WINTER PARK, Colo. — For many military veterans with disabilities, getting to the slopes can feel out of reach. But a new partnership at the National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) is making sure cost and transportation aren’t barriers.
NSCD has launched a free program for veterans, active-duty service members and reservists with disabilities. Funded by a grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the program covers shuttle rides from the Denver metro area, lift tickets, gear and adaptive equipment.
“We’re going to have kind of a collaborative all season where veterans ride a shuttle bus up from the Denver metro, come up to Winter Park and have the opportunity to do these downhill sports at no cost,” said Jessica Conyers, a recreation therapist with the VA. “They have so much amazing adaptive equipment out here. There’s a way to get any veteran of any ability out onto the slopes.”
For Army veteran Carla Best, who lost a leg to an explosive device in Iraq in 2004, the chance to ski is about more than sport.
“I lost a lot of camaraderie when I got injured, and then I did a lot of isolating and not doing anything with fellow vets,” Best said. “You lose that brotherhood and sisterhood bond that we used to have in the military. So, being in a room like this, surrounded by other veterans — disabled — and then seeing how they’re managing their disabilities… it’s inspiring.”
Best said the program has helped her rediscover what she thought she’d lost.
“Once I’m up on the mountain, and, you know, I’m skiing, I don’t feel any limitations at all,” she said. “I just feel free.”
Army veteran David Pettigrew said he never skied before his injury in Iraq, but discovered the sport through adaptive programs three years ago.
“No matter what the sport, we all bring our own complication to this,” Pettigrew said. “We have the shared bond of shared service.”
Air Force veteran Richard Archuleta, who became partially blind during Desert Storm, said the program offers something unique.
“I’m glad that there’s programs like this that offer an opportunity for different people with disabilities to really partake in an outdoor legacy event,” Archuleta said. “We all have a story, and each story is unique, but at the end of the day, it’s overcoming a barrier.”
NSCD program manager Matt Peterson said the slopes provide a space where veterans can reconnect with each other.
“A big part of these veteran ski groups is that camaraderie,” Peterson said. “They serve in the military, then as soon as they retire or discharge, they lose that community.”
The trip wasn't just about a free day at Winter Park.
“When you’re around other people who have a barrier they’re overcoming, or they’ve shown great success, it makes it easier,” Archuleta said. “Like, I can do that too.”
