Accessible Recreation in Breckenridge, CO
Colorado Nonprofit Offers Disabled Persons Accessible Adventures
Mar 10, 2009
The Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center (BOEC) seeks to expand the potential of people with disabilities through meaningful, educational, and inspiring outdoor experiences in such activities as adaptive skiing, riding, and cycling.
BOEC accessible recreation programs are designed for:
- Persons with physical, cognitive, and sensory disabilities
- People from low-income backgrounds or disadvantaged environments
- Organizations seeking more workplace unity among team members
- Youth seeking leadership development.
Courses are custom-designed for schools, agencies, and organizations; individuals can sign up for open-enrollment programs. BOEC’s facilities include a climbing wall and a high ropes course, as well as rafts, canoes, sea kayaks, cabins, and teepees.
BOEC Offers Accessible Recreation Programs For Persons with Disabilities and Special Needs
BOEC offers five accessible recreation programs:
- Adaptive Ski and Ride Program: Full and half day lessons for groups and individuals in adaptive skiing (Alpine and Nordic) and snowboarding
- Adaptive Wilderness Program: Courses offered in Breckenridge with “mobile” wilderness programs in areas throughout Colorado and Utah
- Youth Wilderness Program: Customized wilderness courses for schools and youth organizations
- Professional Challenge: Hands-on team building seminars for professional groups held onsite or as part of a corporate retreat
- Internship Program: Semester long training and work in adaptive recreation and education.
Open enrollment classes for 2009 include:
- Adaptive Skiing and Snowboarding
- Cycling (including hand cycling)
- Out of Sight Adventure Program (August 8 - 15, 2009): An eight-day program for visually impaired teenagers.
BOEC Skiing and Snowboarding Programs
BOEC thinks everyone, regardless of disability, should have the opportunity to enjoy learning to ski and snowboard. BOEC offers one-on-one instruction at the Breckenridge or Keystone Ski Resort using the latest in adaptive techniques and equipment. Lessons (which include lift tickets) are offered to skiers and snowboarders ages 4 and over. The season runs from mid December through mid April. Call 970.453.5633 to make a reservation.
BOEC Adaptive Cycling Program
BOEC offers group handcycling instruction and guided rides throughout the Rocky Mountains, including Summit County, Vail Pass, Glenwood Canyon, and the Mineral Belt Trail in Leadville. All rides start at the BOEC’s Keystone Adaptive Center. Rates include road or mountain handcycle, fitting, safety equipment, instruction and assistance (as needed), lunch, and transportation to and from the ride if required.
BOEC Out of Sight Adventure Program for Teens
BOEC offers an eight-day outdoor adventure program (August 8-15, 2009) designed to challenge and empower visually impaired teenagers ages 15-19 through adventure activities such as rock climbing, whitewater rafting, camping, and hiking. Brook Yates, a longtime BOEC course director, internship coordinator, and postgraduate student in blind orientation and mobility, will supervise the program, designed for physically and socially active teens. "It's a mobile program," says Yates, who attends Western Michigan University. "We'll be camping the entire time."
The program will also include a community service project, such as trail maintenance, Yates says.
Cost of the program is $900. Scholarship funds are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Call Brook Yates at 970.333.4035 for information.
Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center
PO Box 697
Breckenridge, CO 80424
970.453.6422
Above all, BOEC recreation programs foster breakthroughs, e.g. enabling a quadriplegia to find the courage to take on the high ropes course, or a blind woman to feel the thrill of downhill skiing. BOEC adventures unlock inner powers often obscured by limiting beliefs about what disabled people can do.
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