Industry News
The Adaptive Sports Program New Mexico (ASPNM) crowns one Athlete of the Year, and this year, adaptive skier and University of New Mexico student Mike Adams will hold the crown. Adams’s love and passion for skiing, combined with his fearlessness and desire to break barriers, make his story a truly remarkable one.
Adams has cerebral palsy, a condition that leads to uncontrollable and unpredictable movements. Many individuals with this condition, including Adams, require assistance with everyday tasks such as eating, mobility, and writing. Despite this challenge, Adams found his passion in sport of skiing.
“The skiing is super technical and super dynamic. I have to be on my toes at all times and so do the people who tether me. It’s just an incredible thrill,” Adams said in an article published by the University of New Mexico.
Adams first experience with skiing came when he was a fifth grader in 2012. His occupational therapist had introduced him to the ASPNM program, and his instructors quickly learned that Adams had a unique way of skiing. While most adaptive skiers use outriggers, or ski poles, attached to the ski to help with balance, Adams does not. This challenging method requires him to work closely with the person tethered behind him to control speed and initiate turns. Adams prefers the challenge of skiing without outriggers, and finds it sharpens his decision making and brings an extra thrill to being on the slopes.
In 2016, Adams met Bruce Hopper, who frequently volunteered with ASPNM. With years of competitive skiing under his belt, Hopper helped Adams perfect his skiing by teaching him skills like reading snow conditions and understand slope steepness. Now, Adams frequently skis challenging black diamond runs and takes each run head-on.
“Mike is indomitable, so he doesn’t really need me,” Hopper said. “We’ve been skiing together now for several years. There are not many athletes skiing as fast, steep and aggressively as Mike does.”
At the annual ASPNM Snow Ball, where Adams received his award, the organization also raised $100,000 to help pay for scholarships and the equipment used by athletes in the program. Hopper attributes Adams’s ability to motivate others as a key to helping support the organization’s cause.
In addition to skiing, Adams is also hard at work in the classroom and is currently earning his Ph.D in Computer Science at the University of New Mexico. He saw the computer as a way to present his thoughts, and his passion for math made computer science a perfect avenue for his studies.
Despite being a busy college student, when he’s on the hill, Adams is purely focused. His passion for skiing could not be more clear, and his inspiring story of his determination to get out on the mountain is one that can inspire anyone, no matter what their passion may be.
“When I go out there, it is totally a flow state, there is nothing else to think about,” Adams said.
