During the last ski season, I was invited to ski at Crystal Mountain. A place I had skied once as a kid, but didn’t remember well. For the most part, going somewhere new often has challenges. My ability to move about new places gets complicated with my physical disability and anxious emotions. Having cerebral palsy makes my movements more challenging. Many things come into question when going someplace I have never been. Understanding the distance from the parking lot to any kind of building. Gaining knowledge about the number of stairs that might require navigation. I have begun looking into the number of handicapped parking spaces a place might have. Especially when it comes to a new ski area. The information could inform me about how early I might need to arrive. It also helps me project into my mind the challenge involved with walking to the lodge. I have found, even with the ability to park more closely, the hike to the lodge could remain challenging. Therefore, a scouting trip becomes a series of projections. When I’m planning on arriving at a ski resort on my own, or to meet people for a day of skiing. It feels important to make an educated guess around the feasibility of the idea. The concept of going to check things out, often helps reduce the likelihood of getting overwhelmed. If I can envision myself moving around the lodge area and enjoying the day, I’m more likely take up the invitation.
The first thing I noticed about the trip to Crystal was the drive to the mountain. Before setting out on a Saturday morning in August, I looked up directions. The small bit of research showed the drive taking two-hours, from Duvall. The initial thought crossing my mind was the time of year for my scouting trip. The time of a couple hours would be certain to elevate in the winter months. In the final days of August, the trip would be void of snow. Which, would most likely add time to the drive, during the winter months. I pulled out of the driveway with the address of Crystal mountain entered into the navigation system. The beginning half of the drive would be familiar to me, while the final part would be all new roads. A little taste of adventure to experience roads I have never traveled. Another bit of excitement would be driving through towns I have known the names of, all my life, but never seen in person. My first stop would be for coffee, in the town of Fall City. A place I have a lot of familiarity with and the first twenty minutes would be gone. Along the journey, I drove through Black Diamond, and the town of Enumclaw. Two places extremely familiar in stories, but not in mental pictures. Enumclaw was much different from what I expected. Though, I probably couldn’t put into words, what it was I had in mind. The city struck me as a cool mountain town, not too small, but it wasn’t as big as I would have guessed. It had a neat looking downtown strip that didn’t appear long. Providing an old town vibe with a couple shops and restaurants. As I moved around the town, I could see mountains most everywhere I looked. It provided a good feeling, as I headed out the other side of town, on a two-lane road.
The final stretch up to Crystal resort was a climb of about thirty or forty minutes. A two-lane road took me weaving along the valley of the mountain range. I drove along the river at times, and felt deep in the forest at others. There were moments of clearings to be seen, where the forest gave way, momentarily. I was attempting to estimate where the snow level might be, along my journey, but it felt almost impossible. Some signs for area to pull off the road and chain up the car, gave indication. However, I didn’t register the sight of elevation signs, so it was challenging to project. Following a good half-hour of driving, I was informed of a left hand turn off the highway. When I navigated my way onto another two-lane road with one-way access to Crystal ski resort. The next six-miles was a winding climb up to the base area of the resort. When the road opened up, there were people everywhere. There was clearly some kind of event happening that I wasn’t prepared to encounter. I could see a lower parking lot covered with tents, with many of the other lots occupied with cars. I crawled my car forward through the crowds, angling for the handicap spaces near the lodge. There looked to be a one-way road running along the outside of a huge main lot. I followed along hoping for the handicap parking spaces to appear. If they didn’t, I was probably in trouble.
I bended around a corner to my left. Driving past rows of cars parked neatly, nose to nose. After rolling past a few lines of vehicles, moving closer to the lodge area of Crystal. The signs to my left indicated handicap parking. At Stevens Pass, where I spend most of my winter skiing. They have a handful of handicap parking spots, I have found. No more than about five or six, across from a walking bridge, leading to the base area. When moving through the parking lot at Crystal, a handful of spaces near the front was my hope. What I actually came across would have never crossed my mind. Just as the rows of parked cars ended, near the front. I found a group of primarily empty spaces. There were a handful of cars scattered in two rows of parking spaces. A row on each side of the driveway, moving traffic from one side of the parking lot, to the other. I pulled my car into the empty aisle, with a variety of spaces to choose. A space to my left was chosen. I placed the handicap placard on the dash and exited my car. The sun was shining brightly, as I looked around in awe of my surroundings. I was surprised by the number of handicap spaces and counted 26. A far cry from the handful to choose from at Stevens. Looking up toward the base area, I could see the gondola to my right, climbing the mountain. I was excited to take a look around the resort.
When looking up toward the base area, I could see a fair amount of construction taking place. It appeared that another building was being constructed for the resort. Much of the base area appeared to be fenced off, due to the construction. So, it was unclear how much I would truly be able to experience. I noticed a trailer off to my left with two entrances, advertising apparel, and guest services. My first order of business was to find a restroom after the long drive. Signs led me into the basement of what looked like the main lodge. I walked up a flight of stairs that took me from the parking lot to the base of the gondola. There was an interesting aspect to the stairs, I noticed immediately. As I secretly worried to myself about carrying my skis up the steps. There was a ramp that switched back across the staircase. It was one of the coolest features I can remember having seen. Allowing someone like me to move from the parking lot to the gondola base without using steps. It wasn’t until now that I thought about traversing the traffic of people walking up the steps, as I move across the steps. Maybe it wouldn’t be a huge deal. I found my way to the top of the steps and into the basement area for the restrooms. When I immerged from the base of the lodge, I took some time to look around the base area. With all of the construction taking place, there wasn’t much to explore. Still, I looked around as much as was possible and got a feel for the base area of Crystal. Walking back to my car, I could begin imagining the challenges I could face in skiing at Crystal. Along, with a confidence in how to manage those challenges, and achieve a fun day of skiing.
I have found it to be an added challenge in my cerebral palsy journey. The feeling of becoming overwhelmed with an environment comes too easily. Whenever possible, I think it has been important for me to check things out. Try getting a feel for the physical environment, before immersing myself in a situation. The goal isn’t possible in many situations. Like traveling to somewhere I have never visited. A website is often there to provide a feel for what it might be like in the area. However, many of those images are designed to inform people who are typically developed. They often don’t include things concerning the challenges of my disability. The intricacies of the physical environment seem often absent from photos or descriptions. Understanding, for the public at large, things like steps, undulations, and space between objects carry less importance. For me, it’s challenging to feel safe inside many physical environments. Only when I spend time in them, can I gain a comfort with my movement. So, the ability to go experience surroundings for a short time, before spending extended time, helps exponentially. I begin to understand what to be prepared for within the experience of a new place. Spending the day driving to Crystal provided much in the way of information. Most of all, it felt pretty comfortable, and gave me insight to make a day of skiing, doable.
A Journey With Cerebral Palsy 