A special ski trip to Elkhorn Lodge

 Happy Easter everyone! I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday weekend! I am really enjoying the  time with my family. My cousin, who lives in Calgary, was visiting Invermer with her husband and two little boys, so we were enjoying time with them. It is so fun to experience the holidays through the eyes of young children.  In Invermere, they had a town Easter egg that we went to with the kids, and it was fun to watch the  crowd of children race after chocolate.

Easter is one sign that spring is on the way. It’s the promise of new beginnings. It says farewell to winter, and hello to spring. Most people, including me, look forward to the warmer temperatures. Other people, also like me, feel a tinge of sadness as they put away their ski gear for the year.

Last Sunday was PASS’ last ski day. After a great day on the slopes, all the athletes and volunteers were invited to dinner at a restaurant called “Alto” to celebrate the skier’s accomplishments, as well as the  dedicated volunteers. 

For me, 2023 was another llexciting ski year, full of progress. My aatwo instructors, Chris and Shelagh  kept on encouraging me to push the”ski pole” higher. After skiing with me for four years, they now know what I am capable of, so there is no slacking off for me. I am doing a lot more walking these days, and it shows in skiing, because I can ski higher terrain.

 Our biggest adventure was going up to Elkhorn Cabin, which is a coffee shop higher up on the mountain that my sister, Nat works at. Last year, we made it a goal for us to ski up there. This ski season, we made it happen. 

Going up to Elkhorn Cabin is a bit of a trek, so, before we went up there, Chris and Shelagh did some recon to see what would be the easiest and safest way for us  to get there! I’m so grateful to have a ski team who is up for any challenge with me. 

On the day we skied up to Elkhorn, it came as a surprise to me to find theI was the only PASS skier at the hill that day, and  all the PASS volunteers wanted to come up  to be included in my fun day! It was pretty special to ski a bit of terrain and then look back  to see all my ski buddies. My friend, Romy came up as well, which was very fun, because she is an avid skier and she was very excited to be there.

I skied really well that day;  even on the steep slope right before Elkhorn. I think I impressed all my ski coaches. I was so excited to see where Nat works, and grateful that I had so many people who enabled me   to see this part of her life. I couldn’t have done something like that without help. Nat and I can't do everything together because of my physical challenges. Skiing is now one thing we both can do,  that years ago, we never thought we could. We now have a special thing we can  bond over. It’s heartwarming , and doing things like going to Elkhorn, where Nat works,  was a perfect way to celebrate.

The Elkhorn Cabin is a very neat and quaint  little restaurant up on top of the mountain and the views from there are breathtaking.  I was very impressed, Nat has sent me some incredible pictures of it before , but to see it for myself is something else! 

Nat had made a reservation for our ski team to all sit down and have a hot drink and a treat at one of Elkhorn's tables. had such a great time up there; talking, laughing and relaxing  together. When we were finished, we had to ski down, which we thought would be the hard part. I guess I was just too happy about my exciting day to be tired. 

Even though it was a long ski, the day went by much faster than I was hoping. I suppose that is what happens when you’re having fun! 

Thank you so much to Nat, Chris, Shelaigh, and all the volunteers for making this super fun trek possible. I love your “can do” attitude towards every ski thing I want to do. A special thanks to Nat for organizing the Elkhorn reservation. I’m so glad our plan worked out, and we had such a fun “sister ski trip”  I think we may have to make a new end of ski season tradition.

Thank you, also to all the PASS and Special Olympic ski coaches for volunteering your time to ski with us athletes every week. Athletes can put their complete trust in you for their safety, because we all know how much you care about us, and that this brings you all as much joy as it brings us! You guys are the best! Every ski season gets better! I can’t wait to see what 2024 brings for PASS and Special O!