Do It with SSASS  

Many season-pass holders prefer to ski on week days to avoid the longer lift lines and exuberant youth who invade the mountain (not that Silver Star is ever has long lineups or is super busy).  But I head up to Silver Star Mountain Resort early every  Saturday from January until mid March.  It is the day I volunteer as an instructor for SSASS and it is the highlight of my week.

When we relocated to Vernon two and a half years ago I wanted to volunteer in some capacity, to find something that would give a sense of purpose to my otherwise self indulgent life. While hiking with the Vernon  Outdoors Club during our first summer, I  heard about  SSASS from the local  coordinator and her palpable enthusiasm for the program got me interested.
SSASS is the acronym for Silver Star Adaptive Snow Sports, a Silver Star based program that makes skiing and snow boarding accessible for everyone, regardless of age or ability.    Instructors with SSASS  are also members of CADS (Canadian Association of Disabled Skiing).  

 I was unsure whether I had the skills and knowledge needed,  however the warm reception I received with my inquiries carried me through the weekend-long level one CADS certification.  There, with a group of a dozen other new recruits, I experienced how it might feel to be blind, one legged or paralyzed and  experience the thrill of skiing.  We learned to use a variety of equipment and techniques to aid skiers with special needs.  

Then at the annual meet-and-greet potluck, where instructors meet their assigned students and families, I met my two students.  One was  a 9 year old who had been a good hockey player before his vision had deteriorated.  Hockey was now unsafe and he wanted to learn to ski.    My other student was a 12 year old boy with an awkward gait due to cerebral palsy.  He had other developmental challenges and was non-verbal. Assessing his challenges through my inexperience I wasn't sure how I could teach him to ski  but it was obvious he was keen to learn.  
With each of these students I was paired with another instructor and from them, over the last three seasons, I've learned a lot about adapting teaching skills to individual students with special needs. But my greatest teachers have been my students.  From them I have learned about motivation, human potential and the power of achievement. 

Both of these students have progressed farther than I could have imagined.  The former hockey player who is now 11, skis black runs and goes through the trees.  And our other student goes down all the green runs on the mountain with a tether or on a pole between his instructors and recently he has started skiing independently. He is much stronger and his gait has improved.  He still doesn't talk but he does laugh, he laughs a lot while he skis.

I now have another student, a  7 year old girl with a smile that lights up a room.  She has mild autism and I am enjoying  helping her learn a new skill.  She is one of several students  we now commonly teach at SSASS, with challenges that are not necessarily  physical. 

SSASS offers these regular ski lessons every season and also assists with students in local school programs.  As well there  is a very active Racing Team that trains during the ski season and participates in races at Silver Star and at other ski hills. 

Josh Dueck racing

Two former SSASS students will be participating in the Paralympic Games in Sochi .  Josh Dueck, a sit skier will be racing and Sonja Gaudet who had skied with SSASS will be on the Canadian curling team.

Another major part of the SSASS program is offering instruction and support for disabled skiers visiting Silver Star Mountain Resort. Recently one family who visited arranged for their special- needs daughter to ski with SSASS,  captured the experience and posted it on the web site:  http://www.specialneedstravelmom.com/silver-star-ski-resort/adaptive-skiing-at-silver-star-mountain-resort-british-columbia   

A visitor to Silver Star being taken for a sit ski ride by SSASS volunteer

SSASS got its start in 1992 when founder, Donna Carter, organized funding and the first 10 instructors were trained.  Her daughter Danielle was one of the first three students in the program.

Each February SSASS holds the Carter Classic, named after the founding family.  This is a ski race with teams that include skiers with special needs. The focus is fun with some teams dressing in costumes but it is a real race with gates and timers. It is a big thrill for the skiers.  This year both my original students participated in the event.

 

 Local businesses generously donate prizes and there are trophies and medals. And the look on the faces of the skiers when they received their medals was as exciting as if they had won Olympic Gold.  What a thrill for them, their families and instructors! 

   For more information about SSASS check out : www.ssass.bc.ca