“You need aguide,” says Mike May, 68, who was blinded at age 3 in a calcium-carbide chemical explosion. May started skiing at 27, on a bunny slope, holding onto a guide’s poles — in what he calls “horse and buggy style.” Within days, he was unattached and following his guide’s voice down the hill. “It was extremely liberating,” says May, who went on to win multiple medals in the world competitions now known as the Paralympics, and hit 65 miles per hour to set the world record for speed skiing by a completely blind skier.
Call the resort to find out what kind of programs it offers. “It shouldn’t cost you more to ski than it costs a sighted person,” says May, who suggests using only guides who lead rather than follow you. You want a skilled skier with a loud voice. Once on the trail, keep four to 15 feet between you and your guide. A good guide will use cadence to indicate spatial directions; a long turn might sound like “Tuuuuurn left. Gooo, gooo. … ” Listen for other noises too: A blip in your guide’s voice might mean a bump ahead; if their skis start scraping, prepare for ice; sudden quiet indicates powder. Avoid using radios or walkie-talkies, which won’t give you the same directional cues.
Always wear a brightly colored bib that identifies you as a blind skier in boldface type (your guide should wear one that says “Guide”). Still, don’t assume others will take in its meaning; May thinks that fewer than 50 percent do. “They just see ‘Guide’ and ask for directions, like, ‘Where’s the bathroom?’” he says. The biggest obstacle for blind skiers is often transportation to the mountain. In college, May sometimes hitchhiked from Davis, Calif., to the Sierra Nevadas, hours away. He doesn’t recommend it. “Hitchhiking with a seeing-eye dog and your ski gear is not a simple task,” he says.
Ski lifts can be tricky, but you can always ask the operator to slow the lift down if you feel nervous. At the top of the run, ask your guide to give you a play-by-play so you know what’s coming. “I always like to take the same run over and over again,” May says. “That way I get a mental picture and can start to relax and really open up to the experience.”
