, regardless of nationality, disability, non-disability, and life circumstance, we all come together ultimately to share in what matters most: meaningful human connection. I feel that my "family" has been greatly expanded while in Norway. Thank you, Ski For Light for honoring me with this great privilege. I'm planning to attend the event again sometime in the future.
Willie Aldrich
This season I will have been skiing for fifty years. I really wanted to do something special this ski season. Little did I know how special it would be.
Being a member of the 2007 Ridderrenn Team representing SFL in Norway was really a wonderful experience for me. Of course, the best part was becoming better acquainted with my teammates and also the other attendees who are involved with SFL. Seeing old friends and making new friends from other countries is also a great part of the experience.
The ski trails were in great condition. I, on the other hand, was not in such great condition. Chris and I skied many kilometers together on all the training days and really had a fantastic time skiing and laughing.
I also guided her during the biathlon on Wednesday and we had great success. We ran into an American friend of hers, Meg, from many years ago who is now married to a Norwegian who works at the Health Sports Center in Beitostolen. We decided it would be better and also great fun for Meg and Chris to ski together in the Thursday competition. During the Ridderrennet event on Saturday, Meg`s husband, Reidar, guided Chris.
They had great success both days. I had the honor and privilege of guiding Knut, a stand up mobility-impaired skier. I was so happy to have made myself available when they needed an extra guide.
He won a gold medal on Thursday, and like everyone on Saturday, we survived the very difficult conditions. Skiing with a MIP really does give you even another perspective on the human spirit and determination.
Of course the food was too good and too plentiful, and the people of Norway are so friendly and kind.
I'd like to sincerely thank the Executive Board of SFL for selecting me to be a member of the 2007 Ridderrenn Team, Marion Elmquist for being a guide for all of us in Norway, and the contributors to SFL and attendees of SFL events for there support.
MANGE TAKk!!!
Renee Abernathy
My trip to the Ridderrenn was a once in a lifetime experience. The week spent skiing at Beitostolen was so much fun. I was able to ski using waxable skis for the first time. I learned about waxing skis. I participated in the biathlon and thoroughly loved shooting. And I was a very good shot! In the actual biathlon, I hit ten of ten and was thrilled to do that and have a good race time. I stretched myself in improving my ability to ski. I improved my best time by almost cutting it in half.
Thank you Marion for all your hard work and help. I am grateful to Ski for Light for allowing me to experience the Ridderrenn.
Mark Cullen
It was all everyone has said who has been there, and then some.
I could not think of a more compatible group of skiers. I loved Christine's smile at the least pleasures. I just cannot say enough good things about Renee, her Southern folksy way of speech, her great sense of humor, and what a joy to be around. I had roomed with Willie before and we get along like brothers. Having been there in the past, he was able to help with sight-seeing and the like. The four of us seemed to enjoy each other's company and had a great time all week long.
I will be forever grateful to SFL for sending me.
Note: The 2008 Ridderweek will be March 30 to April 6.
Brit Aabakken Peterson has been honored by Ski for Light for her financial generosity to the organization. Brit and her late husband Roy have given to SFL in many, many ways for nearly 30 years. She was a guide from 1979 to 1985, when a car accident crushed both of her ankles. Undaunted, Brit came back to SFL as a volunteer and mobility-impaired skier, until retiring after the 2003 event in Alaska. Over many years Brit also solicited thousands of dollars worth of Norwegian food for our Norway Night dinners that so delighted attendees. Roy was a dedicated worker-bee for many of those years. On the occasion of their 50th anniversary Brit and Roy asked that friends and family donate to SFL in lieu of gifts. Brit did this again when she turned 80 years old. She has given generously nearly every year to the Endowment, Goodfellow, or general operating funds. Brit has donated and inspired others to donate more money to SFL over the years than any other individual.
To thank and honor Brit for her support of Ski for Light the organization has created the Brit Peterson Award. The award goes to individuals whose cumulative lifetime generosity to the organization is in excess of $25,000. Brit is the first recipient of the award which is named in her honor. The award was announced during the 2007 event in New Hampshire and, quite appropriately, presented to her during a recent SFL fund-raising reception at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington. Brit was presented with a unique piece of Hadeland Norwegian crystal as a token of appreciation from Ski for Light.
Ski for Light mourns the loss of SFL skier, Richard Casey. Casey died on March 22nd of an apparent heart attack while working out on the treadmill; he was 74 years old. His funeral Mass was held at New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral; complete with bagpipes, many who attended said it was a most fitting and appropriate tribute to the man they knew.
