SFL BULLETIN Fall 1998 Ski for Light, Inc. 1455 West Lake Street Minneapolis, MN 55408 Attention Guides Now, sending in your SFL guide application has never been easier. Check out the new interactive, electronic guide application at www.sfl.org/guideapp.html. The average time for completion is under five minutes. It's fast, it's easy, it's convenient! From the President's Disk --by Nancy Rowan Ski for Light is gearing up for the next event. Our 24th annual SFL will be in Anchorage this year. We have people coming to join us from many faraway places. We will welcome people from Norway, the United Kingdom, Japan, New Zealand, France, Canada, Australia, and, of course, the many participants from the lower forty-eight! The planning committee met in September in Anchorage to discuss details surrounding the event. How wonderful to have locals, Lisa Wangberg as the event chair, and Sons of Norway leadership, John Olnes, involved and helping us out! We are in store for another great adventure with old and new friends from all over the world. The ties that come from our inter- national friends are really special. For the last few years, we have been watching Ski for Light Japan grow. Currently, they are preparing for their fourth annual event in Urabandai. President of Ski for Light Japan, Toshiaki Aomatsu, met with Larry Showalter and me last summer to discuss joining them at their next event. Toshi explained that they wanted to have U.S. leadership come and experience the culture and skiing in Japan. Based on the meeting with Toshi, Judy Dixon, Jeff Pagels, and I will be the guests of Ski for Light Japan. We are really excited about joining our friends in January! We will go to the mountains three hours outside of Tokyo for three days of skiing and fellowship followed by some time in the city before departing for home. In closing, I would like to thank all of the people who are working together to plan the event. Thank you to the board members that are raising money, running committees and giving their voice and expertise at meetings. As the leaves fall and the air gets colder, I hope that everyone has a safe and happy holiday season. SFL '99 On Track --by Lisa Wangberg, Event Chair Things are gliding toward a wonderful event. The Hotel Captain Cook, the Anchorage community, and Russian Jack Springs ski area will make this year's event one of the most memorable ever! We've already had some dustings of snow near Anchorage, and the mountains are covered. This year's event committee is planning several special surprises that you will certainly enjoy. Local support is great. John Olnes of the Sons of Norway in Anchorage is volunteer coordinator. He has been recruiting volunteers, getting donations and garnering publicity. The business community is also taking an interest in Ski for Light. We have use of a van donated by U-Save, and discounts for SFL'ers is another great offer--Please support our corporate sponsor. If you need a rental vehicle in Anchorage.... U-Save Gives SFL'ers 10% off (even more for AAA members) 1-800-254-8728 U-Save can be reached from the SFL website or www.bnm.com/usavea.htm As always, we need more guides. If you know someone who is a good cross-country skier who would enjoy sharing their love of the sport with someone else, please send them our way. Have them contact JoAnne Jorud, Guide Application Coordinator, at 612-533-7415 or joanne@sfl.org. So, Where Will We Be Skiing In Anchorage? --By Jeff Pagels, Trail Committee Members of the SFL planning team had a chance to visit the Russian Jack Springs Ski Area while in Anchorage in September. This will be the 1999 ski site. Russian Jack is owned by the Municipality of Anchorage and the ski trails are Piston Bully groomed by the Anchorage Nordic Ski Association. (A Piston Bully is a top of the line trail groomer that sets the finest of tracks in all sorts of snow conditions.) Russian Jack has 13km of established trails and 5k are lighted. For the SFL event, we will be allowed to set other tracks for beginner skiers and other loops usually only used by mountain bikers in the summer. Many of the trails are in the woods or skirt along the woods which should take the sting out of the weather on windy days. The trails in the woods are quite wide and one would have to try very hard to kiss a tree! All in all, these trails are classified as beginner with some intermediate topography and will fit well into Ski for Light's objective of bringing cross-country skiing to more people with disabilities. If you think a ski area of only 13-20K of trails is smallish, think again. The Municipality of Anchorage