As I have almost every single year since 2009, I am looking forward to volunteering again at the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in Snowmass, Colorado, in early April. During that time, please be patient with our response time.

“Our collective indomitable spirit not only conquers the mountain, it conquers anything we put our minds to.”

I did not grow up in this country and none of my immediate family was military, so I spent many years quite removed from what is at the core of so many other American families. Sure, we knew some people who had served a long time ago, but so did my grandfather back in WWI Germany. Not much cause for pride there.

It wasn’t until 2009 when I experienced first-hand what it meant to be part of a military community. While I had been a volunteer ski instructor for children and adults with disabilities here in Minnesota for several years already, this was my first time volunteering with Veterans at the annual National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in Colorado.

Known as “Miracles on a Mountainside,” this one-of-a-kind rehabilitative event brings together about 400 disabled Veterans, 200 volunteer ski instructors, many alternate-activities volunteers, team leaders, coaches and caregivers from all over the United States. It allows participants with disabilities such as traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations, and visual impairments to participate in a variety of winter activities many of them never believed possible, while continuing the process of physical and emotional recovery surrounded and supported by their peers.

Since 1987, the clinic has provided more than 10,000 Veterans the opportunity to overcome perceived limitations while encouraging a healthy, active lifestyle. For the 40th year (with a single pause in 2020 due to the pandemic), the Winter Sports Clinic showcases the health and rehabilitative benefits of adaptive sports programs by offering Alpine and Nordic skiing, sled hockey, scuba diving, snowmobiling, rock climbing, and more. Outside of sports, it offers peer support group meetings for Veterans and Caregivers, educational workshops, as well as opportunities to make new friends or chat with others who have “been there, done that.”

What a life-changing event for everyone involved: participants, volunteers, family members and organizers alike! Everyone’s camaraderie and community, indomitable spirit and teamwork are palpable and simply beyond imagination.

Some participants arrive anxious or depressed, focused on their disabilities and unsure of their abilities. Instructors like me arrive equally anxious and unsure of their ability to teach long days for a whole week at altitude, sometimes teaching folks with very challenging physical and/or emotional circumstances.

But then, miracles happen and everyone leaves the mountain elated, with new skills and renewed attitude and perspective, and with a new set of goals in order to be stronger and healthier when we return in 51 weeks.

I am grateful for those who have served or are still serving, especially now as we find ourselves embroiled in another conflict. I am grateful for all the friends I’ve made at the clinic over the years. Most importantly, I am grateful for all the Veterans whose lives have touched mine and have taught me just as much as I’ve taught them in past Winter Sports Clinics.

Our collective indomitable spirit not only conquers the mountain, it conquers anything we put our minds to. See you at the Winter Sports Clinic!

The National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic is made possible with the generous support of companies, individuals and non-profit organizations, and through a longstanding partnership between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and DAV (Disabled American Veterans). For more information, please see www.wintersportsclinic.org, follow the event on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn, or contact me directly.

If you liked this post, please consider subscribing to our email updates. We promise not to deluge your inbox but instead occasionally deliver content that we hope you will find helpful and informative.