Eighty-eight-year-old Fernand Vautour won’t let age or a broken hip break his stride.
After injuring himself falling on ice last winter, Vautour was unable to go cross-country skiing, a sport he’s loved since he was a teenager.
“I was kinda stuck. I couldn’t go outside, it was too slippery,” he said.
Vautour decided to screw two skis to his walker.
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“I went outside. I could walk on the ice again.”
He now skis the trails at Kouchibouguac National Park several times a week.
Staff took notice and posted photos of Vautour’s ski trips on social media, where it quickly went viral.
The park’s acting external relations manager, Tim Leblanc-Murphy, said Vautour’s story is inspiring others.
“We’re all aging, our body is changing all the time, what I’ve seen is a lot of people saying, ‘I want to be like Fernand … and stay active,’” he said.
Vautour said he met one man who said he wanted to have his own ski walker made.
He said it feels “very good” to inspire others.
For more on this story, watch the video above
How this New Brunswick man uses his walker to cross-country ski
