Adaptive Biking at Fernie Alpine Resort
Scott Patterson has surfed all over the world, swam the English Channel in a relay, and represented Canada as an athlete three times in three different sports. He’s also spent the last 40 years in a wheelchair.
This summer, when the BC Cup Dunbar Series came to Fernie Alpine Resort, there were top athletes from all over the world—many of them were adaptive athletes like Scott. Unfortunately, the media doesn’t always pick these athletes to tell stories about, which stifles the growth of the adaptive category of downhill mountain biking.
Huddled under the Kootenay Adaptive Sport Association tent at the base of Timber Chair, I was surrounded by people in wheelchairs and the sleek, powerful adaptive bikes these athletes use. Almost exactly a year ago, my best friend Annijke Wade crashed while mountain biking, resulting in a spinal cord injury (SCI). This devastating injury turned Annijke’s world upside down, but making connections with the adaptive community has been a central part of her healing process.
Annijke at Fernie Alpine Resort
The anniversary of Annijke’s accident (her “Alive Day”) fell on the same day as the BC Cup event at Fernie. Attending the event in Fernie had been a large motivating factor during her ongoing recovery. Annijke said, “It’s been an amazing experience to meet and be a part of this community. These are some of the top adaptive mountain bikers in the world. So many of the people here have been very integral in the last year of my life and have been willing to chat, connect and support from afar – it’s great to meet people in person.”
Supporting Annijke over the previous year made me aware of just how able-bodied our world is. It also made me realize that within the action sports world, there is so much we can do to address inclusion that will ultimately cultivate belonging for everyone, regardless of ability or background. Unfortunately, our society is so ‘able-bodied’ that we generally ignore the fact that at any moment, any able-bodied person can become a member of the disabled community with the tiniest accident, freak mistake, or miscalculation.
After learning so much about adaptive sports through Annijke’s injury, I’ll admit that I was surprised that this was only the second year there was adaptive downhill racing at the BC Cup level. While it is significant progress, there’s more we can all do to amplify the needs of the adaptive sport community and grow sports such as these.
Through my chats with the adaptive athletes and their support crew (most notably Mike Riediger, the executive director of the Kootenay Adaptive Sport Association), I began to understand that advocacy starts with representation. Given that this was the first year there was a full adaptive category for the Dunbar series (recognized within the BC Cup), my hope is that it’s only the beginning of attracting athletes from all over the globe.
Adaptive Racer at BC Cup Ph: Ryan Schultz
“It’s my Christmas,” Sierra Roth, an adaptive athlete, said. Sierra raced motocross for 10 years before her accident. This was her first full year racing with her adaptive bike, made by Bowhead. Sierra said it’s the highlight of her entire year to be able to connect with other adaptive riders. “Not only is it community, but I push myself here and learn from others. I guess you could say I come for the racing, stay for the vibes.”
I asked a few of the athletes what people can do to support adaptive mountain biking and adaptive sports in general. Scott said, “Just come and watch the races.” He added that making trails that are “more adaptive friendly” is also beneficial for beginner riders, not just those on adaptive bikes.
Sierra doubled down on the need to increase awareness of adaptive riding. “It’s all about awareness. Once [people] understand what we need, it’s not that far outside of the norm. Adaptive trails and access make it easier for everyone to be involved.”
Ethan Krueger travelled from Vancouver, where he works as a Rehab Equipment Specialist, just to attend this race. This was his second year racing, and he sees so much more possibility than just being in the BC Cup. “It’s great that Dunbar recognized the adaptive category, but we need to spread the word of adaptive riding and racing into more of Canada and the USA. Not just recreation, but legitimize the sport globally… right now, they need to come here to do it.” He hopes that creating a pathway for more riders into the Paralympics will help establish adaptive mountain biking as a Paralympic sport.
Ph: Danyal Taylor
Mike Riediger from Kootenay Adaptive Sport Association planned the entire adaptive event this year and hopes the exposure will get people excited, eventually filtering more adaptive riders into race development programs. “But it’s really about advocating for better access to trails,” Mike said. “It’s happening organically in British Columbia because our work focuses on creating advocates instead of leaving it to individual adaptive sport organizations to advocate.”
One of these incredible advocates was Kineret “Kiné” Muñoz. Kiné travelled from Puerto Natales in Chilean Patagonia simply to be immersed in the adaptive community. Kiné used to work as a guide in the famous Torres del Paine National Park before a car accident left her paralyzed a decade ago. Kiné spent this past summer travelling all over the US and Canada to meet with adaptive organizations and athletes to learn how to advocate and create something similar in Chile. “There’s nothing like this where I am. I have a dream of buying land and creating a space for other disabled people to come and learn how to bike.”
This model of educating the athletes and individuals allows advocacy to take a more organic route than relying on an annual bike race series. For example, my friend Annijke is supporting Kootenay Adaptive by working towards a goal of eventually becoming an adaptive mountain bike coach.
Ph: Danyal Taylor
“I wanted to make new memories,” Annijke shared with me. “It was so important for me to begin to connect with the adaptive mountain biking world. I’m in awe. The level of skill and athleticism represented in the adaptive category is beyond incredible. Being able to witness this event has allowed me to see what’s possible and even given me some goals to set for myself in the sport and my recovery.”
Even though the downhill course itself is a bit daunting for new riders to try right away, it always comes back to representation. As a female athlete, I used to crane my neck to watch the glimpse of a woman grace the big screen at any annual ski film premiere. Now we are fortunate enough to see more representation across many intersectional identities, but there needs to be intentional investment and support from businesses, organizers, and bike clubs to ensure we are pushing to include the disabled community as well.
