Once again drawing from the extensive list of leadership that inhabit our canyon, your correspondent chose Elizabeth Kimball as the next profile. Elizabeth has occupied one of the favorite person spots for this writer for many years.
Wasatch Adaptive Sports (WAS) is Little Cottonwood’s own program to help individuals with adaptive needs increase their freedom through skiing and boarding at Snowbird and Alta. As their fearless leader, the Chicago native’s identity growing up was, “to move my body, mostly through sports.”
At UC Berkely she played lacrosse and was introduced to her first nonprofit organization and the power of seeing people help themselves. After a nonprofit stint in South America she followed some of her family members to Utah and fell in love with the mountains. Shocking…
During the 2012/13 season she worked as a tram driver at the Bird and there she met WAS founder Peter Mandler.
“I learned that skiing could be so much more than a sport. Resilience and Joy.”
Fast forward to 2017 and she found herself at the helm of WAS. Something which she holds as a great honor.
Canyon Blog: So, give us some sense of WAS and how you see it.
Elizabeth Kimball: At its heart there’s a sense of shared passion and community. And a belief in mountains and space. Our programs apply to both.
CB: It would seem that it’s a people driven community itself.
EK: Oh yes, our staff and volunteers embrace WAS because of their access to mountains and the power of movement to a community who would not have access to it otherwise.
To your correspondent that is human purpose and manifestation at its best. Is there anything she’d add for our readers who are interested in WAS?
EK: Yes! Come play with us! It’s more powerful than you can imagine.
It’s not hard to see why the WAS team, and its leader, are known for their enthusiasm and sense of community. To learn more or volunteer, and everyone is welcome, even crusty veteran writers such as Canyon Blog, visit them at https://wasatchadaptivesports.org/.
Thanks Elizabeth!