Think back to the last time you had an ‘I can’t’ moment. It happens, right? Think again and ask yourself if what you thought was too far out of reach was really as hard as you had made it out to be. Probably not, right? Rocky Mountain adaptive takes pride in the ‘I can’ moments, where people realize there are no limits to what they can achieve.

Over the past few months, I have had the privilege to work as a practicum student with RMA. I have met many truly inspirational people who have taught me more than I could have ever imagined in this short period.

Two main lessons come to mind when I attempt to summarize my experiences and what I have learned from my days on the hill thus far.

You can find beauty in anything. And I mean anything.

Let me expand. The fundamental nature of RMA itself is quite beautiful – from the profound sense of community to the opportunity for personal growth and discovery, to the shared love and bond with the mountains and the SNOW (who thought so many people could actually like the snow?).

Community is everything.

If you know anything about RMA, you see the pride they take in fostering a truly inclusive, welcoming community. This deep sense of community and belonging permeates throughout RMA, and every programming day I have spent on the hill. It is a connection you can not hide and one that is rare to find. I mean look at this – how cool is it that so many people (often strangers to one another) can come together and enjoy an EPIC day on the slopes?

This is by no means an exhaustive list (actually opposite – I could literally go on forever about all the ‘little’ things I have been taught and stories I have been told). Still, it is just a few things I have learned and feelings I hope to foster in my future endeavours. I genuinely believe there is something to learn from everyone you encounter, and my interactions with participants, volunteers, and staff of RMA hold true to that.

I want to leave you with one thing – something one of our participants told me last week on the hill that stuck with me. Kate is one of our (AWESOME – I might add) participants with whom I was lucky enough to spend the day at Panorama Ski Resort. On our chair rides up, we talked about many things; our favourite High School Musical movie (#1 obviously…), our favourite things to cook, our friends and family and more.

However, in this conversation, Kate said something that I see as a perfect example of everything RMA strives to provide.

“You know, the world has been pretty crazy and confusing. But there is something about skiing that lets me forget about it all, even if it is just for a few minutes. It’s like the thrill of it doesn’t let me focus on anything else.”

A world where there are no limits is a world where people, like Kate, you, or me, can come together and find beauty in just about everything. I think RMA is off to a pretty good start of making that a reality.