Posted Friday, January 20th, 2012 by Claire
The Berthoud Weekly Surveyor helps to get the word out about BOEC’S programs being offered for adults living with MS. This article offers the unique perspective of both what it is like living with MS as well being a BOEC participant.
More Information about the upcomming Winter Program http://www.boec.org/2012/03/03/adventures-within-ski-camp-march-6-10-2010/
Posted Monday, January 16th, 2012 by Claire
Outdoor Active Retreat (OAR)
This is a new Winter Ski Camp Designed for adults living with Parkinson’s
During the 5 day 4 night program participants will enjoy Alpine and or Nordic Skiing, Adaptive Yoga, stretching and movement exercises. Participants will be able to enjoy activities, and share experiences and challenges in a fun and safe environment. Program will be based in Breckenridge at the Scott Griffith Lodge.
Included in the program are, healthy meals, specialty equipment, professional instruction and 24 hour staffing. All participants should be independent with personal care tasks or provide a personal care attendant.
This is a great opportunity to get active while facing the many challenges of living with PD.
Cost of the program: $850.00
Scholarship may be available on a need basis
Please email or call the BOEC for more information.
1-800-383-2632 wildassist@boec.org
Posted Monday, December 12th, 2011 by tfc-control
Ski Holiday Hiatus–This five-day camp is designed for adults with traumatic brain injuries and consists of adaptive skiing and riding, and fun staying at our Scott Griffith Lodge at the base of the Breckenridge Ski Resort. Cost:$750 includes all lodging, meals, on-course transportation, ski instruction, equipment and lift tickets.
Please Call the BOEC for all the details: 1-800-383-2632 ext. 16
Posted Sunday, December 4th, 2011 by tfc-control
“If I can do this, I can do anything!” 
The Annual Hartford Ski Spectacular, an event of Disabled Sports USA and local chapter host BOEC, will be held December 4 – 11, 2011 at the Breckenridge Ski Resort and the Beaver Run Lodge. Hundreds of skiers and riders from around the country will enjoy a week of skiing and riding, as well as ongoing clinics and races. This is also a signature event for wounded warriors who want to pursue skiing and competitive skiing. Call BOEC at 970 453-6422 or visit www.dsusa.org for more information.
Posted Saturday, October 15th, 2011 by tfc-control
The North Face Never Stop Exploring Series
Mark Synnott, Rock Climber
Life on the Vertical
Mark Synnott has a mission: seek out and climb the world’s most remote cliffs. For Mark, the journey is as important as the climb, and his quest has taken him to the Arctic, Asia’s Karakoram Mountains, and Amazonian jungles. Exploring seldom-seen places is his specialty: most recently he discovered the Ennedi desert of Chad in North Africa, where he and his team of top-notch climbers made first ascents of surreal and other-worldly rock spires and arches. Mark is a skilled raconteur who tempers his tales of high adrenalin with droll humor. Featuring breathtaking images, this evening with Mark is a celebration of adventure.
VIP Reception tickets, which include preferred seating, a meet & greet with Mark, beer, wine and light food will be held at The North Face Breckenridge, 322 South Main Street, 970-453-1613. Ticket sales will benefit Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center. Many thanks to our sponsor, The North Face Breckenridge!
Date: October 15, 2011, 7:00 PM
Cost: Guaranteed Seating $8.00, VIP Reception and Guaranteed Seating $20.00, Free Seating as Available
Location: Riverwalk Center, 150 West Adams Avenue, Breckenridge, Colorado
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit http://www.thenorthface.com/en_US/get-outdoors/speaker_series/29-mark-synnott/ or call 970-547-3100.
Posted Monday, July 11th, 2011 by Bruce
Hope Mountain Camp, an American Cancer Society camp for siblings of children with cancer, happened June 24-27 and this is my traditional recap……except this is going to be the BEST one yet!!
This year we did the same activities, but in NEW places. We camped on Friday and Saturday nights, both in amazing places. We rock climbed at Camp Hale (very beautiful and very interesting place) and we rafted the Colorado River. As per tradition, we tackled the ropes course on the last day.
