- United Spinal’s Outdoor Access Working Group members share opportunities for adaptive winter recreation nationwide
- Helpful resources to find equipment and grants are also offered.
- Whether you are a beginner or advanced, this list provides ways for everyone to have fun in the snow this season
Jeff Pagels, an adapted outdoor winter recreation expert, has spent his entire professional career improving park and recreation opportunities. He has five Paralympic medals and was the first disabled skier to complete the 55-mile trip across the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range on cross-country sit skis.
Jeff shared how many wheelchair users enjoy winter recreation, including Alpine or downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, and ice skating. He teamed up with other Outdoor Access Working Group members to provide this comprehensive list of adaptive outdoor recreation opportunities.
Find an accessible slope near you
Maine
Adaptive Outdoor Education Center (Sugarloaf, Maine): This organization offers Horizons Nordic skiing and skiing for all ages and abilities. Horizons skiing partners with five mountains in Maine to provide ski lessons for people of all abilities. It also offers adaptive training for other organizations and ski schools to improve their knowledge and skills for adaptive snow sports. You can find fully accessible overnight accommodations at the lodge.
Veterans Adaptive Sports and Training VAST (New Gloucester, Maine): VAST offers year-round activities based on the needs and wants of veterans. Programs are free, and the equipment is provided. Adaptive cross-country skiing is offered in the winter. There is also a great opportunity to learn and practice your skills at 3 to 4-day camps that include a Nordic/Biathlon Camp with Army Veteran, Occupational Therapist, and two-time Olympic Biathlete Kristina Sabasteanski. VAST has accessible overnight lodging options.
Maine Adaptive Sports & Rec (Bethel, Maine): Maine Adaptive is the largest year-round adaptive recreation program in its state, and it offers a variety of adaptive recreational winter sports lessons. These include Alpine skiing, Alpine race team, snowboarding, Nordic skiing, and snowshoeing. Indoor adaptive climbing is also offered for those who like to stay out of the cold.
New Hampshire
Adaptive Sports Partners (Franconia, New Hampshire): Adaptive Sports Partners offers various winter programs for people with disabilities, including Alpine skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing/winter hiking, Nordic skiing, and TetraSki. TetraSki offers a way for people with a complex disability to ski independently. TetraSki allows the skier to control turning and speed using a joystick or breath control.
New England Disabled Sports NEDS (Sunapee, New Hampshire): The adapted winter sports that are available at New England Disabled Sports (NEDS) are Alpine skiing, snowboarding, Nordic skiing, and snowshoeing. NEDS also has the TetraSki available in its fleet of winter sports equipment. You can find more information about scheduling lessons and eligibility criteria on the website.
Northeast Passage NEP (Durham, New Hampshire): NEP offers a wide array of outdoor winter adaptive equipment with an inventory that includes Nordic sit skis, snowshoes, kicksleds, fat bike tires, and trikes.
This organization hosts events at locations throughout the region, and can provide outdoor winter recreation equipment and instructions for all ages and abilities. NEP is a well-known leader in Adaptive Nordic Skiing in New England, and works closely with the United States Paralympics, local ski areas, and the New England Ski Association. The NEP Rental Program is a great and affordable way to try out equipment before you consider buying it.
Massachusetts
Leo J Martin Ski Track (Boston, Massachusetts): The Leo J. Martin Ski Track operates from mid-December to mid-March. Here, you can find adaptive ski lessons, and free-of-charge sit-skis and kicksleds. The adaptive winter programming offers accessible cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Programs include instruction, adaptations, and support to get out and enjoy the snow. The winter programming is also free, but you must pre-register and meet the essential eligibility criteria.
Vermont
Vermont Adaptive (Killington, Vermont): Here, you can find adaptive Alpine skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. Adaptive staff and trained volunteers offer lessons to individuals of all ages with any disability seven days a week during the ski season, Dec. 26 through the first week in April. Vermont Adaptive has an inventory of equipment that can be adapted for the specific needs of the user.
Experienced adaptive athletes have the option to rent the equipment without assistance as long as they demonstrate basic knowledge of the equipment. “The level of staff and mentor skill, the quality/availability of equipment, and overall community vibe is a cut above some other programs,” says Outdoor Access Working Group member Abby Swaine.
California
Achieve Tahoe (Alpine Meadows, California) Achieve Tahoe offers adaptive ski and snowboard lessons at three different locations: Alpine Meadows, Palisades Tahoe, and Northstar. They offer a variety of snowsport lesson types to provide the participants as much independence as possible based on their abilities. The lesson types that are offered are two-track, snowboarding, three-track, four track and slider, blind/low vision, mono-ski, bi-ski, and TetraSki.
Colorado
Adaptive Sports Center ASC (Crested Butte, Colorado): The adaptive skiing program can provide a mono-skiing, bi-skiing, or alpine skiing and they will help tailor your skiing no matter your level of experience. They also offer the Operation Rise and Conquer program for veterans, military service personnel, and first responders who have a disability. The ASC website offers information on scholarships for individuals in need of financial assistance and a list of accessible lodging options.
“In Colorado, many of the ski resorts have lively (and large) adaptive programs and centers. Many resorts offer adaptive ski passes or tickets. The Epic Pass provides access to ski resorts across the U.S., and a half off pass for adaptive skiers,” says Kristina Ericson, ADA Programmatic Access Administrator for the City of Denver.
For those of you who are not interested in taking on the wintery outdoors, curling may be your winter sport of choice. The United States Curling Association provides a helpful resource to find the closest curling club in your specific area. There are nearly 200 member clubs across the country.
Equipment and Grants
Many of the organizations listed above offer the option to rent adaptive outdoor winter equipment through their various programs. If you are interested in purchasing your own equipment, there are a number of grant opportunities.
Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) offers a Sports Expense Grant and an Equipment Grant for individuals with permanent physical disabilities.
Go Hawkeye Non-Profit Foundation is a grant program open to individuals with a disability in the United States for adaptive sports equipment and adaptive sports experiences.
The Active Fund offered by the Kelly Brush Foundation provides adaptive sports equipment grants for individuals with a spinal cord injury who reside in the US.
IM ABLE Foundation awards equipment grants for individuals with a disability in the Mid-Atlantic region (PA, NJ, MD, DE, DC, and NY).
Action Sports Foundation provides a further list of possible grants and funding resources to help members of the disability community obtain adaptive sports equipment.
High Fives Foundation offers three grant cycles in the calendar year. The Empowerment Fund provides resources for people with mobility-limiting disabilities who reside in the US or Canada.
Move United offers a Ski Spectacular Race Camp Grant available to youth athletes.
If you are new to the adaptive winter sports equipment used for outdoor recreation, Oregon Adaptive Sports provides a helpful list of various types of equipment with pictures and descriptions.
A bundle of additional adaptive winter rec resources
Online
Wheel Blades XL – Skis for snow and sand
9 Places for Adaptive Winter Sports
TetraSki
Wheelchair Curling
New Mobility
Winterizing a Spinal Cord Injury Body (Bob Vogel)
Lignorim Wooden Handrims Are More Than a Novelty (Seth McBride)
Wheelchair Mushing is More than a Free Ride (Catherine Tyink)
Wheelchair Curling: Rock That House! (Paula M. Larson)
Helicopter Skiing in Remote Alaska (Bob Vogel)
United Spinal
Winter Weather Wheelchair Tips (Ziggi Landsman)
Wheelchair Snow Tires – An Easy & Inexpensive Do It Yourself Project (Ziggi Landsman)
Join United Spinal’s Outdoor Access Working Group to collaborate with advocates across the United States to help remove barriers to outdoor recreation.
