Spoiled at Steamboat Again

There's nothing quite like getting a full morning of skiing in before hitting lunch, but a gourmet lunch? Come on! We got in our staple GS turns this morning while my parents had their virgin experience on snowy Mt Werner (they stick to summer visits but we convinced them to come out for Carnival).

Steamboat's Gourmet Snowshoe Hike is not to be missed. I managed to get this hike in about 8 years ago when it went all the way in to Ragnars' along Duster, but the Ambassadors now only do that hike on Monday- it proved to be tough for many flatlanders not only because the hike out was long, but the hike back was even longer after a glass of wine! (Or two!)


It makes so much more sense to do this tour with Hazie's now, as they do, so that when you're done, you just ride the Gondola down. The trails is just as fun if not more so, it doubles as the nature trail in the summer and gives a great view of the entire mountain and surrounding ones. And those really-in-shape people can still do Ragnars on Mondays!

I must say I'm super proud of my parents, they are in very good shape for early-60's, and they have never been on snowshoes. We got to meet up with them for lunch at Hazie's, which was absolutely divine. Mushroom barley soup, a huge salad bar, unique shepherds pie, and homemade chocolate macaroons. You can't beat that! It just goes to show that Steamboat can spoil anyone- skier or summer lover- in any season of the year. I know we'll convert the folks to winter once they see the Carnival!


A special thanks to the welcoming, friendly staff up at Hazies, (of course, this is Steamboat!), as well as John and Robb of Ambassadors for taking such good care of the Jehn's.

Talk to STARS about adapting this fabulous tour! Hazie's is accessible to manual chairs, and nordic ski rigs can be rented!

Surehands assistive lifts in more hotels each year!

As the needs of travelers with disabilities are more and more recognized by the travel industry, amenities grow and evolve as well. We're excited to watch an increasing number of hotels add assistive lift devices to their rooms for travelers who have limited mobility and need help getting in and out of bed as well as the pool.

SureHands is one company who's got their eye on this rolling ball! Their lift devices are top knotch, and include intricate track systems, supportive slings, cups or frames, frictionless slides, and prone-style trollies that are geared for all needs from independent and assistive living to institutional use. Only recently did these top-end systems start making their way into the hotel industry, and already SureHands is gaining momentum with this great idea.

SureHands has taken on Las Vegas by storm, and has had a welcoming response from the Bellagio, Treasure Island, Mirage, Both Wynn Properties and the new luxurious ARIA at the City Center. Next time you're in Vegas, make sure to check them out!

Training Airlines on Handling Wheelchairs

I spent the first three days of this week in Houston, Texas training Continental Airlines' ground crew how to handle assistive devices, such as wheelchairs and scooters, and came away with a new appreciation for what that team does.

This training was organized by Eric Lipp of the Open Doors Organization (www.opendoorsnfp.org), with the help of Michael Bliwas and The Mobility Shop (https://themobilityshop.com/), and we all agreed that this was a successful first stop on what we hope will be a large, comprehensive tour to train airline ground crews around the globe.

The purpose of these trainings is not only to teach crews how to properly lift and stow assistive devices, but how to take care of them, disassemble them, and return them to customers in one piece. Airlines currently spend way too much of their budget replacing and repairing broken assistive equipment and with today’s economy, we hope we are teaching employees how to save their company money and avoid fines "from the ground up!"

As always we were very impressed with Continental's employees; they came with a sincere eagerness to learn, tamper with, and fully explore the subject. We look forward to working with other airlines and are excited for Continental to once again lead the way in the topic of handling customers with disabilities.

Unfortunately due to technical difficulties with our video camera we don't have an example of this training, but we hope to get some useful tools up soon!

Go Anywhere, Do Anything! -Craig

DAYS 3-4: More Sun and a Little Powder

Day 3 is always the hardest to fit some writing in, between skiing one last day on the mountain, finishing touches for our final banquet and cat-planning for the Powdercats Trip, Wednesday always zooms by, and then Thursday we spent in the backcountry with Steamboat Powdercats.

But we had another rare January Bluebird day on Wednesday and then a gorgeous day up on Buffalo Pass. Thursday we had 3 cats full of happy campers and volunteers; unfortunately we can't fit everyone from the camp on the trip, so we also had about 10-15 campers on the hill that day for one final lesson with Adaptive Adventures.





Thanks to everyone who helps to sponsor this amazing event- and those who've helped promote it. The Steamboat Pilot has been an amazing supporter this year, printing several articles on the camp both in the paper and online, including a cover/feature article today. A huge thanks to Joel at the Pilot for all of those, he's among the best sports reporters they've had in the last decade, and we're very thankful he's given us some amazing press.

Adaptive Camp Opens Doors for Wounded Warriors
5th Annual All Mountain Ski Camp
Open Town to Disabilities

Facebook Photo Album

Huge Thanks to all our sponsors!

Steamboat Powdercats, Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation, Boeing, Sharpshooter Photography, Wounded Warrior Project, NRC Broadcasting, Resort Quest, Resort Group, Steamboat Grand, Sheraton Steamboat Resort, Boyd & Barbara Bass, Christopher and Mary Ellen Jehn, Smartwool, Hampton Inn & Suites, Ptarmigan Inn, Holiday Inn of Steamboat, Jan Levy, Sportstalker, Colorado Event Rentals, Native Excavating, Custom Color, TIC, Wells Fargo, B & K Distributing, Shively Construction, Millennium Bank, Mountain Valley Bank, ML Enterprises, Steve Green Company, Home on the Range, Dax Mattox State Farm, Alpine Taxi, Little Moon Essentials, US Foodservice, Back Country Provisions, Central Park Liquor, City Market, Steamboat Snowmobile Tours, VFW, Freshies, The Egg & I, Creekside Caf, Brooklyn’s Pizzeria, Blue Sage Pizza, Mazzola’s Majestic Italian, Dominos, Beau Jo’s, Cugino’s, The Sanctuary Camp

And a special thanks to all our volunteers and crock pot chefs!

DAY 2: Bluebirds and Bombers

The girls have dubbed the boys The Bombers for their turnless technique and maching speed. This camp is aggressive this year, maybe it's the conditions, maybe it's a sign of the times; but either way, everyone is going after it like its DerbyDay in the 'Boat, and the ladies are declaring an official Morning with the Maidens tomorrow...


The troop got another 9am start on the hill and although we took a long lunch doing our group photo and dealing with grill issues, it was 4:00 by the time I walked to my car. Lap after lap we did on the sunny side, from wide open groomers to tight funnels, from giggling rollers to the jib park, we hit it all. Blue skies abound made backdrops from heaven on this glorious spring-like day.

Best quote of the day, "I ain't gonna lie to you, I'm whooped!"