Give Amplify Connect

Redefining Possibilities Through Adaptive Sports in Alberta

• Wolfe Pack Warriors Foundation • Episode 14

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Can adaptive sports truly transform lives? Chloe Giroux is here to share her incredible journey, from a life-altering dirt biking accident to discovering a passion for adaptive sports that reignited her life. Just weeks after leaving the hospital, Chloe found herself on the slopes with Rocky Mountain Adaptive, where she not only embraced skiing but also ventured into mountain biking and kayaking. Thanks to the support of the Wolfe Pack Warriors Adaptive Sport Leadership Bursary, Chloe advanced from participant to certified coach and recreational programmer, highlighting the profound impact these accessible sports can have, not just on individuals, but on entire communities.

We also bring you the stories behind the scenes at Rocky Mountain Adaptive. Discover how this organization is not only offering a diverse range of activities like skiing, snowboarding, and camping but are also changing lives for families and caregivers. As part of our "Give, Amplify, Connect" podcast series, we spotlight the incredible efforts of Alberta-based nonprofits, encouraging listeners to connect with causes that resonate with them. Join us to learn how Rocky Mountain Adaptive is creating inclusive adventures and empowering individuals with physical or neurodivergent challenges to embrace the outdoors and rediscover their passions.

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What is Give Amplify Connect?

There’s a story behind every action. Give Amplify Connect is a podcast from the Wolfe Pack Warriors Foundation that gives a voice to the Alberta-based charitable organizations creating community impact, changing lives, and making a difference. Driven by honest conversations with host Kristy Wolfe, it’s a chance for passionate changemakers to share their story.

Learn more at wolfepackwarriors.com

Podcast music used with artist permission
"Okay" by Ellen Braun


Chloe Giroux:

people being able to do stuff that they've never done or never thought that they could do, especially being with their family, it makes it all the more special.

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Welcome to Give Amplify Connect, the Wolfe Pack Warriors Foundation podcast that dives deeper into the stories of the charitable organizations in Alberta that are making a difference. Host and producer Kristy Wolfe sits down with the leaders of the non-profit world to learn more about their purpose, hopes and dreams. Settle in for an honest conversation with Kristy about the impact people are making in their communities and how they keep moving forward.

Kristy Wolfe:

With me today is Chloe Giroux. Now Chloe lives in Calgary and she participates in activities with Rocky Mountain Adaptive. You may have heard of Rocky Mountain Adaptive. The Wolfe Pack Warriors Foundation has done a fair bit in the past with them and they're a charitable organization who creates opportunities for accessible adventures for individuals living with physical or neurodivergent challenges. Now, Chloe, will you tell us how you got involved with Rocky Mountain Adaptive?

Chloe Giroux:

Yeah, so I was injured in a dirt biking accident August 5th 2022. I broke my T4, practically a complete injury and in my time at the hospital, my rec therapist was talking to me about some options for me about sports in the outdoors, because that was something that was super important to me pre-accident, and she mentioned downhill skiing with Rocky Mountain Adaptive and I signed up immediately. I was still in the hospital and I was ready to get back on the hill immediately. I was still in the hospital and I was ready to get back on the hill. Skiing was definitely one of my top sports and I got discharged from the hospital on November 22nd 2022. And I was on the slopes two weeks later and it was a very emotional experience for me, but it was also so eye-opening to see the options and the potential that I had in the world of adaptive sports and just being in a chair, all the options that were available to me.

Kristy Wolfe:

And here you are now, and I know that you had that first experience skiing, but there's been a lot more that's happened since then. So, going from having somebody at the hospital introduce you to Rocky Mountain Adaptive, can you kind of walk us through all of the different things that have happened for you with Rocky Mountain Adaptive?

Chloe Giroux:

Yes. So after my first ski lesson with Rocky Mountain Adaptive, I booked I believe it was five more full day lessons at Sunshine. And then it came into conversation the Wolfpack Warriors Bursary for female adaptive athletes. I was lucky enough to be the recipient of it, so post that I got into mountain biking, kayaking and then again skiing the following year, and I honestly just haven't looked back.