Why such little commentary you may ask…. well this year I have the BEST thing ever for you all…. you get to actually SEE and FEEL camp. One of our amazing campers filmed the entire weekend and made a video!! I really really REALLY hope all of you will take the 10 minutes and watch the video ALL the way through, its so amazing and really gives you a good peak at how special Hope Mountain Camp is.. and what it means to our kids who come.
Here is the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM0b-IdJc8s
I also want to share with all of you a poem that this same camper wrote. She was inspired by our sharing circle and how the kids really rallied around each other. This year, I saw more positivity and encouragement than I had ever seen before during our circle…. and as always their strength and insight inspires and touches me.
Here is the poem:
Green, Yellow, Red, Green
A poem by Kaylee Pratt, Inspired by Hope Mountain Camp
Yellow light, red light, green light,
GO!
We’re born in this world
With nothing to know.
You play in the sun,
You play in the snow,
But then you get sick,
And go through chemo.
Life is a road,
And you are the car.
You can’t control death
To be near or be far.
Of all the places,
You go and you see,
You look through a window,
With no liberty.
An octagon sign
That tells you to stop.
The road is too short,
But in case there’s a cop,
You lay on the breaks,
And gather your thoughts,
And watch all the healthy
Pedestrians cross.
Sometimes you may help
Hitchhikers so sad,
A sibling, a friend,
A mom, or a dad.
They heal your scars,
You brush off their sand,
But sometimes you cry harder
When they hold your hand.
And sometimes a blessing
May cross your path.
A beautiful butterfly
Whose name was once Zach,
A bumper sticker
That may make you laugh,
A pretty new wig
Or a new floppy hat.
No U-turns,
No turning around,
One way street
Where maturity is found.
It’s been quite a while
Since your feet touched the ground.
Your road is as long
As your golden heart pounds.
You pass all the lights,
But follow the signs.
You play it safe,
Don’t cross yellow lines.
I have been here
With your hand in mine.
And really, the road
Is bumpy but fine.
Yellow light, red light, green light,
GO!
You’ve made it through
Much more than you know.
I’ve seen you hide,
And I’ve watched you grow.
You’ve reached the highway:
A long, smooth road.
I also want to take the time to thank the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center… the staff there really worked with me on putting together the best Hope Mountain Camp we could under our circumstances and our course director remains to be the BEST we’ve ever had (I shudder to think what I might have to do to work with someone different). She keeps us organized, on schedule and IN FUN. Once again, the BOEC continues to hire GREAT interns and ours this session fall into that category. And one last huge thank you to Erik Ortiz, as you will see or saw in the video.. he is a GREAT help to me at camp and the kids ADORE him. Thanks for being there Big E!
Amanda Childs, American Cancer Society
Posted Wednesday, June 1st, 2011 by Bruce
by Elizabeth McKee, 2010 BOEC Intern
Watching the sun set on the mountains around the Upper Arkansas River Valley on the way home from a road trip to the Sand Dunes National Park, I almost forget just how crammed I am in the backseat of a Corolla with three other people. (I say “almost” because getting my camera out of my bag to capture the moment requires all of us to move at least four body parts.) Sitting in silence, it’s one of those rare instances I have experienced in my life when I have felt like there is absolutely nowhere I would rather be and nothing else I would rather be doing. I am in the moment, taking it all in, thinking to myself how much I am enjoying my life. The typical stresses and worries that creep to the forefront of my mind in daily life to negate this feeling for even a self-proclaimed optimist are nowhere in sight.
It dawns on me how seemingly random but then again not so random it is that this is where I am in my life. Less than three months ago, I never would have imagined I could have a “job” that doesn’t feel like a “job.” I never imagined I would be “working” for 37 cents an hour and loving every second of it. Six weeks ago, I never would have imagined that I would be able to call the other five people in the car, essentially strangers, my friends. Before coming to the BOEC, I was not able to even imagine the gravity of what I was getting myself into.
