Nebraskans with disabilities find freedom, friendship on Black Hills slopes

ALYSSA JOHNSON Lincoln Journal Star Jan 24, 2026

As Mark Bulger descends the snow-packed peaks in the Black Hills next week, he’ll feel the rush of cold air, but he won’t see the snow-covered trees or the sun setting behind the mountains. But those sights aren’t important for the skiers who are blind during the annual Ski for Light trip, instead, it’s friendships formed and the kindness of volunteers during a four-day winter retreat. “A lot of people look forward to it all year,” Bulger said. “It’s not just the outdoor activities, just the time together with other people.”

Now in its 46th year, Black Hills Ski for Light brings people who are blind, visually impaired or physically disabled to western South Dakota for a week of outdoor adventure and connection. What began in 1979 with 31 skiers and 31 guides at Deer Mountain has grown into an event that draws nearly 300 travelers from across the country, including a group from Nebraska.

Since 2015, Ward and Kathy Kinney of Council Bluffs have helped organize the Nebraska group through their organization, Bus Across Nebraska, coordinating transportation for volunteers and participants for the annual trip.

On Saturday, the group will begin its journey in Omaha, making stops in Lincoln, Grand Island, Alliance and Chadron. By the end of the route, 61 people will be traveling in two buses, including 28 first-time attendees. This year’s group includes 39 participants who are visually or physically impaired and 22 volunteers or companions.

Each year, Ward said, the event feels more like a family reunion than a ski trip. “I’m not aware of a lot of other events like this. It gives them an opportunity to experience things that they otherwise just absolutely could not experience,” Ward said. “Besides enjoying some good winter sports, it’s the camaraderie.” The Kinneys founded Bus Across Nebraska after meeting a blind tour guide in western Nebraska who encouraged them to start a local group for the nationwide event. Their first trip included just 13 people.

Now in its 46th year, Black Hills Ski for Light brings people who are blind, visually impaired or physically disabled to western South Dakota for a week of outdoor adventure and connection. Here’s the 2025 Ski For Light group.

During that inaugural trip, Ward called Kathy, who was unable to attend, with a realization that stuck. “I’ve never seen so many smiles in one place at the same time,” he told her.

Participants can choose from cross-country or downhill skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling. For those with physical disabilities, the lodge is equipped with adaptive equipment such as mountain sleds that allow wheelchair users to experience the slopes. Evenings are filled with social activities including bumper cars on an ice rink, karaoke and slot machines.

Bulger, a 65-year-old from Omaha, has traveled to South Dakota with the group almost every year. After losing his vision at age 30 due to an eye disease, Bulger said the trip has allowed him to partake in activities he couldn’t consider doing by himself anymore. “One of the challenges blind people have is the ability to go out and be active and do outdoor things or athletic things,” Bulger said. “Most of the volunteers love the outdoors, and they want to share that with us.” As a leader for the blind committee, Bulger has helped recruit new participants largely through word of mouth. “If they go once, they usually come back. It’s getting them to go that first time, that’s a challenge,” Bulger said. “Being a blind person, it’s always a little stressful going anywhere new for the first time.”

Bulger said Ski for Light attracts people of all ages who are blind, deaf or hard of hearing, or who have other disabilities, including cerebral palsy. “Helen Keller has a quote and I use it a lot, it’s ‘Alone, we can do so little. Together, we can do so much,’” Bulger said. “With a little bit of help, it’s amazing what anybody can do.”

Jerry Zurovski, a Lincoln resident, has skied his whole life. He taught his children to ski and has traveled throughout Europe, skiing across the Alps. Last year, he found a new perspective on the sport when he volunteered to guide skiers who couldn’t take in the same sights of the snow-covered hills. “When you ski with somebody who can’t see what I can see, they experience it in the joy that they have and the feeling that they have,” Zurovski said.

During downhill skiing, participants can ski between two volunteers, with all three holding onto a guiding pole that helps steer them down the slope. Others can wear a helmet equipped with audio equipment as a guide directs them side to side. Zurovski said it’s not aggressive skiing, but it still gives blind people the feeling of the hills that he loves. “They’re not handicapped,” Zurovski said. “They just don’t see, but they still feel and they still experience things.”