Methow Trails 2016-2017 Magazine

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14 | Methow Trails
This year will be the third-annual Methow Valley Ski for Light event, and we are
hoping to bring in 40 people to enjoy the trails in the Mazama area. Skiers will
include visually impaired and mobility-impaired participants, most from the
Northwest. Dates are January 22-26, 2017. We will be skiing in the Mazama area.
If you see double sets of tracks, you will know that we are out playing in the snow!
Ski for Light, Inc. is an all-volunteer not-for-profit corporation that was founded in
1975. It was created by a group of Norwegian-Americans who were familiar with
a program in Norway, the Ridderrenn, and the success that program had enjoyed
over the years in teaching blind/visually impaired and mobility-impaired people
the Norwegian national sport of cross-country skiing.
Ski for Light has thrived for all these years because of the enduring truth of these
beliefs. They remain as true today as they were in 1975, and they are the foundation
upon which the entire program is built.
The primary goal of the event is to teach blind, visually-impaired and mobility-
impaired people who have never skied before the basics of the sport, and to give
people who have already learned the basics a chance to improve their skill and
technique, or to let them just have fun on the snow.
Local organizers Nancy & Rich Milsteadt have been guiding with Ski for Light
International for many years. In addition, they were both involved guides with
Ski for Light’s Puget Sound Regional program. When they moved to the Methow
Valley it became quite clear that the combination of amazing trails and talented
local skiers would make a perfect match.
For information or to volunteer, contact:
Nancy McKinney Milsteadt at .
Ski For Light THE TWO CORNERSTONE
BELIEFS THAT LED TO THE
CREATION OF SKI FOR
LIGHT WERE:
• Blind/visually-impaired and
mobility-impaired people can learn
how to cross-country ski quite well,
and have fun while doing it, if given
proper instruction and equipment,
and if paired with a sighted,
experienced cross-country skier to
act as instructor and guide.
• Experienced, sighted cross-country
skiers will find it fun and rewarding
to share their love of skiing by
being an instructor/guide for
someone who can’t easily have that
experience on his/her own.
Thanks to a grant from the
Methow Fund, Methow Trails now
offers adaptive “sit skis” for skiers
with limited mobility. For more
information call 509-996-3287.
Place orders at
BCO fruit available at U. District and Ballard Farmers Markets
THE PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT
Give a box of Methow Sunshine!
We hand wrap the
most beautiful pears
of this year's crop and
pack up 5 pounds of
them in a box that
you can have sent
to everyone on your
holiday list.