Challenge Aspen celebrates 30 years

After an accident in early childhood left Max Grange with cerebral palsy, unable to speak, and dependent on a wheelchair, it seemed unlikely he would ever get to fully enjoy the outdoors like other kids growing up in the Roaring Fork Valley. But Challenge Aspen made the impossible not only possible — it gave Grange a path to flourish.

He learned to ski. He took his high school geology final on top of Aspen Highlands. He even worked with an avalanche rescue dog. Now 37, he has been a fixture at every music and dance camp since he joined Challenge Aspen, where he’s built lifelong friendships.

“Challenge Aspen has allowed Max to not just participate alongside his peers in school, but to excel, especially on ski days,” said his mother, Katie Grange. “It gave him purpose, allowing him to participate in outdoor activities like any other child in the valley. I can’t imagine where we’d be without them.”

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Over the past three decades, Challenge Aspen has become a beacon of hope, creativity, and community — transforming lives through adaptive recreation and educational experiences designed for individuals with cognitive and physical disabilities.

A movement born in the mountains

The seeds of Challenge Aspen were planted in 1991 when Houston Cowan met Peter Maines, a blind skier navigating Ajax Mountain with help from Blind Outdoor Leisure Development (BOLD).

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“I was so intrigued that I asked him if he could train me on how to guide blind skiers when I came back in 1992,” Cowan recalled.

With training from BOLD instructors, he returned to the slopes as a guide. There, he met two key people: Ed Lucks, a Snowmass pharmacist who had founded the Aspen Handicapped Skiers Association, and Amanda Boxtel, then the director of BOLD, who had recently become paralyzed in a skiing accident.

After her injury, Boxtel’s world changed, but her passion for skiing never faded. She traveled to Breckenridge, and through the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center — one of the few adaptive programs at the time — she relearned to ski in a mono-ski.

“I was white-knuckled, shaking, and trembling, but eventually, I got my confidence back,” she said. “Soon after, I was able to obtain my certification to teach skiing.”

It was Cowan who first urged her to try a sit-ski.

“I told Amanda that I would love to get her in a sit-ski, and, boy, when that happened, did Amanda fly down the mountain,” he said with a smile.

Inspired by shared purpose and Boxtel’s return to the slopes, she and Cowan started dreaming bigger. Joined by Lucks, the “grandfather of adaptive skiing,” they envisioned a program broader and more inclusive than anything Aspen had seen before.

Lucks had been pioneering adaptive equipment since the early ’80s, working with amputee children at Craig Hospital and tinkering with sit-ski prototypes when the field was still in its infancy. Duct tape, Cowan jokes, was “the most important piece of gear in my toolbox. We even tried to get duct tape as a sponsor at one point.”

From janitor’s closet to national leader

Challenge Aspen’s first headquarters were humble: a janitor’s closet at the base of Snowmass shared with stacks of resort toilet paper.

“We had one sit-ski and a couple of crutch skis for stand-up amputees,” Cowan said. He still remembers the day the Snowmass mountain manager saw Boxtel buried in toilet paper while being fitted into a sit-ski. “He said, ‘We need to do something about this.'”

The organization’s scrappy beginnings quickly gave way to a more permanent home as community support grew. Aspen Skiing Company provided office space, and, with Luck’s technical ingenuity, Challenge Aspen developed cutting-edge adaptive ski equipment tailored to individual needs.

“This experience showed me the power of giving to another,” Boxtel said. “Ever since I was paralyzed, I’ve had this indelible desire to give back and serve others.”

And serve they did. As their knowledge deepened and equipment improved, Challenge Aspen expanded its reach to support individuals with vision loss, spinal cord injuries, cognitive disabilities, and more.

“Instructors have built prototypes and come up with ways to create adaptations so that every person with a disability can find some activity and joy in the mountains,” said Executive Director Lindsay Cagley.

Building community through adventure

One of Challenge Aspen’s most impactful expansions came in 2004, with the launch of its Military Opportunities (CAMO) program offering adaptive recreation to veterans with service-connected injuries. Held each spring in Snowmass, CAMO helps veterans reconnect to themselves, nature, and one another through shared outdoor experiences.

It’s this attention to the individual that sets Challenge Aspen apart.

“If you know one person with a disability, you know one person with a disability,” Cagley said. The organization is known for creating highly customized programs based on each participant’s unique needs.

Now offering year-round programming — from rafting and hiking to music, dance, and mountain biking — Challenge Aspen continues to innovate. New grant funding is helping launch a full-scale adaptive mountain biking program.

“For the next 30 years, we are working towards year-round activities,” Cagley said.

And, just as in the beginning, collaboration fuels their mission.

“The future starts with strong partnerships,” she said. “It’s our land managers, municipalities, private businesses, and local nonprofits, all working together to figure out how we can be the most inclusive and welcoming community for people with disabilities.”

A legacy of empowerment

Danielle Coulter, born with cerebral palsy, was one of the first children to take part in Challenge Aspen’s programming. She was just four years old when her mom signed her up for ski lessons and play camp, an experience that changed her life.

She still remembers meeting Boxtel that day, and she’s stayed involved ever since.

“Whatever time of the year it is, I know that people will have a blast of a lifetime with Challenge Aspen,” Coulter said.

With the help of Challenge Aspen’s adaptive equipment, she became the world’s first adaptive snowboarder. And, along the way, she met Grange — the two have been friends ever since.

As Challenge Aspen celebrates its 30th anniversary, its impact can be seen in every ski turn, every song sung, and every friendship formed on the mountain.

“We are looking for flexibility and mobility in our programming to serve people where they live and introduce those with disabilities to new sports and activities,” said Cagley. “We want to make sure people have a choice in their activities.”

Challenge Aspen’s journey from a ski-side janitor’s closet to a national model of adaptive recreation is nothing short of extraordinary. Through its unwavering belief in potential, its celebration of individuality, and its deep roots in the Roaring Fork Valley, it continues to inspire — and will for decades to come.