Colorado Discover Ability

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Colorado Discover Ability | CDA

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Colorado Discover Ability, (CDA), was incorporated in 1980 as the Powderhorn Handicapped Ski Program, Ltd., a non-profit corporation. CDA was initially established to provide educational and therapeutic outdoor experiences to the disabled population in western Colorado, solely through alpine skiing at Powderhorn Ski Resort.

Prior to CDA’s existence, disabled individuals in the Grand Valley had no local options for proper training and guidance in adaptive outdoor recreation. In 1987, our name was changed to reflect our vision to provide recreational opportunities in other sports as well. CDA continues to be responsible for the delivery of all adaptive ski and snowboard instruction at Powderhorn.

We began in 2001 to expand into year-round recreational programs and updated our mission to reflect the inclusion of our client’s families and friends. During the summer, CDA’s focus shifts to providing water-based recreation, such as river rafting and related camping activities. CDA has been offering summer Day Camps for children and teens since 2001.

With the collaboration of St. Mary’s Hospital and Rocky Mountain Orthopaedics’ therapy staff, a multi-day Camp Freedom for children age 6-12 was added in 2004. Besides the regular programs, various clinics like adaptive cycling have offered locals an access to popular activities on the western slope.

Activities

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Alpine/Downhill Skiing

Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis. There are tons of disabled skiers flying down the slopes across the country. Experienced skiers make it look easy as they swoosh and cut their way through powdery (and sometimes not so powdery) snow. While it takes some practice to refine…

Rain, sleet, snow, or hail … it seems that no matter the weather, you can always see a cyclist biking for pleasure, on an errand, or keeping fit. The love of bike riding is rapidly growing across nearly every demographic. Cycling has always been a great way to enjoy the outdoors, socialize with fellow bikers,…

Horseback riding is naturally therapeutic. Whether they have physical, cognitive, sensory or emotional disabilities, participants benefit from riding or working with horses. Nicole Budden, Founder and Director of Happy Trails Riding Center All About Equestrian Getting Started Equine-assisted therapy, hippotherapy, therapeutic riding…These are all terms that have specific definitions, but they share a common…

Flyfishing made a real big difference in my recovery and helped flip that switch from thinking about negative things to positive things. There is a lot of peace and a lot of connecting with nature involved with fishing. – David Folkerts, Chief Operations Officer of Project Healing Waters Fishing 101 Photo Credits: Matt Romero,…

When you go skiing, you need to find a mountain and cold weather. You don’t need anything special to start kayaking. Kayaking is just down the road. -Joe Mornini, Executive Director of Team River Runner Getting Started Looking to spend a quiet afternoon enjoying the outdoors and scenery? Perhaps you’re more of a thrill…

About Adaptive Rafting Considered an extreme adventure sport, rafting, or white water rafting, is a popular recreational activity. With the help of a guide, you make your way down the river, maneuvering through rapids, and navigating around rocks. You can choose the experience you want, whether it be a relaxing ride down the river or…

One of the things I like about rock climbing is that it always gives you little triumphs. You can reach new levels, you are never out of challenges, and you can do it pretty much anywhere. – Jarem Frye, Climbing Enthusiast and K12 Prosthetics founder Becoming Familiar with Adaptive Climbing For a full body…

All About Snowboarding History Thank you to Lindsay Schultz for contributing information to this article. Pipelines, shredding, jibbers, and boardercross are all part of the colorful trappings of what’s attracting winter sports lovers to the country’s newest and most popular pursuit of things-that-go-bump-in-the-snow. Otherwise known as snowboarding….. Originally embraced by preteen and adolescent males who…

Since the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960, swimming has been one of the Games’ main sports. The thrill of competition aside, swimming offers many benefits including strengthening the cardiovascular systems and the major muscle groups of both the upper and lower body. It also develops flexibility in the muscles and joints as…