Blind and visually impaired skiers hit Colorado slopes with guides
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo - Skiing can be a very dangerous sport if you aren't aware of your ability and your surroundings, so imagine doing it with a sensory loss.
These visually impaired people still fly down the mountain anyway.
KRDO joined a local non-profit for a recent ski trip, learning how one visually impaired woman and her guide work together on the slopes.
Once the skis are on, it's go time for Melissa Weiser-Rose. She isn't letting her disability deter her one bit from doing what she loves.
Communication is an integral part of her day on the slopes at Copper Mountain.
"I'm planning on doing some blues and some blacks," says Melissa Weiser-Rose.
But she couldn't do those challenging runs without her guide, Karen Vendl. Melissa is legally blind and Karen is her eyes.
"At times you'll wonder who's visually impaired and who's not because she has all the slopes memorized and she's been skiing a lot longer than me and she is an awesome skier, but she trusts me so that works out," says Karen Vendl.
The duo relies on verbal cues and Karen skis about 10-15 feet in front of Melissa.
"I can't read the signs, I can see the change in terrain and that kind of thing," says Weiser-Rose.
"They need to be able to hear your voice and you need to project it very well," says Vendl.
With congenital cataracts and a retina that never fully developed, Melissa can see color but doesn't have good depth perception.
"If I had sight I would be dangerous, I probably would be," says Weiser-Rose. "I'm not trying to be rude and you guys don't know me, but I am not grandiose. I really wish I had sight."
Melissa and Karen are part of a VIBeS, which stands for Visually Impaired and Blind skiers of Colorado Springs. Every year, the whole group greatly looks forward to this ski trip.
"It adds so much, a whole new dimension to skiing," says Don Alred. "Skiing by myself is boring, skiing while guiding someone is an absolute hoot and a half."
For Melissa and Karen, guided skiing brings them a unique bond build entirely on trust. And it's a friendship that stretches further than any ski run.
"I can't drive so these people are my eyes and I can go out and just get on the mountain and move and I love that," says Weiser-Rose.
