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Ready to kick-start that learning curve, build confidence, and enjoy the camaraderie of skiing or riding with others of your ability?
Experienced skiers or riders and first-timers alike will have a blast learning to do it right with our pro instructors and coaches. Our Adaptive Snowsports School will help you build the skills to conquer the mountain with a smile on your face.
What are adaptive skiing and snowboarding?Not much different from regular. All of us require some type of adaptive equipment to have fun on snow. For example, skiers use skis, bindings, boots and poles, which did not come as a standard equipment on our bodies. The same rule applies to all snowsports—we all need some kind of adaptive equipment to ski, snowboard, and snowshoe.
While much of adaptive ski or snowboard teaching concerns the actual mechanics of both sports, it is important to remember that all lessons must revolve around the student and his or her goals and needs. An adaptive skier or snowboarder is a person who requires adaptations to equipment and/or teaching methods. For individuals encumbered on earth by a physical or mental impairment that may make mobility difficult, the act of skiing or snowboarding becomes a rite of passage. This passage allows skiers and snowboarders to do something they never thought they could do, and perhaps do it extraordinarily well. It allows them to be a part of a world that believes there is more to life than work and rehabilitation. Our adaptive snowsports program work with a wide range of disabled people to provide the unique exhilaration of this sport. To be truly effective, our adaptive snowsports instructors must be versatile and knowledgeable about disabilities so that the experience can be both safe and fun.
Using specialized knowledge and tools, we work from a blueprint established by our students' desires and capabilities and help build a whole new world for those who have never tried skiing or those whose disability has curtailed participation in the sport. Along the way, we help our students build confidence and physical dexterity. Throughout this web site, we use the terms "instructor" and "student" because this is the most common situation. However, the reality is much different. Often, the people with whom we share all or part of our day at the slopes already have impressive physical skills and unbridled courage. What they may lack, however, is the ability to ski or snowboard alone or to use standard "off-the-shelf" equipment. In those case, we are not so much an instructor as a guide, and they are less students than guests, clients, and partners.
Just as often, we find that we are the students. Our key to success, and that of our students or guests, is to treat each lesson as an opportunity to learn about the person and the disability, how to best build confidence and understanding, and what combinations of teaching tools and progressions can most effectively lead to the common goals of fun, safety, and realistic skill development. All skiers benefit from using appropriate and properly fitted equipment, but it is especially important that adaptive skiers be outfitted correctly because their equipment can help compensate for their disability. We carefully examine, assess, and modify student's equipment and clothing because proper outfitting is the key to both comfort and the ability to move efficiently.
POWDERHORN RESORT
Powderhorn Resort has a fresh approach to a skiing or snowboarding adventure. With more than 600 acres to explore, novice and experts can cruise the corduroy, dash into the aspens for glade skiing, plow through waist deep powder, hit the bumps or jib through the terrain parks. Some Powderhorn distinctions include short lift lines, amazing views, hospitable service, informal atmosphere and a welcome feeling of being home. Powderhorn Resort is located in western Colorado on the side of the beautiful Grand Mesa, the world's largest flat-top mountain. With 510 acres of terrain and a vertical drop of 1,650 feet, Powderhorn offers slopes for beginners and experts. |
 "West End" lift at Powderhorn. More information about Powderhorn Resort » |
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Adaptive Snowsports Overview
