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THE YOUNG AGE OF 21, CANDACE CABLE LAY IN A HOS-pital bed thinking that her life was over. She lookedup at doctors as they told her that a car crash had sev-ered her spinal cord, and she would never walk again.

“My first thought was I will never feel the grass underneathmy feet again,” said Cable. At the time of the accident shewas living near Lake Tahoe and loved hiking in the Sierra.“The accident was so devastating because I couldn’t go backto what I knew, and I didn’t know how to approach what wasahead of me.”

Little did she know that what lay ahead was not a lifeof disappointment, but one of thrilling victories. After

such as the USDA Forest Service and Na-tional Park Service are making public landsaccessible. Also, inventive companies con-tinue to develop adaptive gear, which playsan important role in enabling disabled peo-ple to enjoy the outdoors.

Despite these advancements, the move-ment toward accessibility remains a slowand steady push. To understand just howslowly the wheels turn, consider the gov-ernment’s efforts to create accessibility rulesfor the likes of trails and picnic areas inparks and forests.

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PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ARE FINDING THAT OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES ARE MORE ANDMORE ACCESSIBLE—BUT IT’S A SLOW PROCESS.

earning a degree in physical education, she worked withdisabled athletes and discovered her own competitive spir-it. She would go on to be a competitive swimmer, anOlympic wheelchair racer and a member of the U.S. Dis-abled Ski Team. Now 50 years old, Cable has spent thelast 10 years competing with the U.S. Disabled Cross Coun-try Ski Team.

Cable represents the growing population of people withdisabilities who are turning to outdoor sports and recre-ation to live healthy and whole lives. While traditional sportssuch as basketball have long been available for people withdisabilities, activities like hiking, kayaking and snowsportshave also now emerged as viable options.

The country is experiencing a sort of cultural shift, saidMark Andrews of Outdoor Independence Training Centers,a non-profit group that promotes access to adaptive outdoorrecreation. “In the past, rehab tended to focus more on tra-ditional recreation activities. But I see people getting mostexcited about outdoor activities,” he said.

A growing number of organizations have emerged to linkthe disabled community to the outdoors, while agencies

RULES AND REGULATIONSFor 37 years there have been laws on thebooks concerning access for the disabled.In 1968, the government passed the Archi-tectural Barriers Act, which requires that fa-cilities designed, built, altered or leased withfederal funds be accessible to people withdisabilities. The American Disabilities Actof 1990 established access laws for state andlocal government facilities, as well as pub-lic accommodations and commercial facil-ities. In addition, there is a federal agencycalled the Access Board that establishes min-imum guidelines for access. However, in allof the rulemaking over the years, there havebeen no laws passed governing accessibili-ty for campgrounds, picnic areas and trails.

Realizing there were no laws on thebooks, the USDA Forest Service created itsown guidelines and took these to the Ac-cess Board in the early 1990s, said Janet

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Zeller, the national accessibility programmanager for the USDA Forest Service. ButZeller said the Access Board did not ac-cept the guidelines, and it had a difficulttime making uniform rules that couldapply to the wide variety of parks andforests across the country. After all, natureis not uniform, and neither were people’snotions of how they should adapt areasfor the disabled. There was a false per-ception that making the outdoors accessi-ble meant paving it. Even those who didnot share this perception disagreed on justhow to go about adjusting natural areas.

To address the problem, the Access Boardcreated a committee to determine minimumguidelines. But committee meetings werecontentious, said Peggy Greenwell, an ac-cessibility specialist with the Access Board.A major sticking point concerned the for-mation of accessible trails. “Previously, peo-ple thought a certain percentage of trails inany area should be accessible. And we movedaway from that approach,” said Greenwell.“Some said only certain types of trails shouldbe accessible, like front-country trails, andwe moved away from that.” Finally, the com-mittee members settled their differences andsubmitted their finished report in 1999.However, the guidelines for federal areasmay not become law until some time in2005. After this is done, lawmaking will pro-ceed for state areas, local governments andprivate operators.

“It has been a very long and difficult rule-making process,” said Greenwell. “A stepthat has caused delay is cost analysis.” TheWhite House Office of Management andBudget must approve the costs. But Green-well said, “It’s hard to determine what atrail will cost. It’s different in Marylandthan in California.” According to Zeller, thecost of building a mile of accessible trailranges from $6,000 to $46,000, dependingon terrain and trail surface.

