Ski Day with Skyler

I took Friday off and we headed up to Winter Park, home of the National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) to ski with Skyler. He didn't get to go last year because of his spine surgery, and we are late in getting up this year due to, well, life getting in the way! It was a fun day, warm but overcast. I was struck by how little snow there was there. We have been hearing reports that while we are way behind in precipitation around here, the snowpack was still adequate. No way! There just isn't a whole lot of snow in the high country which spells water rationing this year.

But back to skiing. Skyler has been going up there once or twice a year since he was a little guy, skiing in their sit-sky program. It is almost all volunteers, and everyone is usually great. This time, we were paired up with one of the few full time NSCD employees, Rick, who runs and trains people in the sit ski program. His trainee was a lovely girl named Sarah, who Skyler liked a lot.

Rick is awesome, he has been doing this a long time, and handles the sit ski great. He is also strong like bull, and could take Skyler down some more challenging terrain and let him go fast. Skyler is like his dad, he likes fast!

While we were there spending money, we had to stop in the NSCD store to drop more cash. We got Skyler a new shirt, Kathy a new running shirt, and I got a shirt with my favorite print on it:



You probably can't see it very well, so hear is a closeup:


The lady at the store told us the story behind that dog. It was a wonderful female lab that was great at everything needed to be a guide dog, with one exception. She had this crazy prey drive that they never could break her of. So while she was a superior guide dog, let a squirrel cross in front of her and it was off to the races! So they were going to wash her out of the program, when they found a guy who wasn't totally blind. He could see a bit, and had a condition where he needed help with getting around and retrieving things that were dropped, etc...

So they were paired up, and it worked out wonderfully. That picture is real, that is her waiting for him as he climbed. Pretty cool, huh?

Here are a couple more pictures of us skiing:





Rick and Skyler flying by!


Here is quick video of Skyler skiing: