Blind Skiers Amaze and Inspire

For the past 36 years, the American Blind Skiing Foundation (ABSF), with the help of hundreds of volunteer ski guides, has enabled hundreds of visually impaired children and adults to experience the thrill and excitement of downhill skiing.

One of those first visually impaired skiers was 16 year-old John Erickson. Three years earlier, Erickson had complete vision loss in one eye and had become legally blind in the other due to pressure on his brain.

“Skiing changed my whole attitude about my visual impairment because I suddenly found myself doing something I never thought possible,” Erickson said. And when others voiced their amazement in seeing him ski, he began to consider his visual impairment as an inconvenience, not a handicap.

When a volunteer guide suggested racing, Erickson gave it a try. At first, he said, “it was terrifying; it was skiing as fast as I could, barely in control, behind someone I could barely see. But when I finished that first race, the sense of accomplishment was beyond belief.”

“With the help of my guides, I started to think that almost anything was possible.” Last March, Erickson and his guide, Jennifer Gardner, won gold at the NASTAR National Ski Racing Championships.

Contact ABSF if you would like to volunteer as a ski guide – and help show another visually impaired person that skiing is too fun not to do just because you can’t see well!

Contact: absf.org.