As many of you now know, we had to end our winter season early. Living through a pandemic has not been easy and while we have faced some disappointments, there have been some pretty cool things, too. So today, we’d like to focus on one of those cool things!

Every year since its inception, Rocky Mountain Adaptive has had the generous support of Sunshine Village Ski Resort. From providing us a space on the mountain to operate safely out of, to accommodating our never-ending any requests, the team at Sunshine truly have our hearts so, today, we’d like to share some sunshine with them.

So, lets get into it. First and foremost, it lives up to its name… It is a place filled with sunshine! Whether that sunshine is in the sky or in the personalities of its staff, it is rare to leave the resort without a smile. The last two seasons, staff at Sunshine have faced many challenges within the COVID-19 pandemic, including closing early last season. This season, the team worked extra hard to make sure the slopes were as safe as possible for us all to enjoy, and it was no easy feat. A huge shout out to every lifty, every trail crew member, every food and beverage worker, security, administration, and more. We see you, we appreciate you, and thanks to you, we were able to enjoy a nearly full-long season.

The Covid-19 pandemic has posed many a challenge. Sunshine Village and organizations like it have been a saving grace. They have found ways to open their doors and make sure that our incredible and beautiful open spaces have been available for us to access. In turn, this has ensured that Winter sports in the spectacular Canadian Rockies are available for us to utilize, only benefiting our physical and mental health. This effort by Sunshine and all their staff has enabled us to work diligently to make sure that these same opportunities have been available to our community of program users. For this all we can say is, a thousand times, thank you.

To highlight this impact here’s a quote from participant Dave Sagal’s doctor touting the positive effects being able to access the mountain has had on his mental health:

“Talking with him over the past several months, it is clear how much he has been motivated by the opportunities afforded him through retraining in the sports activities so central to his life, and how much he has benefitted from the positive relationships he has been able to form through his association with Rocky Mountain Adaptive.” – Dp. Gayle Belsher, R.Psych.

For us at RMA, we could not operate in the way that we do in the winter without Sunshine Village and their generous contributions. The team at Sunshine provide us with equipment space support, they sponsor our Ski and Ride multi-week program, our annual fundraiser: ShredAbility, plus through their Community Ski Day each year, SSV provide a substantial donation to RMA. On top of this, their staff fields numerous inquiries and requests from us, whether it be organizing a day for a film team to come in, or helping us with last minute ticket requests.

It is difficult to sum up just how much this local, beloved mountain resort contributes to Rocky Mountain Adaptive and to all that we do.

We are so thankful for all that make up the Sunshine team. We hope you know we appreciate you. Until next year, friends.