Ski for Light, Inc

03/29/2026

"Gratulerer!" (congrats!) to our Ski for Light ambassadors to the Foreningen Ridderrennet, especially this year's official SFL Ridderrenn Team members Lucas Rice and Marian Wildgruber (VIPs) and guides Greg Cox, Allen Takahashi, and Doug Sundberg. (A sixth honoree, Greg Andrews, was unfortunately unable to make the trip.) Joining the Norwegian adventure were VIPs Kevin Whitley, Michelle Curtis, Anthony Nelson, Courtney Mazzola, and Susan Bueti-Hill, along with guides Bruce Slinkman, Louis Peterson, Julie Coppens, Astrid Mullen, and Marion Elmquist, our trip leader.

From the impeccably groomed Nordic trails of Beitostølen Helsesportsenter, to the biathlon range and even the Talent Show stage, they represented the Ski for Light spirit so well. Here are just a few photo highlights, including some of the cultural landmarks our American friends got to explore in Oslo before and after the Ridder Week. Tusen takk (big thanks) to Marion for organizing another great trip for the group, and making sure everyone got home safely.

Next year's Ridderrenn is set for March 7-14, 2027, and according to our Norwegian friend Reidar Storvik, "You're all welcome!" so... start saving and planning! 🇺🇸🤍🇳🇴

02/10/2026

BIG thanks to Jake Beyer, Content Producer YMCA of the Rockies-Snow Mountain Ranch, for his assistance in sharing another Ski for Light story. This video makes us smile 😀
https://youtu.be/K3cySblmj2s

We invite you to join us next year in West Yellowstone, with registration opening in late summer.

Snow Mountain Ranch Nordic Center

Ski for Light is a week-long cross-country skiing event that brings together blind, visually impaired, and mobility-impaired adults with volunteer guides fro...

02/10/2026

We were honored to have Terese Holm of the Royal Norwegian Consulate General, San Francisco join us at this year's SFL International Event. Tusen takk, Terese, for at du hjelper oss med å hedre våre norske røtter! 🇳🇴🥰

02/10/2026

"Hipp, hipp, hurra!" and "tusen takk" to our honored Norway Night guests, who helped us celebrate SFL's Scandinavian roots through poetry, music, skiing history, handicrafts and more: Terese Holm of the Royal Norwegian Consulate General in San Francisco; Merv Eriksson from Sons of Norway; Kristin Lanvransson and musician Chris Welsh from the Scandinavian Alliance of Colorado; Reidar Storvik and Einar Berg from the Ridderrenn; and the phenomenal musicians of Nordic Daughter.

Image description: collage of Norwegian flag banner with words "Norway Night at Ski for Light," clockwise from upper left: Kristin with SFLers at Scandinavian folk art "touch table" and Chris demonstrating his collection of antique instruments; Terese Holm and Merv Eriksson at the podium; Nordic Daughter musicians on stage; and dinner guests listening to Einar and Reidar reciting Norwegian poetry under international flags.

02/08/2026

We made it! Race Day was a complete success! ⛷️ This week was brought together with the Olav Pedersen race/rally day where skiers and guides worked together to complete a 1k, 5k, or 10k course… and can we just say they completed it so well!

02/06/2026

Falling cows, crazy wigs, and matching pajamas? It must be Hygge Day!! Today truly is centered on comfort, contentment, and coziness with one of our favorite themes so far 🏔️ This is our international event after all so there’s no better way to celebrate our pre-race day than the Norwegian way! 🇳🇴

02/06/2026

Love, energy, and tradition filled last night at our talent show! There was singing, dancing, flute playing, comedy, and more! With “hygge” day today and Norway night tonight… there is much more to come!

02/06/2026

Another awesome day of skiing out on the snow! We love seeing everyone’s smiling faces and can’t wait for the talent show tonight ❄️

Thank you Jake Breyer for these wonderful photos

10/21/2025

We had a spectacular SFL Planning Weekend at Snow Mountain Ranch! SFL 2026 event chair David Fisichella, vice chair Melinda Hollands, and planning team members Krista Erickson, Peggy Malloy, Lucas Rice, Tim McCorcle, Karen Ishibashi, Julie Coppens, Judy Dixon, Deni Elliott, Bonny O'Day, Bob Hartt, Lillian Goodman and Nino Pacini, plus others phoning in from afar, met with YMCA of the Rockies staff -- including Snow Mountain Ranch Nordic Center director Jeff Paulson, pictured here outside the beautiful new Camper Hub building, which will be our skiing home base and lunchroom for the week. We enjoyed some excellent meals in the Commons (new food service team since our last visit: chef's kiss) and explored some new trails (imagine them covered in snow and impeccably groomed for classic skiing), while revisiting favorite sites like Columbine Point and the Indian Peaks fireplace. We also checked out the Kiva (a Pueblo word meaning "gathering place"), SMR's indoor rec center with roller rink, archery range, climbing wall, basketball court and more -- where we'll all get to play on Tuesday night of Ski for Light week. Still lots of details to sort, decisions to make, and work to do, but we are getting there! Big thanks to all the volunteer leaders who spent the weekend making sure SFL 2026, Feb. 1-8, will be one of our best. And just to be super-sure, Melinda wrote a letter to place in God's Mailbox: "Dear God, Thank you for your beautiful world, and please send lots of snow this winter."

p.s. We could still use a few more guides! And we still have stipends available to help offset the cost for volunteers to attend. Link in the comments for details and registration form.

10/15/2025

We are now officially famous Down Under! Thanks heaps to Vision Australia Vision Australia Radio for featuring SFL on their excellent Studio 1 podcast, with host Lizzie Eastham talking with visually impaired skier Anthony Nelson and SFL President Julie Coppens. Cheers also to Lily Piccolo, our first-ever Aussie participant (SFL 2025 in Provo), for putting us in touch -- you're like a one-woman PR squad for an entire hemisphere!

"If you've never made anyone cry, you will have about 300 people just crying their eyes out because of the joy of watching a brand new skier come in, in one week's time, which is very short, and finish a race. It's overwhelming because you get to see those new skiers... and it is a riot to watch them come across the (finish) line." - Anthony Nelson

Episode link in the comments.