Ignite Stories

Since 1975, Ignite Adaptive Sports has provided winter sport opportunities to benefit children and adults with disabilities.  With support from Eldora Mountain Resort we keep our daily fees as low as possible to allow more people to enjoy the experience.  However, we rely entirely on outside financial support and fundraising activities for our facility costs, office equipment, ski equipment additions and replacement.   What began as a modest program for ten students has grown into a true community of outdoor enthusiasts, who graciously share their time and passion for the outdoors with Ignite, its students, and each other.

Eldora Mountain Logo

History

In 1975, a small group of passionate people saw an opportunity to enhance the lives of individuals with disabilities by providing them access to Colorado’s great winter sport of skiing. This dedicated group, in partnership with Eldora Mountain Resort, began with 10 students and has grown into a volunteer team of over 230 people serving over 300 students each year.

Today, outdoor sport enthusiasts of all ages and disabilities are welcome to take part in our nationally recognized program. Our dedicated team donates between 15,000 – 20,000 hours (worth more than $350,000 according to The Independent Sector) of their time and energy each year to provide private snow sport lessons to hundreds of people living with disabilities in Colorado. This includes wounded active duty and military veterans served through a US Paralympic Military Program Ignite developed in 2009, in collaboration with the U.S. Olympic Committee.

While other adaptive winter sports programs exist in Colorado, Ignite is the only comprehensive program located along the Front Range and the only program accessible by RTD’s public transportation system.

Read more about Ignite Adaptive Sports

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