Gateway Disabled Ski Program

The goal of the Gateway Disabled Ski Program (GDSP) is to enable everyone, regardless of ability, to enhance their health and happiness through adaptive snow sports. The program began in 1983 and has been in continuous operation for 43 years. The ski and snowboarding instruction is conducted by volunteers at Hidden Valley Ski Area in Wildwood, MO. 

We work with children and adults with a wide range of physical, developmental, and intellectual disabilities on Monday and Thursday evenings from the first week in January through February. Twice a month, we work with veterans on Monday afternoons in January and February. In addition, we have hold three Saturday morning ski clinics.

Prior to the season, we prepare by holding dry land training/orientation in November and on the hill training in December. This is an opportunity for volunteers to polish their skills and familiarize themselves with our equipment. We will train volunteers to work with all the equipment and pair them up with experienced volunteers in the first year. We also send some our volunteers to Colorado for additional training on Adaptive Ski Equipment.

We have a container full of Adaptive Ski Gear we utilize to find a way to get everyone skiing down the hill and learn to love the sport.

This year we have a goal to bring a PSAI adaptive ski instructor in for a week during the season for training volunteers and work with athletes. Funds raised through GiveSTLDay will help us move towards this goal.