This past week I was in Aspen for the Disabled Veteran's Winter Sports Clinic sponsored by the VA and Disabled American Veterans (DAV). Kristin and Lindsey (from work) and I went for the all week event. The event had over 350 veterans ranging from age 22 to 87. The main attraction was downhill skiing and snowboarding. There were over 100 adaptive ski instructors teaching veterans with blindness, spinal cord injury, MS, various amputations, and many more disablities. Ski equipment included adaptive poles, guiding, sit down mono skis, sit down bi skis, etc. It was not unusual to see foam and duct tape too for those with spinal cord injuries. I was on a sit down ski team. Most of the vets I worked with had spinal cord injuries and amputated legs (usually both). One of our vets had both legs amputated above his knees and was totally blind. He had was a beginner skier and loved it.
The veterans had opportunities to ski and snowboard on 3 days. The other 2 days of the program included a choice of sled hockey, curling, fly fishing, trap shooting/archery, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, a trip to the hot springs, a trip up the gondola, scuba diving, rock climbing, and snow mobiling. On my first alternate activity, I went trap shooting. I learned that I cannot shoot a clay pigeon, but I do like wild boar sausage, elk steak, rattlesnake sausage, and alligator sausage. I don't like buffalo sausage. My second event I went to was sled hockey. Although I had a blast, I have a bruise on my back and my range of motion hasn't been as good since. My PT will probably kill me. What I learned about sled hockey is that it kicks your butt, your shoulders and lats will hurt the next day, it's hard as hell, and you will tip often. It was a blast and totally worth the pain.
In the evenings, we met up often with 3 of the vets we knew from Hines. The sports clinic hosted bands and DJ's all week. Coco Montoya and Taylor Dane were there. We skipped Taylor Dane to go to downtown Aspen to see Angus and Julia Stone and Brett Dennen at Belly Up. Great venue, great music. I bought Angus and Julia's CD. Pretty groovy. Coco Montoya was great though. Our 3 blind mice (as our Hines guys called themselves) got us up dancing. It's hard to dance in high elevation in boots and long underwear by the way. Bo Derek was there like she is every year, but I didn't see her. I saw pictures of vets with her, but I think I was at sled hockey when she was around.
By the end of the clinic I was ready to come home. It was a great week and a lot of fun, but exhausting. I slept 12 hours last night and laid on the couch most of the day. The trip home sucked. Our 7 AM flight and our connecting flight in Denver was cancelled because of the storm that Chicago is having as I type. (It's so awesome that I get to experience this storm twice. I wish you could type sarcasm.) We were rebooked on a 10 AM flight that was delayed 2 hours. By the time we got to Denver we missed our new connection, but had been put on stand by for a 3:20 flight in Aspen, or so we thought. When we showed up for the 3:20 flight, we weren't on stand by. They let me on the flight, but not Kristin and Lindsey. When I got on there were TONS of seats open. With some anxious texting back and forth, they finally let Kristin and Lindsey on. To say the day sucked, but we got home. Some people were stuck in Denver until Monday, and we were only 7 hours late.
So to end this long email. It was a great experience and I hope to go back next year. I think I'll skip sled hockey next year though. Here's a video and slideshow from the sports clinic. I'll have a copy of the video from the closing ceremonies eventually that is better than the video on the website if anyone is interested in seeing it.
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