Spirit of the Lakes Festival

What is Ski for Light Ski for Light, Inc is an all-volunteer, non-profit, organization founded in 1975. The goal of the organization is to teach blind, visually- and mobility-impaired adults how to cross-country ski, in an atmosphere that encourages participants to recognize that they can usually accomplish much more, both on the snow and back home in everyday life, than others may have told them was possible. Each year Ski for Light, Inc conducts a week-long event where blind and mobility-impaired adults are taught the basics of cross-country skiing. The event attracts upwards of 300 participants and guides. The location of the event changes from year to year in an effort to spread the Ski for Light philosophy and idea to as many parts of the country as possible. During the Ski for Light week each disabled skier is paired for the entire week with an experienced, sighted, cross-country skier who acts as ski instructor and guide. The disabled person skis in tracks or grooves in the snow, while the guide skis in a parallel set of tracks. The guide offers instructional tips and suggestions, support and encouragement, and describes the countryside. The blind and mobility-impaired adults who attend each Ski for Light week come from all over the U.S. and from several foreign countries. Many of them come to Ski for Light with a desire to become more physically active and fit, and to find recreational opportunities that are lacking at home. Most of these skiers discover, in the process of learning how to cross- country ski, that they can accomplish much more than others have told them, and much more than they themselves believed. They leave Ski for Light with a sense of accomplishment and motivation that carries over to every aspect of their lives back home.