[stylist] cane technique in the snow?

Thu Dec 18 04:56:44 UTC 2008

Snow in southern Cal is in Antelope Valley and the Grape vine just out of 
Bakersfield. We do get snow when it feels like snowing.
Shelley J. Alongi
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updated Dec 7, 2008
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "James Canaday M.A. N6YR" <n6yr at sunflower.com>
To: "NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 5:41 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] cane technique in the snow?

> okay,
> shelley, now you have to tell, where was the snow in southern cal?
> jc
>
> Jim Canaday M.A.
> Lawrence, KS
>
> At 07:19 PM 12/17/2008, you wrote:
>>Snow is closing down a very well travelled route here in southern Cal, not 
>>close to me but it's been rainy and wet and commuting by bus has been 
>>interesting, an accident this morning made us walk two blocks in cold, wet 
>>rain and getting home was interesting a very busy street crossing I had 
>>trouble telling the light change because of the sounds, we had really 
>>chill hard wind, but here I am safe and sound. In one particular area 
>>today the only mode of transport for blind and sighted alike was the 
>>train. The train saved the day! That just shows you that we don't like 
>>snow or rain around here it makes everyone a little crazy. And cudos to 
>>the train.
>>Shelley J. Alongi
>>Your Lifelong Pampered Chef Consultant With Bells On!
>>Home Office: (714)869-3207
>>Start your holiday shopping now with great quality tools from the pampered 
>>Chef
>>http://www.pamperedchef.biz/shellbellskit
>>
>>**
>>
>>*
>>To read essays on my journey through Metrolink 111 or other interests 
>>click on 
>>http://www.storymania.com/cgibin/sm2/smshowauthorbox.cgi?page=&author=AlongiSJ&alpha=A
>>
>>updated Dec 7, 2008
>>----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Newman" <newmanrl at cox.net>
>>To: "'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>>Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 5:12 PM
>>Subject: Re: [stylist] cane technique in the snow?
>>
>>
>>>Thoughts on cane technique in the snow:
>>>
>>>The basic technique needed for snow travel is the same for non-snow 
>>>travel:
>>>arcing the cane a little wider than your body is always needed. Centering
>>>the cane at the mid point is still relevant. The stride and ark 
>>>coordination
>>>of ... With the tap at the right, the left heel is coming down and next 
>>>as
>>>the right leg is coming forward the tip is now arcing to the left, with 
>>>the
>>>left tap comes the right heel striking the ground and on and on. But what 
>>>is
>>>different is that the snow is covering the surface we are traveling over 
>>>and
>>>so it impedes the arcing of the tip, and muffles the tap and changes the
>>>feel under foot. And so each of us tends to find that special balance in
>>>movement of the cane and body to still get the needed info we require to
>>>travel on at speed and safety. So an arching of the cane can be "grosser" 
>>>as
>>>in higher, with more wrist and arm put into it. Then of course, to get a 
>>>tap
>>>that tells you something, the tap requires a much harder force and the
>>>result is not so much a tap that will yield a sound that will travel out 
>>>and
>>>about to give echoes to go by, but may, if it successfully reaches down
>>>through the thickness of the snow to the surface, it can tell you if it 
>>>is
>>>concrete or dirt or grass. And sure, if the snow is quite thick, the cane
>>>wielder may use a modified "Grab and Stab" technique; grapping the handle 
>>>of
>>>the cane like you would an ice pick and were going to stab it down into a
>>>bloc of ice, in this case of course, through the blanket of snow down to 
>>>the
>>>walk; this technique employs a lot of arm movement from left to right, 
>>>for
>>>going the general rule of keeping the cane/wrist centered.
>>>
>>>Then for what you encounter under foot- In general it is not to hard to
>>>figure out if under the snow is either a once scooped walk or snow matted
>>>grass. And if indeed you are traveling down a walk that once was scooped,
>>>yet is now covered, there will be the "walls" of accumulated snow on 
>>>either
>>>side which have never been cleared and left to pile up. And yes, slants 
>>>down
>>>can be trickier to find, drop-offs too. And if you have piles of snow 
>>>that
>>>have been thrown up by snow-removal equipment, these obstructions can 
>>>prove
>>>to be puzzling; depending if they consist of frozen hard pack snow or
>>>something you can kick your toes or heels into to gain purchase as you go
>>>over them.
>>>
>>>A very good rule (one that is not only for snow travel), but keep a
>>>conscious ear on your surroundings and use it to guide your direction. 
>>>For
>>>it is not uncommon to get so engrossed in the struggle to work through 
>>>what
>>>is immediate to our front, that we lose track of our place within the 
>>>larger
>>>picture. In fact, sometimes in snow travel, you may go for quite a 
>>>distance
>>>without having the opportunity to touch base with all the normal touch
>>>points such as a good tap for echoes, or feel for drop-offs,  that we
>>>normally rely upon, and so some travel is by what we call 
>>>"dead-reckoning"
>>>(this should be the right direction based upon my best guess). And so, it 
>>>is
>>>important to frequently take stock of what you hear in the far to middle 
>>>and
>>>near by distances, judging distances and/or angles of various sounds to 
>>>you.
>>>Like, reading and tracking your movement thru the auditory landscape; 
>>>paying
>>>attention to paralleling traffic, that you are walking toward a 
>>>particular
>>>sound or away from it, etc.
>>>
>>>And so ... That is about enough for now. Got to go and shovel some snow; 
>>>had
>>>our first measurable accumulation needing my attention.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
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