Challenge Aspen

My experience with Challenge Aspen was exceptional. I'm Nevin, a 36 y/o father/husband and recent bilateral amputee (L-AK/R-BK) after a battle with Strep A/sepsis etc. just under two years ago. Since then, I’ve been pushing myself to get back into challenging physical activities and adaptive sports whenever possible. As a Canadian, I’ve unfortunately found it surprisingly difficult to access the right expertise at home. Too much red tape, not enough exposure and simply too many layers between the participant and the people who actually know how to help. The biggest reason was my instructor, Danny Devlin. Over five days, Danny worked with me every day, along with rotating assistants who were all fantastic.Dani, Ben, Anna, Leah - Thank you!! On the first day we tried snowboarding—I had come with my snowboard and that was my original plan. After a couple of runs and some honest assessment, Danny suggested we pivot so we could make better use of the week. That decision made all the difference. We moved into a monoski setup. I had never tried monoskiing before, and I didn’t have a skiing background, only snowboarding before my injuries. Within a few days, thanks to Danny’s coaching and the team’s support, we progressed from my first ever run in meadows on monoski to confidently tearing up groomed blue runs. What stood out most was the mindset of the program. The team meets people where they are, problem-solves in real time, and focuses on possibility instead of limitations. Sometimes that means specialized equipment; sometimes it means multiple people assisting; sometimes it means adjusting the plan mid-day. The goal is simple: get people on the mountain and make it work. For anyone with a disability wondering whether skiing is possible, this program proves that it absolutely is. I’m incredibly grateful to Challenge Aspen, and especially to Danny, for an unforgettable week and for opening the door to a sport I now plan to keep pursuing.

Absolutely life changing. The people are amazing. As a veteran this has pulled me out of a sad rut. My son who is on the spectrum is so happy to ski and has developed so many skills. It’s been life changing for both of us. I wish I could hug every single person who’s gifted us with this. We love this program so much words can’t express. Feeling blessed after these folks.

This is a great concept and I believe good organization - but they don't always have their priorities straight. We didn't have the most positive experience last week. I hired Challenge Aspen for 4 days to be with my recently diagnosed Type 1, 7 year old grandson while he was in ski school. Understandably, they don't have a diabetic expert and will not make any medical decisions about how much insulin to administer prior to lunch; what we were asking for is someone to watch is monitor and contact us if trending out of range, and we would meet them for lunch to handle the insulin needs. The issue was his buddy was only scheduled for 2 of 4 days we reserved. After we learned this on day 2, I called to request this be changed as this required some training of the buddy (by us) and we had established a lot of confidence in her abilities. The scheduler said she needed to put someone else with him because the first buddy needed to work on her certifications. Seriously? This more important than tanking care of the "challenged" person? She did relent and allow the original buddy to stay with him 1 more day - but we had to train an new buddy on the final day. This was incredibly disappointing and added stress to his parents. The 2nd buddy was a good guy as well - we just needed the same person for all 4 days. I did ask the scheduler to get the 1st and 2nd buddy to talk prior to day 4 to review the assignment - but she said she couldn't arrange that -- and it didn't happen. I'm asking you to please learn from this experience we had - to make your good program better.

My kiddo loved her time with challenge aspen. They got her confidently skiing on her own and kept her motivated and excited about snow sports.

honestly moved by the talent of the staff i have struggled with my neurodivergence and my son is currently expanding so grateful to the staff