In the absence of national laws, theUSDA Forest Service has once again cre-ated its own guidelines, which are nowgoing though a rule-making process. Thatmay seem redundant, but you have to ad-mire the organization’s doggedness.

In addition, the USDA Forest Serviceand the National Park Service (NPS) havemade accessibility an integral part of theirregular maintenance. Zeller said that in2004, National Forests invested $85 mil-lion that resulted in improving accessi-bility to 946 recreation facilities. DavePark, accessibility program manager forthe NPS, said, “When we spend money onrehabilitating a scenic overlook, we buildaccessibility needs into the project, ratherthan making access a special project.”

The National Park Service has the chal-

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s p e c i a l r e p o r t

LYING IN SUMMER TWILIGHT OVER THE ALASKAN PENINSULA, BILL CRIPE’SSuper Cub went into a stall spin while attempting to land, plunging to-ward the forest below. Upon impact, a pile of gear in the rear of the plane

flew forward, pinning the bush pilot in his seat. Unable to move, Cripe would have to wait five daysbefore the National Guard in a helicopter spied the green plane camouflaged by the remote forest.

But, by that time a blood clot had formed, injuring his spinal cord. Also, Cripe had to have fourvertebrae below his neck fused, and leaking gas damaged nerves in his arms and hands. “Thedoctors thought it was a complete spinal injury,” said Cripe. “They thought I would never use myarms again.” The accident occurred in 1991, when Cripe was just 21.

Two months after he was rescued, his arms returned to life, and doctors determined that he hada C-7 incomplete spinal cord injury. Still, he was unable to walk, and the accident dealt a harshblow to the Montana native who loved the outdoors, camping and fishing in the backwoods sincehe was a boy. “Everything I did was outdoors until I got hurt,” Cripe said. “I didn't have any ideawhat I was going to do with my life.”

But a year after the crash, Cripe began skiing with the Alternate Mobility Adventure Seekersin Boise, Idaho. Now, at the age of 34, he not only skis, but also bikes and camps when he’s notbusy managing a business jet company in Southern California.

He is a great example of the new generation of people who refuse to let disabilities sever theirties to the outdoors.

Though Cripe started in a toboggan-style sit-ski, he quickly switched to a bi-ski when he joineda program called Recreation Unlimited. Eventually mono-skiing became his greatest passion, be-cause it really lets him fly down the mountain. Mono-skiing also proved to be more convenient.

“Bi-skiing requires you to ski with a couple of your friends. It’s pretty hard for them to ski withyou because you have to be lifted onto a chair lift. The mono-ski is more independent because Ican get on the chairlift easier by myself. It allows you to do more things, and it’s heavy duty, witha shock, so it won’t break as easily,” he said.

Cripe’s current ski rig is a New Hall’s MT-Extreme, which he has modified to reduce weight andreinforce the structure. His outriggers (forearm crutches with ski tips attached) are the Super-lightmodel made by Enabling Technologies. Cripe said he has spent about $3,000 on the ski suspen-sion, bucket seat and outriggers. As for the main ski, his favorite right now is the K2 Public Enemy.

Cripe said that setting up the equipment wasn’t easy, but the actual skiing proved to be achallenge in itself. “It takes a lot of strength to mono ski,” he said. “You have to hold yourselfup, it takes a lot of balance, and you have to push yourself in line.” But he was driven to devel-op his strength and balance because he knew skiing would provide him the access to the outdoorsthat he craved.

Over time, he discovered that skiing provided much more than an entryway to nature. He regainedhis confidence and a greater sense of independence, which helped him adjust to all aspects of hisnew life. “Because you could do all kinds of things outdoors, you realized you could do all kinds ofstuff indoors as well. I guess you could say the outdoors saved me.”

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FLYSKIING HELPED THIS FORMER BUSH PILOT RECOVER FROM A DISABLING CRASH.

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changed dramatically. “People would sayyears ago, ‘Why should I make my parkaccessible? I have never seen a person witha disability here.’ That’s not the case any-more,” Park said.

