A look at the AWeSOMe program making recreation accessible for all in McCall
Lori Messenger is a self-described “mountain girl.” “I have always loved the mountains,” she says, “as a hiker, backpacker, skier, runner, and wildland firefighter.” And while every sport appeals, Messenger’s passion is Nordic skiing. “I skied collegiately and then coached for a long time,” she says. She also helped to create the junior Nordic program at Bogus Basin.
So, in February of 2023 when she suffered a spinal cord injury, the impact was more than physical. “It’s just been extraordinarily hard,” says Messenger, “and such a grief process, realizing how inaccessible the mountains have become to me.” That is when her brother, Eric Messenger, made it his mission to figure out anything and everything Lori might still be able to do outdoors and how to help her do it.
“We grew up skiing together,” she says, and Eric’s motivation was contagious. “I have been pretty determined to try anything that crossed my path, whether or not I was particularly interested in it in my previous life or not.” So when Eric, who lives in McCall, realized there was an adaptive program right in town, he dove straight into volunteer training and learned how to sit ski himself. That program is AWeSOMe, Adaptive Wilderness Sports of McCall.
AWeSOMe got its start in 2002 with the vision of Ingrid Burica and Kirsten Evenson and an adaptive ski equipment donation from Bogus Basin. Initially, the program was hosted at the Little Ski Hill and was part of the After School Program, helping kids with disabilities to ski alongside their classmates and friends.
In its fourth year, AWeSOMe solidified a partnership with Brundage Mountain Resort that continues today. The move enabled the program to expand its programming to include adults as well kids. And in 2024, AWeSOMe continued to expand its service area by establishing a second program hub at Tamarack Resort.
Since its inception, AWeSOMe’s primary sport focus has been alpine skiing. “Our main program, and probably what we are most known for,” says Chris Wernert, program director, “is definitely alpine skiing. It is the program we started with our foundation.” But since joining the team in the winter of 2004-2005, Wernert has worked to grow the program to encompass snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and a summer program that offers canoeing, adaptive bicycling, tree-climbing workshops, and day and overnight activity camps. “Even though some of these programs are still small, we are committed to growing them as we go so we can offer as many experiences as possible,” says Wernert.
And those programs are gaining momentum. “Four years ago, I would say that most of our program participants were kids,” says Beth Guest, an instructor and the winter program coordinator, “but today it is about half kids and half adults.” Part of that, she says, is due to a grant AWeSOMe was awarded that enabled them to specifically serve five spinal cord injured individuals. “We have also been able to do a lot more with veterans in the last several years with our summer programming,” Guest says.
One of the biggest challenges an adaptive program like AWeSOMe faces is equipment. “Most of our equipment is donated or purchased with grant funding,” says Wernert. To put some perspective on the cost, one sit ski for downhill skiing averages around $7,000 to purchase.
In addition to the cost of equipment, another challenge adaptive programs face is that there is no one-size-fits-all scenario. “We get to work with people who have cognitive disabilities like autism and down syndrome, kids with cerebral palsy, folks that have been impacted by stroke or spinal cord injuries, and those with visual impairments,” says Guest. And each person is unique in what experience they want and what equipment will work for their situation.
Which is where the creativity and enthusiasm of the volunteer instructors are such an asset to AWeSOMe. During the busy winter months, the program is home to around 25 certified instructors. “It is no small thing what our volunteer instructors commit to,” says Wernert. “Most of our instructors have been certified through the Professional Ski Instructors of America program with a special certificate to teach adaptive skiing.” And they all have the same goal in mind, even if what led them to becoming part of the program was personal.
“Everyone here is so passionate about helping people with disabilities enjoy life and see that there are still so many things that they can do,” says Wernert. “Sometimes I think it is so easy to take a lot for granted living in a place like this and how easy it is for most of us to be outside as much as we want. I feel so privileged to be able to be the one that gets people back on the mountain.”
During Lori’s first time trying a downhill sit ski, she said it was a steep learning curve. “There are all of these factors,” she says, “even down to what to wear.” For many with spinal cord injuries, the body’s ability to regulate temperature is also affected, making sensitivities to cold and heat more pronounced, but without an ability to recognize if you are getting too cold or too hot. “So even before we began, Chris sent out a great list to help me learn what to wear and what to bring.”
