Erik Schlimmer tells the story of how he learned to fastpack the Adirondacks, a grueling 110 miles and 19,000 vertical feet of climbing, in five days with only 11 pounds on his back.
When this issue hits the gyms and stores, the story that inspired this column will be old news, but I’m writing about it anyway because I think it raises some really important issues in the active community.
When it was time to go back to his No. 1 job, Petersen realized he was already there.
“When I was done with the lesson I thought, ‘What are you doing, Erik?’ Before we started I almost felt like I was taking a step down by working with disabled athletes, and then I realized that I was taking two steps up,” he recalls.
While there’s more money to be made in able-bodied ski coaching—revenue generated by events and sponsors dwarfs disabled skiing, especially at the non-profit NSCD—Petersen repeatedly talks about the non-monetary benefits of the Competition Program.
“These athletes are inspirational,” Petersen says. “People look at them and say, ‘Look at how well they ski. Look at how fast they ski.’ They have goals and dreams just like everybody else, and this is what the program fulfills.”
The tears that keep welling in Petersen’s eyes are evidence of how much he loves working with NSCD athletes. And the skiers, likewise, are quick to mention how much they appreciate the coaches.
“The coaches don’t have to be here if they don’t want to be,” Hall says. “They are pretty much doing it as a service because they want you to succeed.”
And Jones, who has been with NSCD since she was five, says, “No one shows up to work because they have to. They are here because they want to be.”
An NSCD instructor, who himself cannot walk, rolls by in his wheelchair. He’s about to hit the slopes with an NSCD athlete, but before he does he takes a moment to rib Jones. He has worked with her since she was five, when he and other instructors used to dump her in piles of snow when she acted up, which, rumor has it, was quite often.
But it isn’t her behavior that the coach is focused on right now. Instead, it’s her new bright purple hairdo—the same color as a grape lollipop.
Referencing Jones’ hometown of Denver and its notoriously prostitute-laden boulevard of Colfax, he rolls by and says, “With that hair, honestly, you should be over on East Colfax.” In that small, crowded room, everyone hears the joke. And, with how tight the group is, everyone busts up laughing.
Jones shakes her head. Just another day in the Competition Program locker room.
The NSCD is located in Winter Park. In winter, programs include alpine skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, Nordic hut trips, snowshoeing and ski racing. The NSCD also offer a range of great summer adventures including AbilityCAMPs, rafting, kayaking, canoeing, horse pack trips, therapeutic horseback riding, mountain biking, overnight river trips, fishing, camping and rock climbing. Visit www.nscd.org to learn more.
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