Ignite Adaptive Sports

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Ignite Adaptive Sports

Located at the base of picturesque Eldora Mountain, just 21 miles outside of Boulder, CO, Ignite Adaptive Sports harnesses the heart and dedication of the Front Range, surrounding mountain, and Northern Colorado communities to provide children and adults with disabilities access to Colorado’s amazing outdoor winter sports. Join us for alpine and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, ski biking, and snowshoeing lessons.

Our mission
Our mission is to ignite personal growth, independence, and confidence in people with disabilities on the Front Range, and in surrounding mountain and Northern Colorado communities, by providing caring, safe, and fun adaptive winter snowsports opportunities.

Our history
In the 1970’s, ten passionate University of Colorado students saw an opportunity to enhance the lives of other CU students with disabilities, by providing them access to Colorado’s great winter sport of skiing. In 1975, this dedicated group gained permission from Eldora Mountain Resort to create an Alpine Adaptive Skiing program for ten students with disabilities. Since then, Ignite Adaptive Sports (formerly Eldora Special Recreation Program ESRP) has grown into a volunteer team of over 230 people serving over 300 students each year.

Today, outdoor sports enthusiasts of all ages and disabilities are welcome to take part in our nationally recognized program. Our dedicated team donates between 15,000 – 20,000 hours (worth more than $350,000 according to The Independent Sector) of their time and energy each year to provide private snow sport lessons to hundreds of people living with disabilities in Colorado. This includes wounded active duty and military veterans served through a US Paralympic Military Program Ignite developed in 2009, in collaboration with the U.S. Olympic Committee.

While other adaptive winter sport programs exist in Colorado, Ignite is the only comprehensive program located along the Front Range and the only program accessible by RTD’s public transportation system.

Our work
All of us at Ignite believe everyone should be able to enjoy winter sports regardless of skill or ability level. We provide the best possible winter sports experience to each student we serve.

Our current offerings include alpine and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, ski biking, and snowshoeing opportunities. Full and half-day snow-sport lessons run from January through March and are held Thursdays through Sundays.

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…

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…

Snowshoeing 101 Getting Started It’s time for the fresh, chilly air and peaceful scenery offered by winter sports. If you’re looking for a way to improve balance and spatial awareness, and to get exercise at a level that you can set for yourself, consider adaptive snowshoeing this season. Snowshoeing is the “quiet” snow sport, according…