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The Adventure Zone

Past stories Surf's up! The Calgary Stampede Moraine for Life Adventure Relay Monarch Redux Rockies Bird Festival Arctic Winter Games Bolivia's Acotango Mount Kilimanjaro The Drambuie Pursuit Canadian Aboriginal Festival Mountain Mania Adventure racing Manitoulin Island Star Party Celebration of Light Algonquin Park Ottawa Race Weekend Maple syrup festival Cain's Quest Have Snowshoes, Will Travel Quebec Ice Hotel In the Eye of the Storm Arctic Aurora Borealis Canada's 'Deep South' Agawa Canyon Ablaze Mahone Bay Boat Festival Vancouver Island's rocky trail Wild Women Expeditions Eco-Endurance Summiting Canada Gourmet getaway Yukon Arctic Ultra Canadian Wind Riders Winnipeg's urban pathways Canoeist/artist Bill Mason Take a hike Whitewater kayaking The 2005 Sea Cavalcade Moonstruck - Adventure racers Delta Marsh Birding Festival Climb for conservation The Eagle has Landed Gold Rush Trail Whistler Film Festival Fit to ski Whyte Museum of the Rockies Cheakamus Challenge "Super Dave" Norona Ontario's French River region Cabot Trail Relay Race Point Pelee Festival of Birds Canmore Ice Climbing Festival Winterlude Yeti Mountain Snowshoe Series Golden Horseshoe Orienteering Club Banff Mountain Book Festival Haliburton Highlands Sand Sculpture Championships BC Mobility Society Bathtub Race Championship Bike Month Running off the road Birds of a Feather Grand Plans in Grand Cache Le Festival du Voyageur Raid Ukatak Around the World Alone November culinary adventure Mountains in Miniature In the Belly of the Dragon Raid the North Extreme!! Making a splash! Volunteer for nature Cycling for sustainability Working for Wildlife Whale of a time Canadian Death Race Mont Tremblant Skiing Nanook of the North Eco-challenge Climate Change Caravan Royal Regatta Unleash the hounds World Cup mountain bike race Yukon River Quest On top of the world Canada's World-Class Heritage Gliding across the silver screen Marathon Madness National Ski and Snowboard Week Christmas Bird Count Banff Festival Adventure racing Coast-to-coast trek Whitewater rodeos In praise of parks Watching Canada's wildlife Canada's Highest Peak Alaska Adventure Racer

ATHLETES PERMANENTLY INJURED in sports accidents long to experience the physical challenge and revitalizing energy of the great Canadian outdoors. Once defined by their active lifestyle, these wilderness enthusiasts again have a chance to reprise their glory days thanks to the Access Challenge program. Since 1999, the not-for-profit British Columbia Mobility Opportunities Society (BCMOS) has been sending athletes with disabilities, such as former World Cup champion freestyle skier Mike Nemesvary and diver Brad Jacobsen, both quadriplegics as a result of sports accidents, into the wild on extraordinary three-day/two-night adventure expeditions with the help of able-bodied "sherpas."

Access Challenge 2003, which kicks off on August 19, will send these combined teams of five members — one of whom has a severe disability — over 40 kilometres of mixed terrain in B.C.'s Garabaldi Provincial Park, hiking, camping and mountaineering. Outfitted with a complement of standard-issue and innovative gear, such as the multi-terrain TrailRider, the teams will take on alpine meadows, boulders, narrow switchbacks, streams, steep hills and root-covered trails. After two days, the course ends with participants crossing a raging river on a zip-line. "It was like dessert after coming down the mountain," says 2002 participant Michelle Amerie, who lives with multiple sclerosis.

Wilderness is a great equalizer. The key to Access Challenge lies in the demands on members of the six teams to work together in an atmosphere of respect, affection and honesty. For differently abled participants, however, there's the added joy of confronting and conquering the barriers that separate them from the natural environment."This was the first time in 14 years that I really felt at one with nature," says Roger Jones, who has proudly gone "where no quads have gone before." For Alexis Chicoine, whose teammates were friends and family members with whom she hiked before her accident, "being up on that mountain and looking down at the view and feeling the breeze on my face made me feel ‘normal' again. I felt less handicapped, more like myself. It was a great feeling."

To check out the site that encourages people to "dare to dream and dare to do," visit www.reachdisability.org/bcmos