Colorado native Mark Davis, 44, was devastated when he lost his vision in 1999 due to his MS. The sudden blindness (Mark says it’s like looking through waxed paper) forced him to move back in with his parents at a time when considered himself at the height of his career as a bank vice president. Not only that, Davis had been an avid skier since the age of nine. “Skiing was a part of my heart and soul from a very young age.” This too seemed to be destined to be a part of his past.

Life began to improve for Mark when he discovered the Colorado Ski School for the Blind. Trained guides helped him to get back on skis. “It was sort of like going from ultimate despair to ultimate enjoyment,” recalls Mark. “In a very short time I was able to do something I was good at. It was an awesome, awesome experience. I started getting my life back together.”

The next year, to Mark’s dismay, the Colorado Ski School for the Blind had folded. Mark searched, but there was nothing flexible or affordable enough. That’s when he decided to take action, forming “Foresight Ski Guides,” a non-profit corporation to provide ski and snowboarding guides and instruction to people who are visually impaired.

With the help of a Betaseron® Champions of Courage grant, Foresight services are available to visually impaired participants at the Colorado Front Range areas in Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone as of early 2002. For a once-a-season donation of $50, participants will be entitled to four days of guided skiing, with lift tickets, equipment rental, and assistance for lodging and transportation. Grants, corporate sponsorships and charitable donations cover the remainder of the expenses.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Mark says that once Foresight services are up and running in Colorado, he plans to expand the operation to offer guides and discounted skiing at every ski hill in America.

For more information, visit Mark’s website at www.foresightskiguides.org or call 866-860-0972.

- Updated 1/2/03