It all started last summer when I was working as an occupational therapist at a hospital in my hometown in Wichita, KS. Whether it was that I found myself living at home again as a 26-year-old when I had sworn that would never even be an option or that I was feeling physically and emotionally burnt out from working a job that requires constantly “being on,” I knew I was ready for a change. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family and my job, but I knew I was not as happy as I could be given my current life situation. Having had some luck just jumping into new life experiences (ie just “trying” OT as a major or moving to Montana sight unseen on a whim), I applied to the BOEC. After all, I have heard someone say life was 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. What was the worst that could happen? I would have to hang out in Colorado for five months and come home broke afterwards?
Thinking back over my past six weeks as in intern here at the BOEC, I am realizing that’s just the way it had to be. I had to come here. I have an overwhelming premonition that this will be the pivotal time in my life, the point of reference I will make in X number of years as I trace what has lead me to where I am. I feel confident it is the first step on my path to finding my treasure, the intrinsic happiness that accompanies doing something you truly love. I do not know how or when or what that may be yet, but I am undoubtedly convinced the universe has conspired to put me where I need to be to figure that out. Specifically, I have managed to surround myself with people who will help me on my journey, whether they ever realize it or not.
Really thinking about the people I have met and the experiences I have had on courses has been a daunting task; it has turned out to be much more difficult and cathartic that I ever imagined. My experience with both staff and participants at the BOEC has left me with palpable emotions I have been almost unwilling to acknowledge until now, having suspected their true strength and wanting to be prepared to be able to understand and incorporate them into my life. I knew the magnitude of my experiences here thus far comes with great responsibility, as being lucky enough to have had them requires a “pay it forward” toll in such a keenly karmic universe. I have been forced to look inward, to challenge my perspective and life as I knew it as an admittedly selfish 26-year-old…the life I knew before coming to the BOEC.
I must ask myself daily if I would have the courage I have seen in so many participants. It is more than courage to do the Ropes Course or go rafting, although in many ways these parallel the bravery the individuals who come here must have simply to get through each day in their own personal life. It was the courage I saw in a participant with ALS to let go of the anger he felt over being “surprised” with a terminal illness, to seek advice on how to stay upbeat and positive. It was the courage of spouses of these participants with ALS to provide care and emotional support 24 hours a day when they are really the ones who will have the longest and hardest road ahead on their own. It is the courage the participants exhibit daily to not let their “disability” interfere with life, regardless of physical and emotional obstacles…to carry on even if you need someone to help you get dressed or go to the bathroom…those little things we all take for granted.
I have had to ask myself how much do I appreciate all that I value in my life? How would I react if it was all suddenly taken away from me and I was forced to change my values and priorities? The first time I met Dave during the ALS course, his smile lit up the entire room. Having lost all ability to swallow, he told us the towel in his mouth was “just for looks, girls” as he winked. Typing out messages on his iPhone as his only means of communication, he said he stays upbeat by “just appreciating what I do have that works,” even if it is only his right hand. His motto in life is “No matter how bad things get, seems you always have a choice of ham, bacon or sausage.” Would I be able to say that? How much do I worry about such comparatively trivial matters on a daily basis?
The ability to “adapt and overcome” as taught by the BOEC is most exemplified in our participants, although the motto in theory may have been designed to guide a fledgling intern trying to figure out how to “make it work” if you screw something up. Meeting a 38-year-old man whose brain injury cost him his marriage, family and use of his right side who says he is “extremely grateful” for his accident because of the knowledge and faith it has brought to him is epitome of the real life application of this concept.
To have participants with such challenges in their own life thanking me of all people for the experience they had while here at the BOEC has been the most overwhelming aspect during courses. If they only knew how thankful I was to be able to spend time with them! Each participant I have met has been such an inspiration, not only by their willingness to trust in us and try something new, but to see glimpses of what daily life back at home is like and their ability to maintain optimism. They have no idea that their acceptance, happiness, gratitude, and strength to overcome adversity offer invaluable insight into what it really means to be live a life worth living that truly incorporates all these qualities.