has an extensive trail system, which means you could leave Russian Jack and ski on trails to the Kincaid Park trails which is 17 trail miles away, or other closer ski trail systems. Russian Jack is approximately 10 minutes from the hotel. New this year will be an attempt to take the surprise out of which trails will be used for the 5K and 10K events. Planners will hopefully have both courses designated at the beginning of the SFL week. This will allow guides and skiers to become very familiar with the courses during the week. All in all, the Russian Jack trail system should be one of the nicest systems SFL has visited its going to be great! Anchorage Weather Are you worried that it will be really cold and kind of dark in Alaska? If so, you might be interested in the following: Anchorage Climate--Anchorage has a maritime climate modified by its 61 degree north latitude and by continental influences. Summers are cool and winters are cold. However, Anchorage does not experience the seasonal temperature extremes of interior Alaska or the north-central U.S. Total precipitation for Anchorage is only 15.91 inches per year, with the greatest amount in late summer and fall. Total snowfall averages 69.3 inches, but is mostly light and dry--low in water content. Temperature Comparions for January Aver Avg. Avg. City Age Min Max Anchorage 13 6 20 Fairbanks -13 -22 - 4 Juneau 24 19 29 Denver 30 16 43 Minneapolis 12 3 21 Bismark 9 -2 20 Sioux Falls 14 3 24 Burlington 16 8 25 Milwaukee 19 12 26 Cheyenne 27 15 38 Anchorage sunrise and Sunset-- Reflecting its northerly latitude, Anchorage experiences dramatic seasonal swings in the amount of daylight, ranging from a low of about 5.5 hours per day in mid-December to a high of over 19 hours in mid-June. Date Sunrise Sunset December 21, 1998 10:14AM 3:41PM February 21, 1999 8:21AM 6:02PM February 28, 1999 8:04AM 6:21PM June 21, 1999 4:20AM 11:41PM Help SFL Save on Shipping --by Pat Gabriel, Sales Room Coordinator SFL's John Olnes, who lives in Anchorage, has arranged with the local Sons of Norway lodge for a secure location where donations for this year's Silent Auction can be sent. Please do not send any auction items or other materials for the Anchorage event to the Minneapolis office. Instead, ship to: Attn: Ski for Light c/o John Olnes Viking Hall 8141 Briarwood Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-349-1613 Be sure to mark the package. If an auction item, indicate SFL Silent Auction. If other event item, mark your name prominently. Sending Silent Auction items directly to Anchorage will save SFL a lot of postage. We owe a big "Thank You" to John and the Anchorage Sons of Norway, so please be sure to extend your appreciation when you see them. If you have questions, contact John Olnes at 907-562-2794 or Pat Gabriel at 651-774-4671, e-mail: pat@sfl.org. Regional Events Black Hills Ski for Light Deer Mountain: Cross Country Skiing January 24-28, 1999 for information, call 605-341-3626 Sierra Regional Ski for Light March 6-8, 1999 Tahoe Donner Cross Country Truckee, CA Cost: $135 have skis, $160 need skis Contact: Betsy Rowell 9608 Mira Del Rio Dr. Sacramento, CA 95827 Phone: 916-362-5557 E-mail betsy@unlimited.net Seattle (Puget Sound) Ski for Light Jan. 9, 23; Feb. 13, 27; Mar. 13, 27 Stampede Pass, WA Cost: $10 per ski day $60 for the season Contact: Maida Pojtinger 12556 S.E. 270th St. Kent, WA 98031 Phone: 253-631-7904 N.E. Pennsylvania Regional Winter Program Jan 6-10, 1999 Land of the Vikings, Sherman, PA Contact: Bjorg M. Dunlop RR 1, Box 218E Earlton, NY 12058 Phone: 518-731-8741 E-mail: bjorgm@juno.com Montana Ski for Light January 27-31, 1999 Yogo Inn, Lewistown, Montana Cost: $250.00 Contact: Sharon Larson P.O. Box 81 Shawmut, MT 59078 Phone: 406-632-4706 New England Regional Ski for Light January 22-24, 1999 Skiing: Great Glen Trails Lodging: Royalty Inn, Gorham, NH Cost: $100 March 5-7, 1999 Skiing: Bretton Woods Lodging: Bretton Woods Motel Cost: $155 Contact: Claire Morrissette 16 Cedar Lane Foxboro, MA 02035 Phone: 508-543-6157 E-Mail: clairem@ici.net Colorado Ski for Light February 5-7, 1999, Frisco, Colorado Contact: Scott Bertrand 112284 West Tennessee Avenue Lakewood, CO 80228 Phone: 303-986-6714 E-mail: bertrand@netone.com Colorado High Country Experience The Colorado High Country Experience will be held August 6-13, 1999 in place of Trekk for Light. Vail, Colorado will be the venue for hiking, camping, tandem bicycling, river rafting, fishing, and other activities. Registration information will be available soon. Contact: Suzanne and Joe Brown 3155B Booth Falls Court Vail, CO 81657 Phone: 