University of New Mexico Ph.D. student Mike Adams uses skiing, like many of use, to decompress from the stresses of life. Unlike most people on the mountain, Adams’s approach to the sport earned him the title as Adaptive Sports Program New Mexico’s (ASPNM) 2025 Athlete of the Year.
Adams has cerebral palsy, leading to unpredictable and imprecise movement which require him to have assistance with many things like eating, writing, and getting around. With skiing, Adams hits the slopes with the assistance of someone tethered behind him, but he doesn’t use fixed outriggers or ski poles attached to the ski to assist with balance and turning.
Adams finds that skiing with outriggers can remove some of the decision-making and challenge that brings the thrill into the sport. Without them athletes are significantly more likely to fall over, so Adams and the skier tethered to him are forced work in tandem to keep him moving.
Adams received the Athlete of the Year Award at the ASPNM Snow Ball where $100,000 was raised for scholarships and high-end equipment needed to support the athletes in the program. You can read more about Adams and the ASPNM here.
“Many of us say that innovations like skiing without outriggers increase the independence of our athletes, and they do, but at least in my life, I cannot be independent. But, I would rather ski with my friends here any day.” – Mike Adams
