On the cover this week, with the bright white helmet and a smile warm enough to melt the snow, is Oscar Hasham. As you can tell, his grin was infectious. Every instructor caught it.
At Wintergreen Adaptive Sports, we get spoiled. We are fortunate to see many of our students year after year. But for some, that isn't their trajectory. Our time with them is short, but their memories last forever. Oscar is one of those students. An aggressive and vexing spinal tumor took much from him in his young years, and last summer it took his life.
We were fortunate to spend a rip-roaring day with Oscar last season that culminated in a raucous bi-ski race down Lower Diamond that had spectators on the lifts cheering for the speedsters.
We hoped to see him again this season, but it wasn't to be. Last Sunday -- on the one-year anniversary of his final visit with us -- we did get to see "Team Oscar," an amazing cadre of family and friends who skied to The Hut to share a few moments with us.
We shared some stories and shed some tears. And as you can see from the picture below, we did all of this under an amazing snowfall. We believe this was Oscar giving us and his family and friends the gift of fresh powder and a spectacular day at Wintergreen.
We remembered Oscar with a moment of silence and dedicated the day's lessons to him and his adventurous spirit, a spirit that kept him pushing to do more even when his young body was letting him down. His instructor that last day, Haley Bates, said, "I'll always remember that lesson. It was very special to me."
And while we thanked his family for sharing Oscar with us, his family extended an unexpected accolade to us: "You made him feel like an athlete again, and we are grateful for that."
After just about every lesson, a parent or care-giver will say something about how grateful they are for what we do. But frankly, they have it backwards. We're the grateful ones. Every lesson is an inspiration to us. Every student who pushes beyond their comfort zone is a success we cherish. Every smile we give comes back tenfold. Not a day goes by that we don't leave The Hut more happy, more motivated, and more fulfilled than when we clocked in, because of people like Oscar.
Rest In Peace, Oscar.
-- Mike Mather, instructor and newsletter editor