MAKING IT HAPPENFortunately for the disabled community,access to mountains, lakes and trails doesnot wholly rest on the glacial rule-mak-ing process in Washington, D.C. Rather,it depends largely on the work of an eclec-tic mix of organizations and individuals.

The National Sports Center for the Dis-abled in Colorado is a non-profit organi-zation that introduces disabled people to20 different sports, from skiing to kayak-ing. Last year it taught 17,000 lessons toalmost 3,000 people. With an operatingbudget of $3 million, NSCD employs 55people during the peak winter season. BethFox, operations manager, said the non-profit keeps track of sports trends, andadopts activities that are exciting, and haverehabilitative value. “We look where there’sa void,” she said. “When we saw there was

a void in pad-dlesports,

we added it to our program. We startedcanoe camping in the summer of 2003,and have added kayaking.”

Based in Minneapolis, Minn., Wilder-ness Inquiry is one of the larger providersof outdoor excursions for the disabled. In2004 it hosted overnight outings for about1,200 people and led day trips for about10,000. Michael Miller, outreach associ-ate for Wilderness Inquiry, said the non-profit’s Boundary Waters trips are amongthe most popular.

Trips cost about $100 per person per dayand they are open to people of all abilities.“Our strategy is to make the trips integrat-ed,” Miller said, noting that people with dis-abilities often want to travel with able-bod-ied folks. On any given Wilderness Inquiryouting, people with disabilities will com-prise about 40 percent of the group. Likeother types of therapy, outdoor recreationserves as a means to help disabled peopleintegrate themselves into society. But out-door recreation has special advantages. “Thewilderness is a great leveler,” said Miller. “Akey to (an outdoor trip) is the cooperativenature. People are working togetherfor common goals—to get the fireset up, the dinner cooked or toget across the lake.”

lenge that much of its infrastructure wascreated before the 1968 Architectural Bar-riers Act. “We have a lot of infrastructurewe need to retrofit,” said Park. As for trails,he pointed out, “We have accessible trailsthroughout the park system, and have hadthem going back 20 years ago. They justdidn’t meet any nationally adopted defi-nition of what an accessible trail is. Themajor land management agencies are wellinto programs to make facilities as acces-sible as we think we can.”

However, many state park mangers feelhamstrung due to the lack of nationalguidelines. “We’ve been working diligent-ly the last three years on what will be a14-year transition process,” said LindaCanar, program manager for accessibilityfor California State Parks. “Not manystates have come very far, partially be-cause there is a lack of guidance and codesfor them to utilize.”

Zeller said that states are so anxious forguidelines that the Federal Highway Ad-ministration has given the USDA ForestService funds to write an accessibility guide-book for outdoor recreation and trails,which should be published in 2005.

Agencies do realize that a growing num-ber of disabled people are seeking outdoorrecreation. “There is a significant increasein visitation by people with disabilities,”said Park. Consequently, the mindset ofthose who manage forests and parks has

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2001, WHEN ERIK WEIHENMAYER BECAME THE FIRST AND onlyblind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, he garneredwidespread media coverage, from Time Magazine to Good Morn-ing America. This was perhaps the most widely publicized accountever of a disabled person participating in an activity core to theoutdoor industry.

But this winter, Weihenmayer may have done something evenmore laudable in his efforts to inspire the blind. In October, he ledsix visually impaired Tibetan teenagers in an attempt to climb23,000-foot Lhakpa Ri. While media coverage of the climb washelpful, the most important moment of the expedition occurred longbefore the New York Times published its account. It happened atAdvanced Base Camp, when Weihenmayer wrapped an arm around19-year-old Tashi, who was sick and throwing up.

“I am weak—not strong like you,” Tashi said.“You’ve made it to 21,000 feet, a place few of your peers will

ever go,” Weihenmayer replied. “You’re not weak. You’re stronger

than you know and only getting stronger.”Describing this scene in a message on hiswebsite, Weihenmayer added, “Somehow,maybe because of the way he leaned his head on my shoulder, Ifelt he believed me.”

