On an overcast Tuesday afternoon, the rolling cruisers and steep chutes of Alpine Meadows Resort, host to a renowned disabled skiing program, are quiet as a storm spews out the Sierra cement famous to the region. It's the type of snowstorm typical to the North Lake Tahoe area and best enjoyed behind a thick-paned window with a blanket and steamy cup of liquid goodness.

Disabled Sports Program Attracts Determined Skier
Inside the locker room at the Disabled Sports USA Far West , an adaptive skiing student is taking a moment to thaw. She's been out all morning and all afternoon, and though it's nearing 2:30, her gaze is directed out the window, ready for more. Her instructor comments how impressed he is that she's made it this far, and from her wheelchair, a hairdryer warming her soaked bibs, the disabled skier smiles and says, "Oh yeah, I'm hardcore."

Since 1995, the smile, laugh, and boundless spirit of Elizabeth Dement have been mainstays of the Disabled Sports USA Far West program. Veteran disabled skiing instructors describe their relationship with her as "not so much lessons as ski buddies," and when first-year volunteers ask if she has arrived, the response is often, "Don't worry, you'll know when Liz is in the building."

Aside from her boisterous excitement for skiing, it's more Liz's undeniable determination that characterizes the adaptive ski program of Disabled Sports USA Far West and provides the purpose for its existence.

Traumatic Brain Injury Leads to Slow Start
Liz first began her storied tenure as an adaptive skier on January 21, 1995, eight years removed from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) sustained in a car accident. As a wheelchair user, her first lesson was conducted in a bi-ski, a sit-down device with two skis and fixed outriggers that is tethered by a instructor from behind.

The bi-ski allows the disabled skier access to the mountain, but it didn't give Liz as much independence as she wanted. She quickly progressed to the Ski-EZ, a stand-up piece of equipment that provides the student a steering wheel of sorts that, along with tip-connectors, helps to turn the skis.

With Disability Comes Determination
During her disabled sports program adaptive skiing lessons, she worked on basic maneuvers, such as wiggling and scooting, but the weakness of the right side of her body from the TBI left her prone to violent falls that would come out of nowhere. Lesson notes circa 2002 report that though Liz was scared of these painful crashes, the instructors were even more afraid of such occurrences.

Comments like "willing to try anything," "wants the challenge," and "speed was uncomfortable for me but not for Liz" litter the reports, and one instructor warned, "Pay attention to fatigue: she wanted to keep going after she got tired."

A myriad of aids were used to assist with each lesson, including ski-tip connectors, bamboo poles, and disabled sports program lesson assistants skiing on that weak right side, but Liz's quest for independence dictated that the instructors change strategy each time out.

Adaptive Ski ing Leads to Independence
Of course, this kind of adaptation is emblematic of the 40-year-old disabled sports program, formerly named the Tahoe Adaptive Ski School. There is a constant focus on independence and autonomy. The adaptive equipment used is intended for assistance, not reliance.

The instructors' purpose is to teach skiing instead of to conduct rides down the hill, and if a student's progress is becoming stagnant or reliant, the approach to teaching is often tweaked immediately. If a student can do more, the instructors will find a way to encourage them toward that end, and it is because of this philosophy that someone like Liz can start seated in a bi-ski and can progress to the point where she is standing up, skiing runs independently, and conducting smooth, shaped turns.

After fifteen years of lessons in disabled sports programs, Liz now uses the Slider, a kind of walker with skis. She initiates her own turns, loads the chair carrying her own equipment, and whereas before she was confined to beginner runs, she now skis advanced-beginner slopes with the occasional adventure down an intermediate run.

Liz Dement Still Has Attitude
Her equipment and skiing technique have changed but her delight in the experience has not. Whether she's cracking jokes on the lift, singing her way down the hill, or reminding instructors of debts owed her for friendly wagers won, Liz is the best kind of hardcore anyone could witness on the mountain.

If skiing allows one's spirit to soar high above the levels of everyday life, then we're all straining our necks to watch Liz in flight as she embodies the mantra of Disabled Sports USA Far West: "If I Can Do This, I Can Do Anything."

Photo shows Liz in a bi-ski with her volunteer coach, Gary Maclean.

The Far West chapter is the founding branch of Disabled Sports USA, the nation’s largest nonprofit, multi-sport and multi-disability organization.  Today there are over 90 chapters serving more than 60,000 people nationwide in year-round disabled sports activities.