Kristy Wolfe:

So in each of those cases you've been a participant or have you gotten further involved with volunteering or working with them.

Chloe Giroux:

Yes, so this past summer I was a recreational programmer, so I became a certified mountain biking coach and then I as well helped out on the paddling excursions and some of the family camps and other camps and opportunities that Rocky Mountain Adaptive offers in the summer.

Kristy Wolfe:

So you are like super involved yes, offers in the summer. So you are like super involved, yeah, yeah, like that one. Going from that one experience of trying skiing and coming back to something that you loved has turned into a lot of different opportunities. Now, chloe, I'm going to explain a little bit about how we know Rocky Mountain Adaptive for you and for our audience, because we haven't done another podcast with Rocky Mountain Adaptive.

Kristy Wolfe:

So the Wolfe Pack Warriors Foundation is a fairly new foundation and one of our first initiatives was actually with Rocky Mountain Adaptive and we sat down with Jamie McCullough, the founder, really, and talked about what it was they actually needed and at the time they were trying to get more bowhead bikes, no-transcript bursary for families, and so you're actually the first one, you're the first person that's trying this. So to hear that you had an experience, then got the bursary and then have also got to try out a whole bunch of different sports and then got further involved in it, is really exciting. I was wondering if you would walk us through what it's like to work with Rocky Mountain Adaptive when you're first going, so when you first went to that ski lesson or maybe the first mountain bike lesson, whichever one you'd kind of like to go with. I would love to hear kind of from your point of view what it was like to go, how that all works, how you set it up.

Chloe Giroux:

Sure, yeah, it's super easy to sign up. Sure, yeah, it's super easy to sign up. Their website is very clear and very, very straightforward to use, which is absolutely amazing, and yeah, so on my first ski lesson, I was in contact with Kim and she walked me through the entire process. She met me by the lodge, she took me up the gondola. I felt very safe and secure and I think my nerves were pretty high, yeah.

Kristy Wolfe:

It was two weeks after you got out of hospital. That is amazing.

Chloe Giroux:

Yeah, it was. It was an unreal experience and yeah, and then they walked me through how all the equipment were. They asked if I had any concerns and again, they just made me feel very secure working with them and I think that's such an amazing reflection of all the people that work with them. It's a community like nothing you'll ever see, honestly, and it's so beautiful to be a participant but also to be in a position of being a coach and seeing other people have that same experience that you had.

Kristy Wolfe:

Will you tell us a story, maybe about someone that you've worked with that came so you as a coach, someone who you got to see experience it for the first time, because you've now seen both sides of the coin, like what it's like to be a participant for the first time, but then also what it's like from a coach's perspective. Will you share a little bit more about that?

Chloe Giroux:

for sure, yeah, uh. So this summer there was one participant who came out. Uh, they had booked a full week of full day bowhead lessons and they're definitely go-getter. Uh, we immediately clicked. We are very we were very similar people, um, and just pure joy that I saw on their face the first time that they successfully went down, run without tipping over, or like when they finally figured out that balance and articulation or figuring out the throttle control is just the pride that you could see on their face and just I'm smiling and gleaming thinking about it right now, because it's so cool to see that connection, that something that you had you're giving to somebody else now.

Kristy Wolfe:

And I have to tell you I have tried a bowhead bike and Jamie can tell you that I took it over on its side immediately. First scratch was definitely for me because I had no idea how to use my lower body in it. So will you talk about a bowhead bike a little bit and what it's like to get in that and try that out for the first time, or maybe how you coach people to try it for the first time?

Chloe Giroux:

it's a bit of a process because of course everybody has a different ability level, um.