Weihenmayer said he hopes he can find more opportunities tohelp disabled people believe in their own strength. GearTrends®caught up with him as he was preparing to leave to climb in theAndes, and we asked whether he thinks climbing is really becom-ing more accessible to the disabled in the United States. “Oh yeah,there are a lot of opportunities,” he said, noting that organizationssuch as Challenge Aspen and the Colorado Center for the Blindteach the disabled to climb.

He mentioned the efforts of Mark Wellman, the disabledworld-class climber who has created adaptive climbing gear,such as ascenders and a climbing harness for paraplegics andquadriplegics.

Rock gyms have really made climbing more accessible, Weihenmayer noted. “A blind person just has to have the courageto show up. The gym doesn’t have to have a formal program. Itjust takes a nice person there who is willing to help.”

ERIK WEIHENMAYER SAYS CLIMBING’SNOT OUT-OF-REACH FOR THE DISABLED.

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Thanks to Wilderness Inquiry, peoplewith physical or mental challenges havemore opportunities to explore nature thanever before. “We’re offering more inter-national trips on a regular basis,” Millersaid. “We go to Kruger National Park inSouth Africa; Hawaii has been popular,and we just got back from New Zealand.”

Miller has seen a steady increase in thenumber of organizations offering trips forthe disabled. “There are plenty of oppor-tunities for folks,” he said. “What’s beenlacking is the marketing and letting peo-ple know these things are available.”

A lack of information remains a majorobstacle to access. For example, if a persongoes through rehab at a clinic that doesnot partner with an outdoor program, heor she might not even realize that outdooractivities are an option. Further, it’s diffi-cult to find good information on accessi-ble trails and facilities in parks and forests.A rule passed in 2000 requires federal agen-cies to use electronic media, such as web-sites, to inform the public. Still, if you surfthe websites for various National Parksyou’ll see glaring inconsistencies.

It seems that information is spread mosteffectively at the local level. To its credit,

the American Canoe Association (ACA)has stepped up efforts to help outdoor pro-grams provide adaptive paddling programsfor their local communities.

WATER WORKSIf you saw her sitting in her kayak, youcould hardly guess that Janet Zeller is aquadriplegic. “When I’m paddling I looklike a paddler who has very good posture,”she said with a bright voice. Paddling ap-peals to her because those moments inher boat allow her to appear like every-one else on the water. That feeling of fit-ting in, combined with freedom of move-ment, makes boating especially appealingto people with limited mobility.

Zeller now works with the ACA to sharethat feeling with others. In 1990, she de-veloped the non-profit’s Adaptive PaddlingProgram and conducts workshops to helporganizations establish their own outingsand instruction.

The Adaptive Paddling Program has hada great effect on the Rutabaga paddle shopin Madison, Wis. Nancy Saulsbury, Rutaba-ga’s director of outdoor programs, said thatafter employees participated in the ACA in-struction, the store helped the University

of Wisconsin conduct an adaptive fitnessand personal training course. The schoolbrought in disabled adults from the com-munity, and then Rutabaga helped studentsprovide instruction in adapting paddling.

Saulsbury said the store has a core of fiveto six staff members who support Rutaba-ga’s ongoing effort to integrate disabled peo-ple into the paddling community.

Bill Corson, owner of Northwest Kayaksin Redmond, Wash., has for years utilizedan outings program to reach disadvantagedkids in the Seattle area. Now he’s turninghis attention to another group in need. Lastyear, his company launched a program totake people with disabilities on day kayak-ing trips, and his employees help kids kayakin swimming pools during the school day.This year, he actually changed the compa-ny’s mission statement so that a primarygoal is to serve the disabled.

This winter the employees of NorthwestKayaks have locked themselves in the shop,working diligently to manufacture a kayakseat and other accessories for adaptive pad-dling. The seat will fit into a variety of boatsand conform to any body size, said Corson.It has wing attachments that stabilize a per-son laterally, plus an inflatable system to

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into an articulating ski that allows you tocreate an edge. It’s a hard sport, and thatwould make it easier and safer, and morepeople would want to participate,” she said.Unfortunately, major manufacturers re-main reluctant to serve the relatively smallcommunity that requires adaptive gear.

Northwest Kayaks is an exception, andmost other adaptive gear is hammered outin garages by gear heads. But Cable said

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move the body forward and backward.“With thermal formers we can manufac-ture all kinds of things to help make pad-dling more accessible,” said Corson.

