Looking
uphill from our staging area, we see that there is partly cloudy skies...that
didn't change. We saw about 45°F during the day with a couple of
snow squalls.
The
staging areas were divided into "stand up" and "sit down"
skiers. This area (left) is reserved for the stand-up skiers...mostly
Cerebral Palsey and Visually Impaired. The sit-down skiers were transfered
from their wheel chairs to the monoski or biski on a plywood deck...setup
to allow each of the partipants to wheel out onto the snow and increase
the density of sitskiers we can accommodate.
My
morning hooked me up with Warren Arvin from Richmond, VA. Warren lost
his sight to an infection in one eye that moved to the other eye. He
initially thought it was a symptom of his diabetes, but he was mistaken.
The infection was devastating. 
Now,
10 years later, Warren is getting into the outdoors. He was concerned
about his instructors' safety, that he was willing to curtail his skiing
so we wouldn't have to pick him up off the cold snow and exert physical
effort to help him ski. We were able to keep him out for three chairlift
rides and associated runs. AJ Prudhomme was able to keep Warren's attention
during the entire lesson. I tethered Warren as he attempted to master
the bi-ski. He did a great job responding to what we asked and being
aware of the sounds in his environment.
Other
Visually Impaired skiers descended on the mountain. Diane Thompson takes
her student to the hills.
My
afternoon had with a friend from last year -- Kevin Stone. Kevin is
a musician, marksman, and all-around good-guy! I've developed a friendship
with Kevin based on a mutual admiration and trust. He also sings and
play guitar and piano very, very, well! Kevin's morning was spent in
the scuba pool. 
The
warm weather helped, but during the snow squalls, Kevin said he stayed
under the water since it was warmer there. Kevin did very well...working
on many advanced techniques. He was very excited about his progress
and looks forward to Wednesday's session to advance his progress even
further.
Day's
end have us scrambling on the dock, getting our students back into their
chairs and moving the skiis back to the equipment truck. This first
year at Snowmass -- and it's first day -- proved a success!