HoliMont’s Phoenix Adaptive Ski Program Celebrates 30 Years of Inclusive Skiing
HoliMont’s Phoenix Adaptive Ski Program Celebrates 30 Years of Inclusive Skiing
Three decades of breaking barriers and expanding access on the slopes for skiers of all abilities
HoliMont stands behind the belief that “skiing shouldn’t have limits,” and for the past 30 years, their Phoenix Adaptive Ski Program has made it possible for individuals of all ages and abilities to enjoy the slopes. With a dedicated team of expert instructors, cutting-edge technology, and a strong commitment to inclusion, Phoenix Adaptive continues to grow, and there is plenty of excitement on the horizon. Program Director David Berghash welcomes prospective skiers and their families, and is looking ahead to a bright future!
Now in his 12th season as program director, Berghash is the second director to run the program, a position which was previously held by Chuck Richardson, who started the program. “Prior to that, Richardson was in the Ski School at HoliMont, and at the time, there was a need for a disabled program for some of the members,” Berghash explained. “They started with one student 30 years ago and then expanded from there!”
Phoenix Adaptive serves HoliMont’s members, including adults with disabilities and members with children who have disabilities. Berghash said, “Not only do we serve our membership, but we have, over the years, expanded it to what we call ‘drop-ins.’ Drop-ins are people who just want to take a lesson, and even though they’re not members, we allow them to drop in and take a lesson.” Phoenix Adaptive offers half-day lessons on weekends throughout the winter, and there is also an outreach program on Sunday afternoons when Phoenix offers lessons to people in the community.
“We have right now, five different students that live in the Ellicottville/Pennsylvania area; we work with them Sunday afternoons and give them everything for free,” Berghash explained. “Fifteen or sixteen years ago, we said, ‘Let’s open this up to the community.’ We saw that there was a need for it, and we have students that have been with us for over 10 years through the Outreach Program.”
Phoenix Adaptive is open to individuals with all kinds of disabilities, including physical, cognitive, or both. “Chuck Richardson’s battle cry was to teach adaptive skiers how to ski,” Berghash emphasized. “It doesn’t matter what the disability is. We’re going to get you on skis, whether you’re a sit skier or a stand-up skier. We’re going to teach how to ski, because we push not just giving people a ride, we actually push them hard to become great skiers.”
The benefits of the program - for individuals and families - are countless, said Berghash. “It brings families together,” he said. “It allows them to learn how to ski with their kids…It’s what HoliMont does - it allows families to really excel in skiing, and the whole family is involved.”
Berghash has many years of experience as an adaptive ski instructor. He, as well as the program’s other instructors, are PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors of America) who go through adaptive training and participate in continuing education at least every two years, but often annually. “We also bring in a PSIA examiner every year who takes 10 of us and trains us in a two-day training session in Colorado,” said Berghash.
In addition to supporting this training, HoliMont’s generous Men’s Day event supports the program’s equipment needs. Berghash noted, “They have done an enormous job of fundraising for us to the point where we were able to secure what’s called a TetraSki…it’s like a joy-stick operated wheelchair, but it’s what’s called a sit ski. Somebody who is disabled is able to actuate or make this ski slow down, speed up, turn left and right, just like you would see on an electric wheelchair.”
Remarkably, there are only 28 TetraSkis in the world, said Berghash, and HoliMont was able to secure one. “We have one of maybe three on the east coast,” Berghash added. “I know for a fact that we’re the only one in New York at this point. Three of us are actually trained to run it, and we are three of maybe 60 instructors throughout the world that have been trained.”
Berghash credits the generous Men’s Day fundraiser for their ability to obtain a TetraSki and participate in the training. Last season, HoliMont’s Men’s Day set a fundraising goal of $40,000 and surpassed it by raising over $74,000! Men’s Day 2026, the Winter Games Edition, is set for Friday, February 6th and has a fundraising goal of $100,000 to support the Phoenix Adaptive Ski Program.
Those who are interested in learning more about the Phoenix Adaptive Ski Program can visit https://holimont.com/programs/phoenix-adaptive/ or call HoliMont’s Snowsports Office at 716-699-2320. “I work with an amazing group of people,” Berghash noted. “We all make a great team. Anybody that spends any time with us can see it, and it’s out of love for what we do.”
Berghash shared the exciting news that HoliMont has plans for an adaptive biking program in the near future. “This is really exciting that we’re going to put together something right in Ellicottville.”