Dear Friends,

As most of you already know, I am an American of Ukrainian descent. Most of you also know that both Lida and I have been teaching skiing since 2009, getting our start in the greater Seattle area as volunteers teaching adaptive skiing with Outdoors for All. Since then, we have also taught professionally at Stevens Pass and Aspen Snowmass, both alpine and adaptive skiing.

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Lida and I have been traveling to Ukraine as volunteers to provide support in the form of humanitarian relief as well as support to current and former warfighters. In the winter of 2024-25, we finally connected with ski schools and instructors who have started teaching adaptive skiing to veterans in Ukraine and would like to do more. Most, if not all, have needed to travel outside of Ukraine to get training.

According to unofficial sources, there are between 50,000 and 100,000 amputations among Ukraine’s population (both military and civilian) since February 2022, with many patients losing more than one limb.

This winter, Lidia and I will be traveling to Ukraine to seed and grow a program to train ski instructors on how to teach adaptive skiing, initially focused on enabling them to teach veterans with lower limb amputations and impairments.

Specialized equipment in the form of skiing outriggers (they look like a forearm crutch with skis) is needed to help them with balance and stability. Together, the ski or skis with two outriggers leave three or four tracks in the snow, from which the term three-track/four-track skiing (3T/4T) is derived. Each outrigger pair costs about $500.

We have already organized two weekends of training, where we will provide training for up to six 3T/4T instructors per weekend, and more are in the works.

We are fundraising to support the cost of initial equipment (in particular, stand outriggers) as well as their shipping costs to Ukraine.

Additional donations beyond the target amount will be used to grow the programs (there are many children that have suffered injuries and amputations) as well as support partner ski schools with equipment.

Skiing, as well as other sports, helps soldiers not only physically heal and master their prosthetics but also supports them psychologically. Sport provides an outlet for stress and helps change mindsets from “I can’t!” to “How can I?”. Skiing, especially, provides a feeling of freedom and connection with the beauty of nature.

Any support or contribution is appreciated.

Thank you!

We would like to acknowledge support from Outdoors for All, PA Center for Adapted Sports, Compassion Connection, Meest, Charity Fund “Challenge”, and Oregon Adaptive Sports, in particular McKenzie, John, Lada, Olha, Serhiy, and Melodie.