January 2022

Eden, UTAH—A few days ago, I was feeling nervous about my upcoming ski lessons and then my wife reminded me why: It had been six years since I’ve skied, with everything that goes into it. For me, an adaptive skier, that means six years since I’ve bundled up in long underwear, fleece and gortex and stuffed myself into the bucket seat designed for skiers like

Ogden Valley Adaptive Sports (OVAS) officially began in 2009. But it took multiple years, one daunting transition, and a handful of passionate people. When Stew Marsh joined Snowbasin in 2004 to oversee and expand the ski school, he knew he wanted to add an adaptive program. A decades-long ski industry man and former ski instructor, Stew, like many, was awed and inspired by the event that

“1, 2, 3, BOOM!” That’s what 13-year-old Sam Dingman told his parents after his first OVAS ski lesson. The moment was significant for several reasons, one of them being that Sam has Down syndrome. Not only is speaking hard for him, but also are activities that require leg strength. Sam demonstrated what he had learned as he spoke. BOOM marked the moment his instructor, Carrie, wanted him

Alex Davenport is easy to spot up on the mountain: just look for the guy in the pink helmet. What was initially a dare from a friend over a decade ago—wear this pink helmet and I’ll give it to you for free—became an awesome icebreaker among the students to whom he gave ski lessons, much to Alex’s surprise. More importantly, the helmet evolved into something else.