Disabled skiers converge in Colorado
By Anastasiya Bolton Kusa, Reno Gazette-Journal
BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. — Thanks to some bright minds, technology similar to what powers your computer at home or work is helping people with disabilities ski or snowboard.
Several hundred disabled skiers, including more than 150 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, came from all over the word to take part in this week’s 23rd Annual Hartford Ski Spectacular in Breckenridge. The gadgets they’re using were not even conceivable just a short time ago-like a computerized prosthetic limb.
“I’m an amputee. I work in a slow-motion world. All of a sudden I get to the top of a mountain; I can go 30, 40, 50 miles an hour down the slopes,” said Kirk Bauer, the executive director of Disabled Sports USA. “It is the most exhilarating feeling and free feeling in the world.”
Bauer lost his leg in Vietnam. He told 9NEWS he couldn’t imagine running a marathon until recently because technology now allows for that.
This is one of the few times each year that people can see some of the latest developments in snow sports in one place.