Chloe Giroux:

So usually we'd start with a little bit of an assessment, just kind of chat and explain how the equipment works, um, and then usually we would get them into the bike, get their setup all sorted, like moving the harness up If they have a higher level injury. Just they have a little bit more artificial core support, and then we will take a pin out which essentially makes the bike. It's hard to explain when you can't see it happening. It basically makes it side to side so it's easier to go over larger obstacles like roots and rocks and such. So it's pretty important and that's definitely one of the hardest skills to master, especially if you have a spinal cord injury and you're just learning how to use what motor function you do have, yeah, and then we just kind of take it nice and slow, do a couple of laps and see how comfortable everybody's feeling, and then we'll usually go on a little run and check in again and maybe we'll up the difficulty level if they're up to it.

Kristy Wolfe:

And this is most often at the Nordic Center. Yeah, so in the Bow Valley in Canmore, at the Canmore Nordic Centre. And then are you often in groups or is it one-on-one?

Chloe Giroux:

It's often one-on-one for Bowheads. You can do group lessons, but we more often see the private bookings.

Kristy Wolfe:

As you're trying to figure out how to do it. Well, and I'm just, I have their website open, as we were talking about it, and it is really quite easy to navigate Right on the homepage. There are four tabs for bookings, for volunteering, to donate or to sponsor, and I mean there are a ton. We've talked about a few of the adventures they have skiing, snowboarding too skiing, snowboarding too, I believe they do snowboarding.

Chloe Giroux:

The most common booking is for the sit skiing, yeah, but they do as well. Do stand up ski lessons and stand up snowboarding lessons.

Kristy Wolfe:

That's some of it, and we talked about biking, but I mean there are a ton of other programs. When I flip into programs, I mean I've seen things across social media, everything from Flip into programs. I mean I've seen things across social media, everything from skateboarding to kayaking, to golf, mountain biking. We've talked about there are, I think they said, 23 different activities that they currently support. You also mentioned camps. What does that look like?

Chloe Giroux:

There's a bunch of different offers that Rocky Mountain has. The most popular one would be the family camp at William Watson Lodge Last year. It was just wow. There were so many participants with their families and just seeing people being able to do stuff that they've never done or never thought that they could do, especially being with their family, it makes it all the more, all the more special, I guess.

Kristy Wolfe:

And we've talked about like that idea of seeing what a participant feels to get to do it again. But I think probably seeing what a family or caregivers or friends who get to do that activity with a person, there's a different level of what people are feeling at that time.

Chloe Giroux:

Definitely 100 percent, yeah. And then we also offer women's camps, and then we have multi-day activities like hiking, paddling, that sort of thing. I think they're called adventure days, but yeah, the options are honestly endless for what Rocky Mountain Adaptive has.

Kristy Wolfe:

Well, and I know that it all switches over, so it's seasonal as well. Right, you've got your summer activities, so the activities that I can see up right now on their website are very much like kayaking, biking, all of those kinds of ones, and then they'll switch over into their more winter activities. So it's definitely worth taking a look. Following on social media so you see when things go live as well. As Rocky Mountain Adaptive's newsletter is really good. It will kind of give you a heads up about when new programming is opening up and deadlines for those things.

Kristy Wolfe:

I have been to a couple of Rocky Mountain Adaptive's fundraising events. They call them the Ability Series, and they have things like Endurability, which is a four-week challenge just to really get moving with any activities that you like. Shredability is at Sunshine, it's a ski activity day. Forability is a golf day, and then they used to have something called a town party, but it sounds like they're switching it into a new idea that I'm excited about coming up this year. It's in November and it's a sociability. It's going to be similar to the town. Uh, it's going to be like similar to the town party. It sounds like get people together, um, have a band, silent auction, those kinds of things. But I have gone with a group of people for the last couple of years and it's one of my favorite events in the Bow Valley.

Chloe Giroux:

Tons of fun Again. Just that community that you can connect with is super cool.

Kristy Wolfe:

Nice. So what are your future plans with Rocky Mountain Adaptive? What's next for you there?

Chloe Giroux:

Well, I'm hoping to get downhill skiing again this winter. I finally got my own bowhead reach, so I'm hoping that will help with my coaching in the future with them. And yeah, I'm planning to continue my role as a recreational programmer with them.

