"The blind have one great advantage over the sighted: the blind see the world with their hearts, while the sighted take only enough time to see it with their eyes." -- Author Unknown
I'll start today by letting you know two things. First, I had never seen a blind skier until I arrived in Colorado. Though ashamed to even think of this, maybe I had never noticed. Second, through my job on the mountain, I have seen several blind and/or visually impaired skiers get off lifts and ski down mountain trails. Each and everyone I see, I am more amazed by what they are doing. Today I decided to candidly show how much I respect what they are doing.
John is pictured as the middle person in each of the pictures above. I stopped to speak to John and his ski guides at the top of a trail before he began his descend. I told John I had a lot of admiration for what he was doing. I asked, and both the ski guides and John let me snowboard with them to take these pictures. I watched how the guides took John into his turns. I'll take nothing away from the guides, but this display of determination was all on John. You could see it in his actions. He showed moments of focus, happiness and frustration. One emotion however was continuous; his drive would get him to the bottom of the trail and back to the top in order to do it all over again.
The guides are through Telluride Adaptive Sports Program (TASP). TASP sees over 100 volunteers annually to make their programs happen. The more I get to know about TASP and the TASP people, the more I appreciate what they represent. Here is their web site http://www.tellurideadaptivesports.org/ and here is their mission statement:
Our Mission
The Telluride Adaptive Sports Program is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of people with disabilities by providing educational and recreational opportunities that develop life skills, encourage personal growth, and promote independence. TASP offers adaptive skiing, rafting, kayaking, rock climbing, cycling clinics and a whole host of other activities that allow students to participate on an equal level with their family and friends in a safe, fun, outdoor environment. These challenging activities catalyze our students’ ability to become more active, productive members of their communities.
The Telluride Adaptive Sports Program is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of people with disabilities by providing educational and recreational opportunities that develop life skills, encourage personal growth, and promote independence. TASP offers adaptive skiing, rafting, kayaking, rock climbing, cycling clinics and a whole host of other activities that allow students to participate on an equal level with their family and friends in a safe, fun, outdoor environment. These challenging activities catalyze our students’ ability to become more active, productive members of their communities.
What they do is incredible and had I not made a commitment to on-mountain photography, I would have dropped my resume and willingness to volunteer at TASP. Volunteering for collegiate alpine ski races, as I did several weeks ago, is one thing. Volunteering for an organization like TASP is another. I firmly believe there is no better feeling in the world, then giving opportunity to someone, who otherwise would not have that opportunity on their own. Whether its sports, arts, sciences or life in general, giving back will always make you a better and more humble person.
I saw John later in the day. I did not stop to say anything....just watched as he had improved and made his way further up the mountain to more difficult trails. If you want to talk about something that is truly amazing, I saw it today. John has my utmost respect and admiration. As the quote says "the blind see the world with their hearts." We all know from the lion in the Wizard of Oz that courage is represented by heart. Today, John had the biggest heart on the mountain; it would be hard pressed to find anything else that physically defines the words courage and determination as he did.
Good night from Telluride and I hope you are well.
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