Our volunteer program in action

There’s something special about taking someone out for a skiing lesson and listening to him laugh all the way down the mountain. It was particularly special because this student was nonverbal and the only communication we had from him all day was that laughter. Sharing the joy of skiing as a volunteer with Disabled Sports USA Far West, is simply a good day.

Disabled Sports is one of the many nonprofit organizations we work with in our Action Rewards volunteer program. The nice thing about it, other than being able to enjoy a day on the mountain and help others do the same, is that their program has a built in rewards program as well. For every 7.5 lesson hours you complete, or a day and a half of lessons, you get a free lift ticket to Alpine Meadows.

Last Thursday I went up to help out as a Lesson Assistant. It turned out that my morning lesson was canceled so I got a chance to head out on the mountain for some turns for a little bit. I was stoked too because not only was it a beautiful day with soft snow, but I had my new Moment Skis out for the first time. After giving away a pair of Ruby’s at our Winter Kickoff Party in November, I decided it was time for me to buy a pair for myself. In only two days of riding them, I can already tell they’re the best skis I’ve ever had.

Thank you Sugar Bowl for your generous sponsorship of our Action Rewards program. To learn more about how you can get involved, click here: volunteer.

Anyhow, the turns were great and after about an hour of runs I headed back down to the DSUSAFW shack to help out. Like most nonprofits, they need all kinds of help, not just of the instructor and lesson assistant sort. So I did something I haven’t done since I was a kid growing up in Alaska, I shoveled off their roof. It was warm enough to toss my jacket and gloves aside and get after it. I needed it too, now that the holidays are over it’s time to burn off the ridiculous amount of food I ate.

After lunch I got to meet Jon, the instructor I’d be working with and Luke, the student we’d be taking out that afternoon (names have been changed to protect sensitive information). Luke’s disability is Angelman’s syndrome, a neuro-genetic disorder that in Luke’s case, rendered him nonverbal and limited in his mobility. It didn’t however change his happy demeanor. After a difficult stand up session in the morning, we decided to have Luke in a bi-ski so that he could enjoy the afternoon session without getting too tired.

He loved it too. We got about 7 or 8 runs in right  up until the lifts closed at 4pm. Every ride was pretty much the same, save for the mass amounts of holiday skiers that I was supposed to block from blindly running into Luke and Jon. People are scary. We rode up the lift chatting and pointing things out to Luke, which he would glance at if it interested him. Then we’d make our way down the first part and as soon as we hit the steep bumpy section, Luke would start laughing as loud as can be. We would fly through the lower part and by the time we got back to the lift line, Luke was smiling ear to ear. I think it’s safe to say we all had a great day.

Driving down the mountain I felt good not just about helping Luke, but also just refreshed from a day in the mountains and getting some exercise. With our new Alaska charity program coordinator Jesse Whitt coming into town for a couple of days this week, I decided we better have a reward for volunteering our time and energy and head up to Sugar Bowl for a day of riding and strategizing. Jesse’s helping us raise money up in Alaska to send underprivileged kids to ski camp up there. There’s just something special about getting out on the mountain and helping others do the same.