DIARY OF A DSES VOLUNTEER

by Mickey Pease

It was near the end of March and my love for skiing had been denied for too long. With a window of time available, I loaded my Subaru and drove the 5 hours to Mammoth Mountain. Just as I turned off the highway it began to snow and I had an adrenaline high.

I'd hooked up with Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra in the past so volunteered to give them half of my days. Tuesday morning I was introduced to Nate, a 20 year old, blind, Stanford University student. He was open about his disability. His goal is to become a radio announcer and you should hear him mimic the radio stations across the dial from classical to news, sports, rock, Christian and country. I said I liked the Christian stations. As we talked we discovered we were both believers. Nate made awesome strides in his skiing and blessed me to pieces. I'll never be the same after meeting Nate.

After three lessons with Nate, I went out with Kris. Kris, about 40, had lost her leg below the knee at 11 years of age from cancer. She'd already mastered skiing and was now mastering snowboarding. She was so graceful on the board and I was so impressed with this woman who had made lemonade out of the lemons given her in life. I'll never be the same after meeting Kris.

Next lesson was with Guy, a cute little 10 year old who wore a brace on one leg. He'd mastered the bi-ski and now wanted to master the mono-ski. (He sits in a bucket seat, legs strapped out straight over one ski. He has outriggers [short crutches] on each arm that have little skis on the bottom). He took off on his own making incredible turns, over bumps and down steep mountain terrain. Of course he fell often and that was a challenge for me but didn't stop him. The last two runs were through the trees, down hills, in deep powder. I did fine until he got lodged in a large snow pile. The instructor and I dislodged him but then I couldn't get out without pulling myself through the trees holding onto the branches. Guy challenged my skiing! I'll never be the same after meeting Guy.

Dave was born with a chromosome abnormality. Although a good size, handsome, and able bodied, his mental ability is about 22 months at 10 years of age. He doesn't speak words but makes excited sounds. He likes to wander off and is unable to follow directions. His balance is good and he loves to ski, although he doesn't turn and tends to just go where he wants. Dee held the tether and I skied on ahead asking him to follow me. If we tried to steer him using the tether, he would sit. Getting him to stand on the skis again was always a challenge as invariably I was 5 yards below him on the hill and had to side step up the snow to where he was.

Dee and I decided to take Dave up a steeper run. All went well until the chairlift started going through freezing wind and snow. By the time we got to the end of the lift the wind and snow were blowing so hard we couldn't see in front of us. With Dave in the middle we inched our way to a flat place-about 20 yards from the lift.

As we began skiing down the mountain, headed for St. Moritz run, Dave decided to go straight and not follow me. We knew we were headed for trouble. As we tried to steer him to the left, he was determined to continue down the steeper terrain and of course decided to just sit. We tried to get Dave to stand but each time he decided to sit again and the more we tried, the more we got tangled up.

Dee removed his skis and hers as I tried to manage the skis. Alas, I was going down the mountain trying to retrieve the skis and make my way back up the mountain again. A wonderful soul carried the other 3 skis as Dee walked Dave to the top of the St. Moritz run.

Once together we tried and tried to get Dave into his skis but he was determined to sit. Eventually I took all the skis, skied on ahead to a flat spot as Dee again walked Dave toward me. We were trying to hold Dave up and put on his skis as not one but six huge snow cats (snow moving machines) were coming toward us. Fortunately we had moved and they could get around us.

Once past, we tried to outfit Dave with his skis but he was determined to enjoy the snow on the ground. Finally Dave was up and headed down a black diamond run. Dee and I grabbed his arms and ski-walked him back up the hill to a safer run. (This is what happens when a difficult run is off of an easy run). The rest of the run went well and Dave seemed to enjoy himself. We ended with another run on the bunny slope.

Dave was happy and we were exhausted. As we returned Dave to his father, he turned, looked at me and put his arms around me wanting a hug. It was worth it all. I'll never be the same after meeting Dave.

(Names have been changed but the students are real)