Casey was the nation's first blind federal trial judge. During his ten years on the bench, he presided over a number of high-profile cases, including an abortion law challenge and the Peter Gotti trial. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1997, ten years after becoming blind from retinitis pigmentosa. He said he often used humor and his love of skiing to help him cope with that loss of sight.
And these are among the qualities that endeared him so much to his friends at Ski for Light. His humor, his many stories, his mind and his love of life are only some of the things that caused so many people to respond to the news of his death. We cannot possibly print all the loving memories we received, but we offer a few thoughts from some of his friends as a tribute to friendships forged at Ski for Light.
SFL skier, Suzanne Brown
So who was this Richard Casey? He was the one who, during SFL introductions, announced that he was from NYC and made his living wearing a long black dress, who loved the New York Giants, his three guide dogs, Rachmaninoff, and Rumpole; who was the only one in the entire country to attend a Yankees game on a 95 degree July day wearing a three-piece suit and a straw skimmer, who sent liverwurst and rye bread to SFL via overnight Fed-Ex delivery; whose brilliant legal mind was respected by and intimidating to all who stood in front of his bench; who was Santa Claus for many years for the residents of a retirement home in New York; who was proud, ego-centric, traditional, devout in his faith, charming, exasperating and witty; who made his mark in all aspects of his life, including numerous sitz marks on the SFL 5K trail.
So who was this Richard Casey to me? In spite of being the "odd couple," we developed an unusual but enduring friendship, which included a few rocks in the road and lots of unforgettable happy times, honesty and love. I'm so glad I touched shoulders with him.
SFL guide, Marion Elmquist
"Elmquist, we're going to get you yet! Those Catholic Elmquists in Brainerd, oh-they're good ones! They're gonna lose another Lutheran." It all started when Dick learned at the '92 event, my first, that I had a car with me. With his Irish charm, he sweet-talked me into driving him 30 miles from Granby to Grand Lake for five o'clock mass. Not only am I not Catholic, I'm hardly religious, and was raised in a Swedish Lutheran church in Des Moines. But, what the heck? So, off we went. Well, it was snowing so hard it was a whiteout and I told Dick he might as well be driving.
That was the first of many masses, lunches, dinners, phone conversations and our annual pre-event ski date when we would ski Saturday and Sunday before the SFL international week.
The Brainerd mass was just before Easter when the priest was announcing the names of those who were to be accepted into the Church the following week. Of the names announced, there was an Elmquist, hardly a name one would associate with a Catholic. Dick and I, sitting shoulder to shoulder were silently giggling and could I feel the giggle. When the service was over and we got to the car, we both burst out laughing and he's been talking about those Catholic Elmquists ever since;
We also used to talk about football, because as an avid Giants fan he was always interested in who the college recruits would be. The Iowa Hawkeyes have had some good players over the years and we talked about his coming to a game so he could take in that Big Ten spirit and check out our players.
It just doesn't seem possible that we won't share mass, meals, laughs and Big Ten football this year.
SFL Guide Bjorg Dunlop
I first met Richard Casey when he was my skier at SFL 1994 in Colorado. We hit it off right from the start, and soon became close friends. I will never forget how thrilled he was the first time I was able to talk him down a tiny hill without falling, something he claimed he had never been able to accomplish at any of his previous SFL events. For me, the absolute highlight of that week was seeing his beaming face when it was announced that he was the winner of the 5K rally - what a thrill! Some people come into one's life and disappear. Some remain there, and mark the soul forever. We can never be the same when that person is gone. Richard Casey was that kind of person, and it has been a priviledge to know him for the past 13 years.
Congratulations to SFL skier, John Hollenbach, who recently joined the Board of Directors at the Seeing Eye in Morristown, New Jersey. Hollenbach has served as President and CEO of First Savings Bank of Perkasie, PA since 1987; he is active in the Chamber of Commerce, past president of the Rotary Club, and once chaired the Board of the Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers. This is both an honor and a big responsibility for John; congratulations, John!
Many of the Ski for Light Regional affiliates offer a variety of summer and fall activities for your outdoor enjoyment. For an up-to-date listing, please check out the Regional Round-Up page on our website at www.sfl.org.
Ski for Light maintains an e-mail discussion list, SFL-L, open to anyone in the SFL community. By subscribing to the list you can receive the latest program announcements and information, without having to wait for the next edition of the Bulletin. In addition to such announcements, the list provides a forum for individuals to ask questions and exchange information on topics related to sports and outdoor activities for persons with disabilities. The list is not a high-traffic list, with an average of perhaps 10 messages per month. To join sfl-l, send an e mail message to sfl-l subscribe@sfl.org. Your message does not need to contain a subject, or any content. Hope to see you there.
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