Challenge Aspen brings back Limitless Mountain Challenge fundraiser for second year
Challenge Aspen/Courtesy photo
Two decades after a ski accident nearly killed him, Bobby Layman continues to be one of Challenge Aspen’s biggest supporters. After all, the Snowmass-based organization was instrumental in getting him moving again.
“They gave me a new reason after my crash I had on Snowmass Mountain,” he said Thursday. “They gave me something more to look forward to.”
This winter marks the 20th anniversary of his accident, which he refers to as his “alive day” each year. He was a high school sophomore at the time of his December 2003 accident; he eventually graduated from Rifle High School in 2006.
On top of substantial injuries to his chest and lungs, he dealt with a traumatic brain injury, which continues to impact him to this day. He penned a 2017 letter describing his ordeal that ran in The Aspen Times.
Challenge Aspen played an important role in his life after the Snowmass accident led to a “flight for life” helicopter ride to Grand Junction — he was too close to death to make it to Denver — three weeks in intensive care and another six months recovering in four different hospitals.
Layman eventually healed, became a certified adaptive instructor and paraprofessional teacher, and looks forward to giving back to Challenge Aspen at the second annual Limitless Mountain Challenge on Saturday at Snowmass Ski Area. It’s a fundraiser for Challenge Aspen that includes a downhill vertical skiing competition (take the chairlift up, ski down) and costume contest.
“It was really cool. I got to spend it with my wife and my child, and I didn’t think I would ever get a chance to do that,” Layman said of his 20th anniversary ski day back in December, while looking ahead to Saturday’s festivities. “It’s going to be a race, but we can take it at our own pace and that’s really cool. I like that aspect of it.”
He is competing as a team alongside his wife, Natasha, and son, Champion. The guys will wear costumes from the animated film, “Cars.”
Established in 1995, Challenge Aspen seeks to get people with disabilities back outside and moving by providing adaptive opportunities, largely through skiing and rafting. The organization hopes to raise $50,000 through the Limitless Mountain Challenge and was just over halfway there as of Thursday evening.
“We’ve got a ways to go, but I think this community can pull together and make it happen for us,” said Brenna Sandstrom, Challenge Aspen’s development director.
“Initially, we envisioned this as a downhill skiing competition, and that’s because all our participants can ski downhill,” she continued. “We thought that’s what made it accessible. After last year, as we started to re-imagine, we decided we wanted to make it even more accessible. So, we haven’t emphasized the downhill competition as much, but we have leaned into these scavenger hunt-style activities all across Snowmass where people can compete and learn about adaptive sports and also gain points that way. It’s super fun for the whole family.”
Instead of earning points by simply skiing as much vertical as possible, new this year are the various challenges spread across the mountain. This can include activities like skiing with only one leg or pushing a sit ski around cones.
Awards will also be handed out to those who had the most donors and raised the most money.
Challenge Aspen’s largest fundraisers had been its Denim & Diamonds Gala and its golf tournament, both held in the summer, but Sandstrom hopes the Limitless Mountain Challenge can become the centerpiece. Especially since it’s an event the entire community can take part in.
She expects around 100 people to participate in the on-mountain challenges and skiing on Saturday, with another 30 to 40 opting for the remote option.
“I would love this event to be our crown jewel,” she said. “We hope to include everybody, whether you are an adaptive athlete and one of our participants, or you might be new to the program, or if you are a family who just wants to get out there and support the community.”
For more, visit challengeaspen.org.
Challenge Aspen brings back Limitless Mountain Challenge fundraiser for second year
Two decades after a ski accident nearly killed him, Bobby Layman continues to be one of Challenge Aspen’s biggest supporters. After all, the Snowmass-based organization was instrumental in getting him moving again.
