Twenty years ago, Haakon Lang-Ree’s sister encouraged him to volunteer for Disabled Sports USA Far West, the founding chapter of the nationwide organization that provides adaptive sports instruction and adventures. “I got hooked. I really liked the people I was working with and thought, ‘This is pretty cool’,” explains Lang-Ree, the Disabled Sports USA’s Program Director. “As humans we all strive to achieve, to meet a challenge and we all have distinct abilities to get there.” He talks about the “rush” of skiing and riding. Truckee resident Erin Freeman knows about this rush. Freeman is one of four students from Choices Transitional Services, a Truckee-based program for people with

Mountain Hardwear Big Mountain Telemark Series Stop 1: Grand Targhee, Wyo., Feb. Thursday - Sunday Stop 2: Alpine Meadows, Calif., Feb. 24 - 27 Stop 3: Crested Butte, Colo., March 17 - 19 Stop 4: World Telemark Freesking Championship, Tailgate Alaska, April 1 - 10 Details: Visit toughguyproductions.com. Almost a decade has passed since the last U.S. Big Mountain Telemark series. Beginning Thursday, competitors will travel from Wyoming to California to Colorado in hopes of securing an invitation to the final event, where there’s an opportunity to compete for the Telemark Freeski Champion of the World crown. The three men and women with the most points after the third stop in the se