The stars aligned once again this year for the 11th Annual Stowe Monoski Day hosted by Green Mountain Adaptive Sports at Spruce Peak in Stowe, Vermont.
Twenty-two adaptive athletes traveled from all over New England, and Quebec, to attend a perennial favorite hosted annually by GMAS with collaborations from The Kelly Brush Foundation, Spaulding Adaptive Sports Centers, Adaptive Sports Partners, and Eastern Adaptive Sports.
The weekend kicked off with a dinner attended by 40 guests at the Trapp Bierhall who did an amazing job hosting our large group, and going to extra mile to provide additional accessible parking for all of our guests.
Katryna Kofton of The Misfit Foundation on her DynAccess Hydra monoski. PC Caitlin Kelly.
Bright and early on Sunday, January 22, 2023, the monoskiers were met at Spruce Peak by an army of volunteers eager to greet the athletes, to assist with parking, to shlep gear, to instruct in lessons, and to ski with the monoskiers. What a production, and what an amazing sight to see so many sit skiers of all level of ability push their boundaries on the slopes of Stowe Mountain Resort.
As always, monoskiers in intermediate and expert clinics were led by Geoff Krill, Adaptive Examiner for the PSIA-AASI Eastern Division and Training Manager for the Loon Ski and Snowboard School, and by Chris Young, World Cup and Paralympic Champion, X Games Champion, and volunteer at the Spaulding Adaptive Sports Centers.
Chris Collin rips through some fresh snow. PC Jeb Wallace-Brodeur
Additionally this year, three of the six one-on-one lessons were led by PSIA-AASI certified monoskiers. MiKayla Briere, Chris Collin and (Pegleg) Pat Brown shared their talent, passion and expertise as coaches. They were also assisted by able bodied ski instructors from Spaulding Adaptive Sports Centers, Stowe Mountain Resort, and Move United.
On Monday, some played hooky and crushed a few more runs at Stowe Mountain Resort. Conditions were truly amazing. Photographers Jeb Wallace-Brodeur, Caitlin Kelly, and Jeff Neagle and his team from Pinnacle Ski and Sports were there to capture the speed, snow, and grace of the turns and divots the crew left in the snow. (View the photo galleries on the links below.)
Max Lyman of Boston here coached by Chris Collin in the monoski, and Robby Laughlin of Mountain Ops in Stowe.
Kudos to them, and also to the parking team at Stowe Mountain Resort for adding precious accessible parking in key locations this year, and for building a ramp to access the Mansfield Lodge. Those small changes go a long way, and what an improvement to now all have access to the lodge! Come and check out the resort for yourself, they have even more projects to increase accessibility in the works for next season.
Sincere thanks to all the volunteers, instructors, coaches, photographers, sponsors and collaborators who carved time to assist us in hosting this fabulous event again this year. We could never do it without you, such collaborations can only create amazing things!
A great big thank you also to The High Fives Foundation, DynAccess, Move United, Epic Promise and Vail Resorts/Stowe Mountain Resort for the constant and generous support, and to our sponsors for their in-kind and financial contributions: SnoYak, Inntopia, Stowe Cider, The Alchemist Brewery, The Green Mountain Inn, Destination Hotels (Hyatt Stowe).
We look forward to getting together again in 2024. Many thanks again to all involved,
View the photo galleries:
Caitlin Kelly Photography: https://caitlinkellyphotography.pixieset.com/greenmountainadaptivesports/
Jeb Wallace-Brodeur: https://www.flickr.com/photos/photojeb/with/52645896892/
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Consider making a donation to help us continue to host such events, by clicking here. Questions? Contact Pascale Savard.
