The Unique Challenges Faced by Blind Skiers

For blind people, managing challenges ranging from the awkward, like navigating buffet lines, to the life-threatening, like crossing streets in the era of super-quiet cars is basic to survival. Annoying situations for sighted people can be life-threatening . Taking a walk is an adventure. The world was not designed for people who can’t see, and we constantly search for ways and means to help us meet the world as it is rather than as we would have it.

Ski for Light International Gathering

As the 49th annual Ski for Light International convened in late January in snow-starved Rhinelander, Wisconsin for a week of what was supposed to be guided cross-country skiing for visually and mobility impaired people, challenge abounded. How could the thin, icy and leaf-strewn trails left by the Midwest’s shockingly low snowfall be transformed into a playground fit for our Nordic ski fanatics, newcomers and patient volunteer guides.

Shared Passion

There were about 250 of us, including 100 blind or low-visually and three mobility impaired skiers and 117 intrepid guides, along with more than 30 nonskiers helping out with the extraordinary logistics of a week organized by an all-volunteer organization around this fantastic sport and centered on the safety of all involved.