Challenge Aspen has called the Roaring Fork Valley ‘home,’ since 1995. The Challenge Aspen staff, volunteers, interns and sponsors are passionate. They are the lifeblood of Challenge Aspen and are on a mission to orchestrate life-changing opportunities that give thousands of disabled participants from all over the world the courage to learn something new, trust their own abilities and carry that inspiration forward to other areas of their lives. Critical partnerships with sponsors like the R.H. Crossland Foundation and Aspen Ski Co. combined with the generous support of the Founders’ Circle, National Council members and annual fund raisers, provide the funding necessary for Challenge Aspen to empower all participants through its outdoor and cultural experiences, regardless of financial status. Based in Snowmass Village, Challenge Aspen has become a leader and innovator of adaptive skiing, offering snow sport camps and clinics and some of the best competitive ski-racing in the world, but the fun isn’t limited to winter sports. Summer camps invite kids to summer fun with art, drama, music and summer sports like fishing, swimming, horseback riding and white-water rafting. Winter and summer camps provide the perfect setting in the Roaring Forks Valley, and are led by a knowledgeable staff and a safe, natural community where kids are free to create memories of their own to share at the end of a beautiful Colorado day. Programs are growing by leaps and bounds, and Challenge Aspen will host a record of nine weeklong ski camps this winter. The season kicks off in early December when fourteen kids from the Tennessee School for the Blind will experience the wonder of Colorado, learn to ski, tube, ice skate and visit local Colorado attractions. Sixteen participants from The Via Christi Rehabilitation Center, most of whom have experienced spinal cord injuries, will experience the Roaring Fork Valley in the middle of December. Monoski camps and event hosting for groups from Atlanta, Kansas and Exeter, England are just a few more winter’s offerings from Challenge Aspen. Kevin Jardine – Director of Skiing, Challenge Aspen In an effort to peak and develop the interests of those athletes who hunger for a little healthy competition, Challenge Aspen and Kevin Jardine, the new Director of Skiing, recently added a Competitive Racing division for disabled skiers to their offerings. Jardine, the former Paralympic and US Disabled Alpine Team Head Coack is one who appreciates the thrill of victory as the 2006 as US Ski Associations International Disabled Coach of the Year. Another high point of this year’s ski season will take place on January 17-21, when Challenge Aspen, USSA and US Paralympics welcome the US Disabled Ski Team and more than 15 competing nations to Aspen this January for the prestigious 2007 IPC Alpine World Cup on Aspen Mountain. “Challenge Aspen is very excited to host the fastest disabled skiers in the world this January and show the town of Aspen how incredible they really are,” says Jardine. The event boasts over 100 of the World’s best Disabled Athletes on their march to the World Cup Finals in Italy. The picturesque ski resort was chosen to host this year’s event because of the excitement and support of area residents during prior World Cup events. Another unique winter sports opportunity presented by Challenge Aspen is the Maroon Bells Sled Hockey Tournament, which welcomes adult sled hockey club leagues from Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New York and California to the Aspen Recreation Center on January 5-7. Over 60 competitive players with a variety of disabilities are expected to participate in the tournament this year. The month will end with the ESPN Winter X Games 13, which host the Monoskier X, the only event of its kind in the world. As programs grow, Veterans opportunities remain a large part of the work of Challenge Aspen. Adaptive wilderness experiences provide elite race training for disabled veterans and the “Ultimate Outdoor Adventure” recently returned with a group of newly injured soldiers - predominately amputees – from the Grand Canyon, where they hiked, rafted and climbed together in the rugged terrain. The National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in Snowmass, Colorado, is the largest annual disabilities ‘learn-to-ski’ program in the world. Specifically designed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to further rehabilitate and empower US Veterans, the Winter Sports Clinic provides a safe, challenging community where disabled veterans can build confidence and dignity while learning sports like Alpine and Nordic skiing, rock climbing, scuba diving, trap shooting, horseback riding, snowmobiling and sled hockey. The US Secret Service even teaches a self-defense course to participants who are in wheelchairs or are visually impaired! Challenge Aspen Volunteer and Intern Program Being a Volunteer or an Intern with Challenge Aspen is a life-changing opportunity. Challenge Aspen has built a committed staff, a stellar volunteer force of more than 100, dedicated, seasonal interns and an esteemed volunteer board of directors. Not only are volunteers the critical lifeblood of Challenge Aspen, but the inspiration that volunteers take away is undeniable. Not only are volunteers and interns afforded the opportunity to change lives, but to be changed in the process. There are winter and summer camps, winter clinics and special events, which always welcome volunteers. For example, Challenge Aspen will require 300 local volunteers in order to host Aspen Mountain’s very first International Paralympic Committee Alpine World Cup this January. Volunteers and interns are one of the most critical components of Challenge Aspen. The more than 100 volunteers foster, support accommodate the physical and emotional needs of our disabled guests and safely assist in the operation of the indoor and outdoor recreational opportunities made available by Challenge Aspen. Volunteers reap the benefits of interacting with people of all abilities and are invited to take full advantage of the varied outdoor activities offered on the mountain. Volunteers can choose to be involved in the special events and fundraising events throughout the year. Whether your working with a disabled athlete in an outdoor activity or helping in the office or planning an event, there are plenty of occasions for you to use your talents to inspire and encourage someone and to be inspired by being a Challenge Aspen Volunteer.