970-476-0604 E-Mail: suzanne@sfl.org Don't Forget Ski for Light --by Larry Showalter Ski for Light relies on the generosity of individuals, foundations, service/fraternal organizations and corporations to keep the cost of each year's annual event within the reach of attendees. It might surprise you to hear, in fact, that every participant at last year's event in N. Conway, New Hampshire would have paid close to $300 more than they actually paid if it had not been for such support and generosity. It might also surprise you to hear that individuals are the single biggest source of contribution income to Ski for Light. We rely on your individual support to keep the cost of the program as low as possible, and to do the other work of the organization that goes on throughout the year. So when you think about holiday gift giving this year, or about end of year charitable contributions, please consider a gift to Ski for Light. No matter how small or large, your contribution will be appreciated and used for the work of the organization. Why not sit down right now while it is on your mind and send a check. SFL is a 501(c)(3) organization so your gift is tax-deductible. Send your contribution to the SFL office in Minneapolis. SFL'ers Keep In Touch in Cyberspace --by Judy Dixon With the increased use of electronic communication these days, Ski for Light now has a number of ways for you to keep in touch with the organization and your SFL friends. Below is a description of the various e-mail methods SFL'ers are using to stay in touch. E-mail Discussion Groups (listservs)-- At present, SFL is maintaining three e-mail discussion groups called "listservs." One is for the SFL Executive Committee; one is for the SFL Board of Directors; and the third one, called "sfl-l," is open to anyone interested in a general discussion of SFL and its activities. The way sfl-l works is that an individual sends an e-mail message to the sfl-l address and the message is automatically sent to all members of the list. Although fairly active sfl-l list will not bury you with e-mail. Subscribers regularly exchange news items of both personal and organizational interest. For example, one person recently asked if anyone would be her inline skating partner. Another person sent an update about how many skiers have registered to attend SFL '99 in Anchorage. Occasionally, a topic such as what type of skis to purchase is introduced and list members share their views. If you are interested in becoming a member of sfl-l, please send an e-mail message to me at judy@sfl.org. SFL E-mail Directory--We also maintain a directory of e-mail addresses which is on the SFL home page. The purpose of this directory is to provide everyone with an easy way to locate the e-mail address of others in the SFL community. Everyone is welcome to be listed in this directory. However, it should be pointed out that there is no relationship between the list of persons in the SFL e-mail directory and those who are members of sfl-l. You may be a part of the directory or sfl-l or both, but you must request each option specifically. If you would like your e-mail address listed in the SFL e-mail directory, please send me an e-mail message at the above address. SFL E-mail Nicknames--You may have noticed that some people in SFL have e-mail addresses that end in "@sfl.org." For these people, their nickname automatically forwards their SFL e-mail to their regular e-mail accounts at home or work. The purpose of these nicknames is to provide an easy-to- remember e-mail address for those who receive a lot of SFL-related e-mail. If you would like to view a list of who in SFL has an e-mail nickname, go to the SFL home page, www.sfl.org. General Information Address--And, finally, we have a general e-mail address which you can give to anyone who might want to request general information about SFL. It is: info@sfl.org. If you're not sure which option is right for you, or if you have any questions, please send me an e-mail and I'll be happy to help. See you in cyberspace! Exit Glacier Adventure --By Jeff Pagels After the September SFL planning meeting in Anchorage, Claire Morrissette and I accepted an invitation from Lisa and Jerry Wangberg to hang around a few days and see what Alaska was all about. Lisa sweet-talked local nice guy, John Olnes to be a tour guide for a day trip down to Seward, Alaska. (Now those of you who know Lisa and Jeff, day trips with them often lead to crazy, dangerous and exciting adventures!) Claire and John had obviously not known about any of those exploits, or they would have stuck to the blacktop road and tour boats