Eija Jacobsen is originally from Finland and, while not quite born wearing skis, she was introduced to cross-country skiing at the age of four. Yet, after applying to be and accepted as an instructor/guide for an international weeklong cross-country skiing event, she was "terrified."
Eija is an excellent skier and certainly knows how to demonstrate and teach the fundamentals of the sport. So why the fears and insecurities? She knew her pupil for the week would be blind.
Her pupil turned out to be Tom Torvie, a visually impaired resident of Anchorage, Alaska. Eija and Tom joined 110 other guide/skier pairs as participants at the 2003 Ski for Light (SFL) event.
Ski for Light is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization founded in 1975. Its mission is to make available physical fitness opportunities to blind, visually or mobility impaired adults in an environment where "we can't" is replaced with "we can." Sighted guides are paired with disabled skiers for the week and together they decide how long, how often and on what type of terrain they will ski. First time guides are paired with experienced skiers while first time skiers are paired with more experienced guides.
"I knew all about SFL and I finally decided it was time to stop procrastinating and do something different, do something for someone else and share the fun of skiing." Eija says. This determination did not prevent Eija from feeling extremely nervous. And she wasn't alone.
Turk Ellis, another first time instructor/guide, recalls "I knew that I loved to ski and I've always enjoyed passing on this passion to anyone willing to give it a try. But this was so very different. I didn't know if I was capable of guiding a blind skier."
Those fears were put to rest for Eija and Turk by the end of their first meeting with the guide trainers, pairs of seasoned skiers and guides who train the new guides. Both also had the opportunity to talk with other "rookies" who shared the same fears. By the end of their daylong training session Eija and Turk had mastered the necessary communication skills and guiding techniques and were ready to hit the trails with their skiers the next day.
"Tom was very understanding and forgave me my lack of experience." Eija laughs. "In the beginning, I would tell him 'Tom, we're coming to a hill,' and he would tease 'Yes, Eija, it would help to know if that's uphill or downhill?'"
"Eija was always cheerful, even when the weather and snow conditions did not merit such behavior," Tom grins. "At times Eija was the voice of reason as she would suggest breaks at good times or allow skiers of greater ability to ski ahead of us on difficult terrain. Although," he reflects, "I never imagined my voice of reason would have a Finnish accent!"
"It wasn't always clear who was the guide." smiles Eija. "Ski for Light is about sharing the experience of skiing, having fun, growing and learning. It was not so much my being Tom's eyes; it was Tom guiding me with such ease that I was finding new ways to look at the world around us."
"I have never felt so alive and so important and yet so small," echoes Turk. "I went to SFL to ski, to do something for someone other than myself. I came away with so much more. It was truly a life-changing experience."
If you are a strong, confident, classic cross-country skier, or if you are a blind, visually or mobility impaired individual who is interested in skiing, please consider attending the 29th Ski for Light week from February 8 - 15, 2004, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Attendees will stay at the Radisson Hotel & Conference Center and ski at the Brown County Reforestation Camp. For applications and additional information please contact Brenda Seeger at 507-274-5502 or brenda@sfl.org or visit www.sfl.org.
If you're interested in seeing what Ski for Light, Inc.® is all about but you can't make it to the annual week-long event (or you just can't get enough of a good thing!), give your nearest Regional a try. Regionals are similar in structure to SFL but are shorter, generally held over a weekend. Regionals are being held on various dates January through March (many Regional programs are also active year-round) and include:
New England Regional Ski for Light Cross-Country Skiing/Snowshoeing January 9 - 12, 2004 Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Craftsbury Common, Vermont February 27 - 29, 2004 Royalty Inn/Great Glen Trails, Gorham, New Hampshire Web site: http://www.nersfl.org Contact: NERSFL P.O. Box 2170 Brattleboro, Vermont 05303 Telephone: 781-667-9270 Email: info@nersfl.org Northeast Pennsylvania Regional Ski for Light January 25 - February 1, 2004 Land of the Vikings, Sherman, Pennsylvania Contact: Bjorg M. Dunlop Telephone: 518-731-8741 Email: bjorgmd@aol.com
As with SFL, no prior experience with visually or mobility impaired people
is necessary. If you're confident on skis, you can share your love of the
outdoors by being a Guide.