'Almost a spiritual connection': Dozens gather in Kananaskis for blind and visually impaired ski event
When Dave Wilkinson clips into his cross-country skis and takes his first strides, he's right where he wants to be.
"It's almost a spiritual connection for me. I love the feeling of my body in space, the movement as you're gliding across the snow. There's just nothing that competes with it," Wilkinson said Wednesday, right before an afternoon of several kilometres of skiing.
He's come from Kentucky to Kananaskis this week for the annual Ski for Light event, a week-long program for blind and visually impaired skiers.
Wilkinson, like half of the skiers taking to the snow at the William Watson Lodge, is blind. The other half of the people at the resort are the sighted guides, leading their partners around the tracks.
"As a person with no sight, when I'm cross-country skiing, it's a real liberating experience for me," said Peter Quaiattini, a skier and vice-president of Ski for Light.
"Because of the tracks — the classic cross-country tracks groomed into the snow — I get my skis in them and it's like a train on the tracks," he said.
More than 70 people are in Kananaskis for this year's event, which brings together skiers from across Canada, the U.S. and a few visitors from Norway and the U.K.
The week is full of socializing, training and racing.
There are three races — a 2.5 kilometre trek, a five-kilometre and a 10-kilometre race — with skill levels ranging from beginner to long-time skiers.
"The races are fun races, but it's always nice to test yourself against your peers. Then, the rest of the time, we enjoy skiing out on the trails. Camaraderie and socializing as well," said Jen Tweddell, one of the sighted guides and president of Ski for Light.
Some people have been returning to the event for more than two decades, while others are testing out the skis for the first time.
While it's the skiing that brings the group together, it's the community support that keeps people coming back, year after year.
"It's the only sport I do that I'm not attached to someone or on the back of a bike or something. It's just me and my body and the space around me," said Wilkinson.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.