Athletes again: Disabled American Veterans take to the slopes

Aspen Public Radio

Published April 16, 2017 at 9:38 PM MDT

Alicia Thompson, Jeff Glasser and Wade Spann share their stories of service and sacrifice with reporter Alycin Bektesh.

Hundreds of wounded veterans wait to get fitted into adaptive ski gear near the Snowmass Village mall.

All three participated in this year's Winter Sports Clinic, put on annually in Snowmass Village by Disabled American Veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Honored to be spending the week with @daveterans as they take on adaptive skiing, hockey, kayaking and climbing. #fearless #nolegsnoproblem @snowmass #alyspen A post shared by Alycin Bektesh (@alycin) on Mar 28, 2017 at 6:15pm PDT

The clinic helps wheelchair bound veterans, those with prosthetics, and those with hidden scars, use adaptive gear to shred the slopes. Each year, hundreds of veterans who believed they’d never again participate in extreme sports or physical challenges feel the same exhilaration, challenges, and freedom of anyone else skiing in the Roaring Fork Valley.