A couple of things this morning. A few weeks ago an editor from “Diabetes Forecast” magazine called me and said they’d seen a photo of guide Tim Duffy here at WildSnow, and could I sell them the photo to illustrate an article? Why most certainly! I was soon a few Benjamins richer. Funny how if you put yourself out there as a photographer you get these random photo sales from who knows where. Happens to me several times a year.
Tim on the cover of the mag. No, I didn't shoot the glam shot, just that little ski shot on the page to the right. Still, I sold the photo for more than the camera cost, so there.
Tim took us for a run at Snow Basin, Utah when Lisa and I were there for the OR show a few years ago. I snapped a few photos and published a blog post, didn’t think much of it. Turns out Tim is a diabetic yet still leads quite the adventurous life. I’ve known a few guys with the disease who were ski patrolmen and such, and admired the way they overcame the obstacle. Tim does it proud, with things such as Denali guiding and ski patrolling in Utah. According to the article, his recent challenge is after buying a kayak guide service in Alaska he found the Coast Guard wouldn’t approve an important boating license he needed to run the business. He was refused because of his diabetes. After a successful appeal he’s now a boat captain, but it sounds like getting there was quite the challenge that included lawyers, appeals, and that sort of thing.
The article goes on to detail how Tim has compensated for his condition in a variety of ways and is quite interesting. He gives new meaning to the “perfect set of ski bibs.” Read it here.
After being at 5 Points film festival last weekend and seeing several films about people with disabilities who were still involved in adventure sports, the article about Tim made me realize that far more people than one thinks have various physical challenges. Really, nearly all of us do. Those of us that overcome the harder stuff, like Tim does, get us to quit whining about our bad knees or stiff necks and get out there and do it. Thanks guys!
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
