A message from KBF Chief Ambassador Greg on his recent trip to Aspen, CO, for the Winter TRAC Camp:

We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Craig Hospital, especially their Teen Rehabilitation at Craig (TRAC) program. This is the first year that KBF has partnered on a Winter TRAC, and we are excited to partner for the first time with Challenge Aspen. This year, we brought five teens who recently sustained spinal cord injuries, each with a loved one, and a peer mentor from Craig (also a KBF grant recipient) to experience adaptive skiing for the first time.

This trip was deeply personal for me and comes full circle. After my injury 18 years ago, I went to Challenge Aspen to learn how to ski again. I made a lifelong friendship with my ski instructor and have been going back every year since. Now I watched the newly injured teens receive that same life-changing instruction. Even better, the same ski rig I learned to ski in was being used there. 

Having Kelly join us in Snowmass for the first time was also extra special to me, and more importantly, to the campers. We were both amazed by how quickly the participants progressed. Learning mono and bi skiing is challenging, yet each camper impressed us with skill, determination, and smiles. Hearing their loved ones (girlfriends, friends, family) say they never imagined they’d be able to ski together and that this would open new possibilities in their relationships was incredibly moving.

Trip highlights included two feet of fresh snow, attending the X Games (snowmobile big air, knuckle huck, snowboard superpipe), and getting around Buttermilk Mountain in Action Track Chairs, what a squad we looked liked, even got a TV shoutout. We closed the camp with a screening of Best Day Ever, which resonated deeply with the campers and topped their list of trip highlights.

Calling this camp “a success” doesn’t do it justice. This full-circle moment will stay with me for a long time. One camper captured it perfectly: 

“Before this camp, snow represented limits for me. It was something I had to plan around, or sometimes avoid altogether. Another reminder of what felt complicated or inaccessible. Going into TRAC Camp, I didn’t fully realize how much mental weight I was carrying around that.

What this camp gave me wasn’t just technical skill or time on the mountain; it gave me ease. Being surrounded by people who get it, supported by staff who never treated access as an afterthought, allowed me to relax in my body and mind in a way I didn’t know I was missing. I felt seen without having to explain myself. I felt capable without being pushed past my edge. That sense of belonging and trust had a real, noticeable impact on my mental health.

By the end of the week, snow had completely changed its meaning for me. What once felt like an obstacle became an opportunity. For freedom, confidence, joy, and connection. Instead of something to work against, snow became something I could work with. That shift didn’t just happen on the mountain; it followed me home. This Ski Camp reminded me that with the right support and community, barriers can transform into possibilities. And that’s something I’ll carry with me long after the snow melts.”