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Jacob Smith: The Legally BLIND 15-Year-Old Freeride Skier

Legally Blind FreeRider Competes With Sighted Skiers

60 Minutes 8 AUG 2022

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A brain tumor robbed Jacob Smith of his vision, but that hasn’t stopped him from making a name for himself on the slopes. Sharyn Alfonsi reports....

The 60 Minutes profile on Freeride skier, Jacob Smith, totally consumes your attention. Freeriding means he skis jagged cliffs, deep chutes, and rough rock walls. That would be impressive enough for anyone, but Jacob is 15 years old, legally blind and skiing against sighted competitors. Once you meet him, you will not forget him.

The story includes Video of Jacob, a few years earlier at the age of 12, dropping into the Big Couloir, a rocky 1400-foot line that descends on a 50-degree pitch. He became the only legally blind skier to successfully conquer this legendary slope at the Big Sky Resort in Montana.

It felt so satisfying, he repeated the risky run four more times that day and has not stopped taking on these types of challenges since.
Watching Jacob ski provides little indication that he has severe and blurry tunnel vision, no depth perception, and a visual acuity of 20/800. He proves you can compensate for what you cannot see, with what you can feel.

But that’s not all, he also has a trusted and experienced voice guiding him through every turn, it’s the voice of his dad, Nathan, on a two-way radio. It’s not an always perfect scenario and mistakes are made, “But his adaptation is pretty amazing,” says Dad.
Competitive skiing is a family affair, and the Smiths were not about to leave Jacob behind following years of treatment and multiple surgeries, beginning at age 8, to eradicate the brain tumor that took his sight.

His siblings Andrew, Preston and Julia say most people who see him ski do not believe he’s legally blind. He does not request or receive any special accommodations at Freeride tournaments and wants to be treated normal, that’s why he competes with sighted skiers. The only real fear he has is “not succeeding.” He says,

“No matter what comes at you, there is always a way to adapt, to make it happen and still do what you want to do.”