What they also do not know is that my motives during each course have been entirely selfish, as I can’t stop thinking about what I can take home from each experience. Each person I have met has offered me some tool to use to become the person I want to be when I “grow up.” I am reminded of a line from my favorite book, Paulo Cuehlo’s “The Alchemist”: “Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure. You’ve got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense.”
I can say undoubtedly that the people I have met and the experiences I have had in this short time as a BOEC intern are bringing me a step closer to finding my treasure in life. And one day I will be able to make sense of it all, but for now I am content just to know I am a passenger in the backseat on the way to my next big adventure. I am headed in the right direction, and I surprisingly feel fortunate to be so crammed next to “strangers” who I know are essential to my journey. I can look out at the sun on the mountains and be in the moment, as I think to myself how much I enjoy and appreciate my life as a BOEC intern.
Posted Tuesday, March 29th, 2011 by Bruce
With more than 2,000 participants — from 17 foreign countries and 40 states — utilizing the many BOEC programs just this year, that certainly can’t be disputed. Neither can the impact that Dayton and the rest of the local Nordic ski community has on helping the BOEC’s cause. More than 200 people gathered at the Breckenridge Nordic Center on Saturday for the ninth annual Breckebeiner 60k Ski-A-Thon and Snowshoe Bash, a fundraiser for the BOEC’s Tuition Assistance Fund.
“It’s a wonderful time for people to get together and enjoy the sport and come together around a cause that truly celebrates life,” said Dayton, founder of the event, operator of the Nordic center and one of the co-founders of the BOEC.
The mission of the foundation is to offer “life-changing outdoor activities for a diverse population of people” with mental and physical disabilities, serious illnesses, injured veterans, youth at risk and other special needs. And Saturday, people spun laps around the Nordic center’s trail system to help raise funds. participants took up sponsorship or pledged money on a per-kilometer basis. The final total is expected to be more than $20,000.
“Year number nine, and we’re hoping that we’ll double what’s been done in any previous years,” Dayton said.
They’re off to a good start. Dayton said this year’s event has an “open track” format, meaning people can do their skiing anytime during the week, up until April 1. Although, many opted to take part in Saturday’s festivities. With polka-style music — led by local accordion icon Helmut Fricker — as the backdrop, participants lapped around the center’s clubhouse, where dozens were gathered. Grills sizzled and the bonfires were blaring, and at the completion of each lap, participants were greeted to loud applause and some cow bells. People were dressed in costumes, some even unrecognizable, but the care for the cause was apparent.
“Many of our clients, because they’re disabled, don’t have very much money, so they wouldn’t be able to go on these experiences without the opportunities we provide,” BOEC executive director Bruce Fitch said.
The vast majority of people won’t make the 60k. Dayton said he expects 20 or so to do it. Many, though, are helping to raise substantial funds. Dayton said Mike Atkinson, pastor of Agape Outpost, has put up “thousands of dollars” this week for the BOEC.
“He pumped it up from the pulpit,” Dayton said with a laugh.
The event started nine years ago as Dayton’s 60th birthday party, when he asked friends and people in the community to ski with him to raise money for the BOEC. Dayton said it still gives him pride to see what the people of Breckenridge are willing to do for a noble cause.
“It’s a little town with a big heart, and it’s a town that serves the world,” Dayton said.
Posted Thursday, February 17th, 2011 by Bruce
For the months of February and March, Rutkey Distributing and Samuel Adams will donate a portion of sales proceeds to the BOEC from any Sam Adams purchased at the following locations:
Liquor Stores
Bars
Many thanks to Rutkey Distributing, Samuel Adams and all these participating businesses!
Posted Tuesday, November 30th, 2010 by tfc-control
Check out this story of a young girl, Sarah Holm from Wisconsin, coming to the BOEC Adaptive Ski Program through the Make a Wish Foundation:
http://wish.org/stories/sports_entertainment/sports/sarah_adaptive_ski_lessons
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