Once layered for the weather, Messenger said she spent the first hour or so getting adjusted to the sit ski and working with her instructors on the plan for the tether support and practicing with the outriggers as she got acquainted with the equipment. Then she hit the bunny hill. “It is such a crazy feeling,” she says, “In my brain, I keep wanting to control the ski with my legs, which, of course, I can’t do anything with.” Messenger said that was one of the biggest challenges – the unlearning of the memory her body has when it comes to skiing. “I had to get my brain to the point where I was able to do a completely new thing controlled by my hips instead of the old thing with my legs.”
Not to mention getting over the intimidation factor. “The change up is hard,” she says. “There is a definite terror factor, feeling like you are going down the mountain so much faster.” But like traditional skiing, she found that a little more speed helped the sit ski perform and respond better. “Those first few afternoons on the mountain were challenging,” says Messenger. “Two half days of skiing felt really intense. A lot of it comes down to me learning how to use my own new body.”
Which is where the volunteers at AWeSOMe really made the difference. “Those first days it was my brother and Chris were helping me on my own ski and Beth was modeling the outrigger devices,” Messenger says. “Sometimes it is just so much easier to see someone doing it and model them. Plus, Chris and Beth really were just so much fun.” By the end of that first weekend, Messenger felt like she had started to get the hang of it. “Some people never have the goal of wanting to be independent,” she says, “they just want to get out and enjoy the thrill of being on the snow. But for me, I am more interested in being able to ski by myself.”
So she came back for another weekend and by her fourth day, she was skiing almost exclusively independently on the bunny hill. “There were moments it was really fun,” she says, “and moments when it was scary and just a lot of work and focus.” But the thrill of being back on the mountain was fantastic. And Messenger didn’t want to stop there.
That second trip to McCall, Messenger alternated between alpine and Nordic skiing days. “It felt a bit like being in an athletic boot camp,” she laughs. And while Nordic skiing had been her main sport, she felt more trepidation trying the adaptive version than with downhill skiing. “There is just so much heartbreak there,” she says. “And it honestly looked like all the work without any of the fun because the way you move is just a double pull.”
But Messenger was pleasantly surprised. “The ‘bucket’ you sit in is much lighter and more nimble than I had expected,” she says. “I was able to immediately move and I could get myself places.” For Messenger, the Nordic learning curve was much less steep. “I was able to pretty quickly figure out how to pull myself around and that felt so liberating.” And while the movement felt familiar, there were still a few adjustments. “You really can’t tackle nearly as tough a terrain as you would skiing with your legs,” she says. “There is just less control coming down a hill and no way to do a quick stop.”
Despite the differences, Messenger says that she really enjoyed the Nordic experience. “There was this moment when I took a bit of a steeper hill and near the top I tipped,” she says. “As I was laying there waiting for someone to come help untangle me I was just lying on my back in the snow.” She said she realized that life in a wheelchair means she rarely gets an opportunity to be on the ground because it can be so difficult to get back up. “I was just laying there in the snow, looking up at the trees and the sky,” she says, “and I was so happy in that moment.”
“I am still very much grieving,” says Messenger. “But the ability to get to be out in the woods on those trails felt really, really good.” As she learns to navigate a ski independently, Messenger says that any adaptive sport still requires a support crew. “The volunteers are so precious,” she says. As are adaptive programs like AWeSOMe. “You really need these programs to help you learn what’s possible,” she says. From testing equipment to helping friends and family learn how best to support an athlete in adaptive sports, Messenger says that these programs are so important to help you discover all of the opportunities.
“For those of us who were athletes previously,” says Messenger, “those sports were a lot of our social life.” On top of the physicality of getting back to the sports she loves, Messenger says that she is finding the social side of it to be just as important. “I am excited about being able to do these things with just my friends and family,” she says. “And I already have a crew of friends excited to Nordic ski with me.” On top of that, Messenger is also working to help build a new adaptive program in her hometown of Missoula. MARS, or the Missoula Adaptive Recreation and Sports has applied for several grants to help them purchase three Nordic sit skis, a program Messenger is going to coordinate.
“Everybody’s disability is different,” says Messenger. The challenge to any adaptive sport is the constant troubleshooting, figuring out how to make a “standard” piece of equipment custom for each individual and each setting. “I know that plenty of people have figured out how to do some of these things without an official program,” she says, “but the official programs are so beneficial because they give you such a big head start.” She says this experience with her instructors made a huge difference in showing her what was possible. The program and the volunteers are, in a word, awesome.
For more information on how you can get involved and support the AWeSOMe program, visit their website at sites.google.com/awesomemccall.org.
