Adaptive Ski Program

I wrote this article for the local paper, The Translyvania Times, but it was not published in time for the ski season. Maybe I can use it to preview next season's adaptive ski program. A friend edited it for me into this choppy newspaper writing.

Adaptive Skiing and Snowboarding: Opening Possibilities
By Katherine Dunn

In the midst of a thick fog, Chad Pressley made his last turn and finished a long day snowboarding. He stepped out of his snowboard bindings and sighed, “That was incredible.” Perhaps what’s more incredible is Pressley’s ability to snowboard, despite having Cerebral Palsy.

Through Beech Mountain Adaptive Ski and Snowsports Center (BASC), http://www.skibeech.com Pressley has been working closely with instructors who have Professional Ski Instructor of America (PSIA) certifications specializing in adaptive teaching.

PSIA is the organization that certifies all professional ski instructors. To be certified in adaptive teaching, instructors must have additional trainings on using specific ski equipment, working with physical and developmental disabilities, and performing emergency evacuation techniques on the chairlifts and the slopes.

Volunteers such as Lori Wright, assist students through all parts of learning. At first, Wright guided Pressley by holding a ski pole horizontally between them. Wright’s method is indicative of adaptive instruction. Instructors learn how their students’ strengths and abilities can be transferred to the ski slopes through observation and communication. “Part of the fun and challenge of snowboarding with Chad is finding out what will work best for him,” said Wright.
Instructors and volunteers tailor the gear and goals to each participant’s abilities. “I start at a base level of equipment and techniques for skiers,” said T.J. Farmer, a BASC volunteer. “As the day progresses, I can modify the equipment or change my way of teaching to fit the skier’s needs.”

After Pressley could balance without the pole, Bobby Palm, an adaptive ski expert from New Mexico, made a small adjustment on Pressley’s ski bindings, which lifted one heel and allowed him to initiate short, heel edge turns.

“Short turns work for me because I have no peripheral vision. Also, it’s easier for me to dig in the heel of my left foot,” said Pressley.

“At the beginning of this week, my movements were really jerky. Now I’m barely touching Lori’s hands when snowboarding. I can do it myself,” Because adaptive skiers and snowboarders know their own physical needs, they have a strong voice in their development.

Gene Gambler, the director of the Breckenridge Adaptive Ski Program said that these close relationships, between participants and instructors, create lasting connections. “Most people, whether they know it or not, are looking for community and a way to be helpful. This is something I’m good at, and I see a positive effect on society and on myself,” he said.

Just as Pressley’s snowboarding technique is adapted to his strengths, so is the equipment specifically designed to meet various needs of other adaptive skiers. Chris Jefferson, a strong athlete who was paralyzed from the waist down from a motorcycle accident, skis independently on a monoski, which is a bucket seat mounted on a single ski with a shock absorption system.
Mamadi Corra, a visually impaired participant, skis by holding onto the middle of a fiberglass bar with two other skiers on the ends. Volunteers ski behind him to prevent other skiers from accidentally crashing into him.

The volunteers and instructors adapt the equipment by adding or subtracting gear as necessary. Mike Miltner invented the biski when he saw that people with low upper body strength could not balance using a monoski.

Many of the participants who ski or snowboard with the Beech Mountain Adaptive Snow Sports Center (BASC), attended the 23rd annual adaptive ski and snowboard clinic at Beech Mountain last week. The clinic was cancelled last year due to lack of funding. This year, it returned with the financial assistance of the Patricia Neal Innovative Cooperative, which donated $16,500 to reactivate the clinic, buy new equipment, and train new volunteers and instructors. Ski Beech also contributed an average of thirty lift tickets per day as an in-kind donation.

The BASC community of participants, families, instructors and volunteers, adds another dimension to the lives of persons with disabilities. “When the participants are skiing or snowboarding, their worlds cease to be about doctors’ appointments or the future,” said Dee Thomas, the director of BASC.

“They are no longer defined by their disabilities, but rather can think, ‘I am a snowboarder,’ or ‘I am a skier.’ They are a part of a whole new world.”

For more information about BASC, contact Ski Beech at (800) 438-2093 or (828) 387-2011 extension 214.