Fernie Ski Patrol’s Mentorship Legacy and Future
How does mentorship play a role in professional development on the mountain?
Fernie Alpine Resort is home to some of the best skiing and snowboarding in Western Canada. With the elite terrain and large snowfall comes huge responsibilities for ski patrollers. Besides getting to ski powder while the rest of us wait with nervous anticipation for the lifts to open or the rope to drop—they are carrying the mental (and physical!) weight of keeping the mountain safe for everyone and often dealing with multiple incidents on top of heavy snowfall and tricky avalanche conditions. It requires an incredible amount of teamwork, compassion, strength, and mental fortitude.
But how do you succeed as a professional ski patroller, and what challenges are there for women in these roles? Data shows that only 23% of pro patrollers are women today.
I sat down with a few Fernie Alpine Resort legends to learn more about how mentorship has factored into the success of past, present, and future female professional ski patrollers.
Sue Boyd is a local Fernie legend. She started her career as a professional ski patroller in Blackcomb back in 1985, where she was one of six women on the roster. When Sue was hired at Fernie Snow Valley in 1990, she was the only female professional ski patroller until 1996. (Sue notes that she was not the first female professional ski patroller—there was another woman there in the early 80s). One of the claims to fame that Sue does have: she was the first female Ski Patrol Leader at Fernie Alpine Resort from 2002 to 2005.
Sue has a long list of achievements that go well beyond her role as a Patrol Leader in Fernie. She was a Canadian Freestyle Ski Team member and competed in moguls, aerials, and ski ballet at the World Cup Level. As a CARDA dog handler, she has trained and certified three avalanche rescue dogs throughout her career. She’s taught Non-stop ski patrol training courses and AST courses. She worked at Island Lake Lodge for eight years as a tail guide and snow safety and explosives trainer. And if that isn’t cool enough, she also has led backcountry horse trips in the mountains around Canada.
Sue credits her success in her career on snow to being a good listener, someone who pays close attention and asks meaningful questions. She also says having something in common with the person you are learning from helps.
When I asked Sue if she’s ever had the chance to mentor someone else, she highlighted that her success and experiences in the mountains mirror many life lessons we tend to learn over time. Meaning? It’s all about just getting along with folks. “I didn’t think of it as ‘I’m the mentor, you’re the mentee,’ it just happened. If someone wanted to learn from me, and I felt accepted as being able to teach them, and we got on well, I would share my knowledge and experience. Personalities are a big part of it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. There has to be mutual respect at both ends.”
I asked Fernie Alpine Resort’s current ski patrol director, Tyler Steen, about Sue: “Sue was definitely a mentor to me. [She] has a level of professionalism that no one can mimic.” I asked for specifics with regard to how he defines professionalism in the ski patrol sense, and Tyler said, “Sue treated everyone the same way: She always looked at the uniform and not the person in the uniform. Even when she wasn’t actively mentoring, it would be visual. Sue always acted with the skill, talent and confidence everyone admired. I took every opportunity to observe and learn as she performed the job efficiently and effectively. She was a true professional ski patroller that we were lucky to have.”
This underscores the fact that there needs to be mutual respect for a mentor-mentee relationship to blossom. Tyler added, “this idea of a formal mentorship program for ski patrollers isn’t as straightforward as you would think. You can’t pair a Level 4 patroller with a Level 1 [patroller] just because it makes sense on paper. The person who’s learning needs to be willing to accept the knowledge being shared.”
Zooming forward from Sue’s reign on FAR patrol, I also had the chance to catch up with Olivia Johnson, a Senior First Aid Officer on professional ski patrol with Fernie.
Olivia, affectionately known as “OJ”, has been on Fernie’s professional patrol squad for six seasons. “When I first started on patrol, there was still a ‘macho culture’ among the women on patrol. I wanted to do everything I could to break down that thinking. I always felt like I had to prove that I was better than the other women I worked with, or that I was a better skier, or better at this, or better at that. Thankfully there has been a big culture shift in the last six years. I work with some fantastic women who don’t need to compete with other women because of their gender. I also work with some fantastic men that fully understand that women are just as capable (if not more capable) than them and let us feel heard. The barriers are breaking down, and it feels great.”
Tyler says this inclusive attitude is something he and the Assistant Patrol Director, Megan Kelly, actively cultivate. “We have created a mentorship culture that encourages people to actively seek out that mentorship from whoever and wherever they can get that from. If we’re doing it right, anyone can participate. Our main job is to give the individual the opportunity to succeed, and it’s up to them to take advantage of it.”
Sue might have been the first female lead patroller at Fernie Alpine Resort, but it’s clear that the team invests in gender diversity through its “hands-off’ mentorship approach that encourages the ‘whole’ person to show up for the job and be willing to work hard on a team with a positive attitude and curiosity for learning. It’s exciting for Fernie to have more women in leadership positions and cultivate an atmosphere that elevates that as a norm and not an exception.
This weekend Fernie Ski Patrol will be hosting a recruitment day for interested future patrollers to learn more about what the job entails and what it’s like to work on mountain safety, first aid, and avalanche safety as a professional ski patroller. Tyler Steen says there are already nine women signed up, and of the 44 current professional ski patrollers at Fernie Alpine Resort, 14 identify as female.
With this in mind, being a good, professional ski patroller is not about being the raddest skier on the mountain. Some of the challenges we face today with regard to inclusion in this career can be solved by limiting our biases and being open and willing to learn, ask questions, and treat each other with respect and as equals.
