BILLINGS — For outdoor enthusiasts, hitting the slopes is a highlight in the winter, but for individuals with disabilities, such as blindness or low vision, experiencing the outdoors can be challenging.
Ski for Light Montana, a nonprofit organization, is dedicated to helping those with visual impairments adventure in the Treasure State.
Each winter, Ski for Light Montana provides a three-day, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trip to West Yellowstone, partnering someone with low vision or blindness with a guide to explore.
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Michael Mooney has been going on the trips since 2009.
"I went blind in 2004 and then when I came back to Montana, it's one of the first resources I heard, or organizations, that help blind people stay active," Mooney said on Thursday. "It is amazing and everybody gets a little different something because we're all at our own walks (in) life and we always get something different out of it."
Mooney introduced both Brian Evans and Rich Holstein to the program.
"I had a brain tumor when I was seven and it took out my left eye and just left me with central and my right eye," Evans said. "I enjoy the people and I enjoy being outdoors."
Evans likes the adventure and has been participating since 2013.
“This program means everything, just to get out of the Billings,” Evans said.
The last trip the organization went on was over Presidents Day weekend, and it was Holstein's first time going.
“After having four strokes, 18 months ago, and then I can't drive, I can't ride a bike,” Holstein said. “I thought that my world revolved around my 3.8-mile radius that I could walk. And this, I can't say how it feels.”
Ski for Light Montana promotes physical activity and fosters connections and community among participants.
“It was truly one of the most fulfilling things I've ever got to do,” Holstein said. "This was absolutely the most amazing experience. It'll take my breath away. It'll bring you to tears every time. Because really, it means that much."
The journey to the slopes is not without its challenges. Many first-time skiers grapple with anxiety about navigating unfamiliar terrain, but longtime guide Patrick Joyce said it's fulfilling to see the skiers succeed.
“There's a lot of fear, especially when going to the first Ski for Light because they'll be on skis. Maybe they've never ever been on skis,” Joyce said. "When they ski, that's probably the fastest they've been going for a long, long time."
Joyce has been involved in the program since 1989. The nonprofit started in 1980, modeled after the national Ski for Light organization.
“I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the founder. That's Hans Stokken,” Joyce said. "God also created us with two legs to run as well. And if we can't run, we can walk, we can ski, snowshoe. But the main thing is to be outdoors."
The guides encourage participants to get on the skis at least once during the trip, and teach them how to fall safely while guiding them through the landscape.
"We always learn to roll and fall, sit, left and right," Joyce said. "We always say if you never fall, then you haven't been cross-country skiing."
It costs around $500 per person for the trips, and the organization relies on donations for participants to get the opportunity to go.
Joyce also hopes to get more people involved in the trips. The group also does an annual Trek for Light in the summer, where participants hike for three days.
"We just want to be able to really continue, even though it's a very small population. I know that there's probably people that would love to do it, but they don't know about it," Joyce said.
An organization, giving light in what can be some of the darkest times.
“In some ways you feel like life is over when you fight disabilities, and this gives you hope and life when it's hard to find life,” Holstein said.
