“I love being out on the [cross-country] trails, because unlike downhill skiing in a monoski, where I have to depend on others to help me get on and off the lift, I can set up my cross-country gear by myself, and it’s much lighter than an Alpine monoski,” Stone said.

As the director of mission at Teton Adaptive Sports, Stone, 37, hopes to expand the cross-country skiing program at Teton Adaptive Skiing this winter and share his love of the sport.

“We’re kind of testing the water out, to see if a partnership with JH Nordic will work, and we’re hoping this winter season to have a few evenings to allow some TAS athletes to try out some of our gear; we’re going to assess the need and desire,” Stone said. “We have some great trails around here. Other areas have really hilly terrain, but here we have a great trail system that is mostly flat, making it more inclusive.”

Inclusivity is something you’ll hear Stone talk about a lot. He knows first-hand that the biggest hurdle is often confronting the stigma people associate with physically and mentally challenged athletes.

Having been an athlete since he was a young boy, he experienced disappointment when he realized he couldn’t reach the heights to be a professional roller-blader, so he turned his sights to the sky and became an accomplished sky diver, base jumper and speed glider jumping off mountains and cliffs.

You might be surprised to learn that Stone still flies in the sky with adaptive gliding gear that has a landing sled with wheels. He is also a competitive adaptive mountain biker in the summer.

“There’s so much we can still do, and we can make the magic happen,” Stone said.

“We partner with [Jackson Hole Mountain Resort] where we can provide some of the equipment, give scholarship funds, and we help train the JHMR adaptive instructors, ski patrol and the lifties,” he said.

Scholarship funds are needed by the program because a fully outfitted sit ski frame with the newest technology can cost a disabled athlete $8,000 to $10,000. The expense of the equipment alone is often a barrier for adaptive athletes to get outside in the winter, Stone said.

Every disability is different, he said, but if there’s a passion and will, there’s a way.

“When you find your passion, you have an increased quality of life,” Stone said. “You have to stay curious and engaged and this passion will grab you. Even now, I ask myself, whether on skis or a bike, how fast? And how far? I still challenge myself and set goals — it’s what keeps me going. The accident didn’t change my passion.”

Besides his sports, Stone’s other passion is helping others with disabilities to get outside, especially in the winter when it may not be as easy.

“People have perceived limitations, but it’s a mental state,” he said. “It’s been proven that if you get outdoors it improves your mental health and outlook on life in general.”

JHMR’s adaptive program

JHMR adaptive ski director Brian Guido looked at his computer screen as he checked his adaptive ski lessons for the day and remarked how JHMR’s program is getting busier and busier.

“We do have repeat customers who love our mountain program, and we try to make each lesson, no matter their need, individualized,” Guido said. “Our goal is to make skiing accessible to anyone.”

Stone added that Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has been responsive to suggestions he’s made to make the resort more accessible.

“For a couple of families this is their spot, they return here every year, because there are many places where adaptive sports don’t exist, even though since 1990 and the passage of the [American with Disabilities Act], public areas are supposed to make places inclusive to everyone,” Stone said. “JHMR has done a good job, and that’s probably why some families return every year.”

Inside Guido’s office are two Tetra Skis that allow a person who’s paralyzed from the neck down to ski controlling the Tetra Ski through a vent, using breath puff control. Each Tetra ski has a price tag of $25,000, Stone said.

Out on the snow

Adaptive ski instructor Audrey Lloyd was patiently teaching Hailey Burger, 22, how to snowplow on the bunny hill in front of the Sweetwater Lodge earlier this month. It was the first day that Burger had ever put on skis.

“I think I’m going to be very sore after this,” Burger said with a big smile and giggle.

Burger lives with a traumatic brain injury and is aware and acknowledges that most people, upon meeting her, don’t see a disability.

Sometimes, when people don’t see a physical disability, they aren’t as compassionate and understanding, Lloyd said. But she feels that people with cognitive impairments should also be given consideration.