On Dollar Mountain in Sun Valley last Friday, along with young children snowplowing down the sunny, groomed slopes, there were several grown men skiing too. A below-the-knee amputee, U.S. Army Ret. Major Ed Pulido, of Oklahoma City, determinedly struggled with his one ski. He said he'd been inspired to try the sport after seeing paralympians ski two years ago in Sun Valley.
Pulido and six other wounded veterans were here as a part of the Wood River Ability Program's winter ski camp. They were accompanied on their trip from Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, by Nancy and Bob Wickman of Texas—who work with both Operation Comfort and Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association—and Nibya Contreras, a Marine liaison, as well as some family members and instructors.
Founded by Janis Roznowski, Operation Comfort (www.operationcomfort.org) is a nonprofit organization that works with wounded veterans at Brooke Army Medical Center by engaging them in adaptive sports and other activities.
Fêted over the long weekend by members of the American Legion Hall in Ketchum, the group enjoyed dinners at East Avenue Bistro and the Pioneer Saloon.
But it was the skiing and the camaraderie that was the highlight for the vets.
In August 2004 near Baquaba, Iraq, Pulido, a 19-year veteran, was driving along when a roadside bomb sent a massive amount of shrapnel into his left leg.
"It's just a disability," he says now. "My wife and two girls are my crutch—my other leg that I don't have."
Petty Officer 2nd class Tom Chace, a burn victim, is a Navy medic who was on the ground in Iraq. He also began on Dollar but soon moved to the more challenging Bald Mountain, as did Marine Cpl. Trey O'Connell, also a burn victim. They tend to finish each other's sentences.
"I'd do it again," O'Connell said.
"In a heartbeat," Chace said. "And we had great weather."
Both of the men also play on a San Antonio sled-hockey team that competed in Chicago in November and will go to Salt Lake City in March for the National Disability Championships.
Among the other skiers was Ret. Sgt. Maverick Tuufuli, an above-knee amputee, who also has severe ankle damage in his remaining leg and lost most of his bicep. A native of American Somoa, he is now retired and living in Texas.
Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Chad Jukes, whose right leg was maimed by an anti-tank mine in December 2006, is in training to make the U.S. Disabled Ski Team, in cross-country skiing.
"He skied with US Disabled Ski Team Head Coach Jon Kreamelmeyer and Steve Cook, the paralympic gold medal winner," WRAP director Marc Mast said. "He was invited to the team's summer camps, and will return to Sun Valley for our cross-country development camp. He wants to ski the rest of this winter so will take a leave from the military."
One of the additional boons of the small camp is the way the instructors are able to bond with the vets. In particular, Marine Brian McGonigal, and a friend who accompanied him, became friendly with their snowboard instructor, Tim Ball.
"Tim just adopted them," Mast said. "He took them all over town, and snowmobiling, which wasn't a part of the camp. They bonded. That was really great."
Instructor Liz Wallace skied with José Martinez, who has severe sight impairment.
"She was awesome," Mast said. "It was her first time working with vets and they really bonded. It's always great to see how the American Legion treats these guys and the whole community as a whole."
The Wickmans reiterated this sentiment.
"A great help in all this has been the American Legion," Nancy Wickman said. As a volunteer with Operation Comfort, she and her husband have seen many such camps held for the wounded vets at Brook Army Medical Center.
"All the people associated with this camp have been fabulous," she said.
U.S. Army Ret. Major Ed Pulido, of Oklahoma City, takes a break from skiing on Dollar Mountain. Photo by Willy Cook