seeking jumping whales. The day started quietly enough with Lisa finding babysitters, Claire doing dishes and Jeff doing nothing, (what else is new?) John was filling his microbus with fuel and his tackle box with mysterious lures that scared fish. The trip to Seward was filled with photo opportunities, a fancy lunch, spawning red salmon, snow-covered mountains and lots of quiet and solitude as the bulk of tourists in this part of the world had fled for warmer locations. John turned the microbus toward Anchorage, three hours to the north. Not 5 minutes down the road, Lisa demurely suggested a quick look at one of the most famous glaciers in Alaska called Exit Glacier. "its only 5 minutes off the road". "Fine with me", said Jeff and with a nod from Claire, John turned onto the gravel road leading to Exit Glacier National Park. The parking lot had two cars in it and lots of empty places. Our adventure team jumped from the bus and headed toward the glacier on a fine, wheelchair-accessible path, flat as a pancake and smooth as silk. The nice path ended at about 500 yards and turned to ok gravel. Lisa said just a bit further and we can take some really neat pictures, ok, we all said and tough guy Jeff said, "hey I can do this alone, don't push." In about 100 yards the ok gravel turned to not-so-ok gravel and Lisa said, just a bit further and we can take some really neat pictures, ok we all said and not-so-tough-guy Jeff said, "hey, wait for me, I'm coming along as quick as I can." About 50 yards later the path narrowed to a few feet and gravel turned to rocks and streams of water. The federal government put in bridges over the larger streams. The bridges were 24 inches wide and Jeff's wheelchair was 24.5 inches wide. The heck with pride, Lisa help me, Claire help me, John help me. With those three, no problem except now we are in the brush, 10 feet high and visibility down to about zero. What did that sign in the parking lot say about bears? Lisa said just a bit further and we can take some really neat pictures. Well, nowhere to go but up and up and up and up some more. Lisa is pulling, John is tilting and Claire is pushing. Jeff, he is just praying! Whew, are we ever high, let's take some pictures. Lisa says well ok, take some if you want to, but just a bit higher and we can take some really neat pictures. Lisa says, if we can just drag Jeff up this steep and narrow part, right along the edge of that cliff, we should be able to take those pictures. Claire goes to work rebuilding the trail by pushing large rocks off the path, they make interesting sounds as they fall many feet to the alluvial glacier plain now quite a ways down below us. Jeff wonders if we need a permit from the National Park Service to make this trail wheelchair-accessible. Claire says the heck with the permit. Finally, we are up, to the top, because there is no more top to go to, Lisa says, ok, take your pictures now! We are smack dab next to this huge bluest-of-blue chunks of ice, thousands of years old and only giving ground over the years begrudgingly to global warming. We are for once all quiet, lost in our thoughts on being given this oppor- tunity to be with dear friends in God's great outdoors. Did I mention this adventure started late in the day? With darkness closing fast, we beat a hasty retreat down the mountain. Now the team is in the grove. Everyone has and knows their job. Obstacles are met, scanned, a quick plan agreed to and then the challenge is met. Little is said on the downward plunge, good teams don't have to communicate verbally and good people don't always talk in church and this place was definitely a holy place. Back to the parking lot in the dark, one last glance at the dark rise of the rock a stark contrast to the still-blue and shining glacier. The long ride is punctuated with stories of past sagas by all and a note, that yes, this story will also be retold in the coming years. SFL Bulletin is published three times a year in print and on cassette. Deadlines: April 1, August 1, and November 1. Editor: Laura Oftedahl 104 Coolidge Hill Road, Unit 7 Watertown, MA 02472 E-Mail: laura@sfl.org Layout Editor: Judy Dixon 1101 N. Stuart Street Arlington, VA 22201 E-Mail: judy@sfl.org Thank You Sponsors JanSport, Bison Belts, Bula Hats, Cascade Designs, Chuck Roast, Inc., Crazy Creek Chairs, Grabber Performance Group, GraniteGear, Great Glen Trails, NH Halls Wheels, Hotfingers, Jytte May, Mountain Lift Energy Bars, Rocky Mt Sunscreen, Royal Robbins, SAS Airlines, Thor-Lo Socks, Turtle Furr, and Wyoming Wear SFL is a member of ORCA, Outdoor Recreation Coalition of America