I am very pleased that this month’s Action is featuring winter sports. Growing up in Vermont I learned quickly that there were two types of families: those that griped about winter and subscribed to the philosophy that Vermont has nine months of winter and two months of mud season (with one month for watching the leaves change colors), and those that enjoyed winter to its fullest. I was lucky to be born into a family that took advantage of all the fun winter offers. I was taught to embrace the outdoors and had the opportunity to sled, ski (both downhill and cross country), snowmobile, ice fish, skate, and play hockey. I guess if there was something to do in the winter we found it and had fun with friends and family.
But, as with many of you, I thought all that changed when I first started using a wheelchair; winter and wheelchairs just didn’t seem compatible. I know that many of our members, particularly those residing in the warmer climates, think that those of us pushing our wheelchairs in the snow are unnecessarily punishing ourselves. When I first became a wheelchair user, my winters too became dull without the exhilarating activity of winter sports and the interaction they afforded me with my skiing and snowboarding friends.
That all changed the day I received a call from our Sports and Recreation department inviting me to a ski trip in Vermont. Like any self-respecting, reformed winter person, my immediate reaction was: “What? Are you out of your mind?” I knew that people in wheelchairs skied, but I also knew only too well that pushing my wheelchair in the snow in Vermont would make my gloves freeze. The sports and recreation staff, however, were persuasive and I wound up agreeing to join the ski trip.
We stayed about two miles from where I was raised and imagine my surprise when I discovered that most of the people assisting those of us in mono-skis were people that I had skied with when I was younger and able- bodied. I can truly say that the opportunity to ski helped me to fall in love with winter again all over again. I immediately got a ski and made it my business to find programs that enabled me to continue skiing safely. I started skiing on a regular basis and found that my friends with whom I had spent so many hours on the slopes in the past were more than ready to race me back down the mountain once they saw me skiing.
Skiing is a sport that I love, but it is only one of many outdoor activities I do in the winter. With a little assistance from friends, I can still do snowmobiling and occasionally find my way out onto the ice to go fishing. I have also had the opportunity to use some of my skills from my early days of playing hockey.
I know that most of us can find things to do that don’t involve being outdoors in the snow, but the winter is just too beautiful not to take part in all that it offers. I hope that after you have read through this issue of Action and seen all the activities available, you too will become an active winter participant.
Clair Russell Hesselton, PhD
President