Candace Cable can’t emphasize enoughthe importance that gear plays in pro-moting participation in outdoor activi-ties—especially cross-country skiing. Shesaid the current sit-skis limit maneuver-ability. “The equipment needs to evolve

the outdoor industry should open its eyes.“Adaptive equipment allows us to accessthe outdoors in ways we never have before,and that turns us into consumers,” she said.“There are 54 million Americans in the U.S.with disabilities who have $170 billion indiscretionary income. One in five familiesin the U.S. has a disabled person in theirfamily. So this is a huge consumer basethat has never been (fully) tapped.”

Despite the fact that participation inadaptive skiing has grown steadily, sit-skisare still produced by a dozen or so smallcompanies that sell so few units that theymust charge $2,000 to $3,000 for a singleski rig. Andy and Lynn Tirums openedFreedom Factory in 1990 after they de-signed a sit-ski for a friend’s daughter.They sell about 80 units a year, makingtheir work as much a labor of love as any-thing. “We’re the only two employees, soit pays the bills,” said Andy. In a five-cargarage, the two assemble parts that arewelded and powder-coated by other localshops. To acquire the actual skis, they buyfrom retail shops because K2 is the onlymanufacturer that will deal with them di-rectly, and Andy said, “We get as good adeal at retail as we’d get from K2.” Be-

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cause they have little time to develop newtechnologies, they look to the motocrossindustry for designs that are proven.

FREEDOM IN THE OUTDOORSIn meeting rooms and aisles at the Out-door Retailer trade shows, talk has turnedto how the industry might grow the mar-ket by attracting a broader consumer base,including more youth and minorities. Butfew have uttered a word concerning peo-ple with disabilities. At least Eureka createdsome buzz this summer when it introducedthe Freedom, a wheelchair-accessible tent.

Dianne Goodwin and her companyBlue Sky Designs developed the tent uti-lizing grant money from the Small Busi-ness Innovation Research Program.Founded in 1997, Blue Sky Designs orig-inally made custom devices for disabledindividuals and conducted training pro-grams for therapists to help them betterutilize technology. Goodwin’s desire toproduce a tent grew largely from her ex-perience leading outdoor trips for kidswith disabilities in the 1970s. She under-stands the remarkable effect the outdoorscan have on a person mentally and phys-ically. She also understands the market

realities that restrict the development oftechnologies that can make somethinglike camping an inviting experience forthe disabled. “I want to move more to-ward being a product development com-pany,” she said. “You can impact far morepeople by developing products that be-come commercially available.”

Goodwin said the outdoor market hasn’tseen a tent like the Freedom before be-cause “big companies don’t typically goafter what they perceive to be small mar-kets.” Also, large companies are not like-ly to go after markets that are unfamiliarto them. “It helped Eureka to have a part-ner with more awareness and expertise(of the disabled community),” she said.

Goodwin said she hopes Eureka will ex-pand the Freedom into a whole line oftents, and she has incorporated “universaldesign” elements so the tents will also ap-peal to able-bodied consumers. For ex-ample, the Freedom’s fan-like door (forpeople with limited hand mobility) mightmake its way into other Eureka tents.

Like Cable, Goodwin believes that de-mand for adaptive gear exists, and com-panies could profit from a viable consumerbase that has yet to be addressed properly.

FEELING WHOLE AGAINAnyone in a wheelchair can tell you thatfeeling ignored is nothing new. Cable re-called that, after her accident, she becamevery aware that her wheelchair made herappear different than most people, andshe noticed that many wanted to turnaway. But it’s important that people notturn away. Cable wants people to under-stand that her desire to explore the out-doors runs as deep as the desire of some-one who skis on both legs.

“An outdoor sport does for people withdisabilities exactly what it does for able-bodied people—it gives us that connec-tion with nature that is vital to our healthand wellness,” she said. “For people withdisabilities, it’s even more crucial, becausewe are told so often that our lives will beasphalt and concrete, and that we will berelegated to the smooth surface. We’retold the natural environment, with its upsand downs and unpredictable places willnot be a part of our lives anymore. Weneed that connection to nature. We needit to feel whole.”

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