Kristy Wolfe:

Well, and you're in school right now? I am, yeah, and a lot of the programming does take place in the Bow Valley and you're in Calgary. So what does transport? Does this look like a weekend job for you? So?

Chloe Giroux:

currently I will not be helping out with any programming, but in the winter I think I may be a part of some admin work. But it'll probably be the following summer where I start the programming again with the biking and the paddling.

Kristy Wolfe:

And did you come out and stay out in Canmore, or were you going back and forth?

Chloe Giroux:

Yes, oh, I actually slept in my car. I kind of I was late to trying to find accommodation in Canmore, um, so I ended up camping in my car most of the weeknight, which was honestly fine and it was quite exhilarating and I met a lot of interesting people, so no complaints there.

Kristy Wolfe:

It's funny, though, because I know I've had conversations with Rocky Mountain Adaptive and a number of other nonprofits in the Bow Valley about the reality of the cost of accommodation and the difficulty to find accommodation and what that looks like for actually funding their programs and supporting their human resources right, getting people and keeping people in the Bow Valley to be able to work and to support all these amazing programs that are happening. That's not easy, so it does sound like you had an adventure, but I'm actually I'm glad you mentioned that you had to sleep in your car, because that is not a surprise here glad you mentioned that you had to sleep in your car, because that is not a surprise here, and I hope a few people around the Bow Valley hear this message, because to be able to continue to do the incredible work that Rocky Mountain Adaptive does, there needs to be supports in place for the accommodation and bringing staff in, and seasonal staff as well. So, yeah, any thoughts on that? You're like that is a can of worms that I don't want to get into.

Chloe Giroux:

Yeah, I don't know, I don't know if I should touch on that. That's fair, that's fair.

Kristy Wolfe:

Chloe, will you kind of summarize how Rocky Mountain Adaptive has made a difference in your life?

Chloe Giroux:

Yeah, I mean they brought the world of sports back into my life, yeah, and it's honestly an indescribable thing. Like I said earlier, the community that I've joined unwillingly, I will add, but just the community and the friends that I have made has made all the difference mentally made has made all the difference, uh, mentally, and I mean just getting back into sports has helped me physically as well. Uh, I've gotten I mean, just over the summer I've gotten somewhat stronger and regained some motor function that I didn't think I would ever see again. It's just, it's such a cool thing that they do and I'm so happy that I get to be a part of it.

Kristy Wolfe:

And there's quite a large community of people who, like you, are coming after an injury and finding Rocky Mountain Adaptive that way. But there's also quite a few families that are. That's just reality. It's congenital. They've had different neurodivergent challenges coming up through life or physical disabilities, and I find there's a lot of like people don't go once to Rocky Mountain Adaptive. They return over and over and so finding different programming or finding the same programming that they can continue to build those skills. It's really neat to see. I'm wondering, as we're kind of closing this out, if you can think of another organization or maybe a person that you've worked with that inspires you.

Chloe Giroux:

I mean it's not really to Rocky Mountain Adaptive, but it's called Splash Adaptive. It is adaptive water skiing and I'm actually a part of their team and I was competing all summer with them and it was so cool. But yeah, my coach Raylee, she is a very remarkable human being and just the effort that she puts into her programming, getting people back on the water, water skiing or just simply getting them in the water and having side steers help them do a couple laps of the lake, it's really cool what Splash Adaptive has become and what it's growing into be Okay.

Kristy Wolfe:

I hadn't heard about them. I do know some people who've gotten back into water skiing or maybe started water skiing after an acquired injury, so I'm kind of assuming that it's going through the same program. But Rocky Mountain Adaptive has a digital story that Jamie the founder created, as well as a number of digital stories from participants' perspectives of what it's like to be involved. So I don't know if you've seen those, chloe. It's not super important in this thing right now, but I will link those in in case people want to have a look and kind of get more of an idea visually what Rocky Mountain Adaptive does. But I would also say, have a look at their website, have a look at their social media, because you really they do a great job of sharing what experiences are like and what's available for people to try out. So, chloe, thank you so much. Is there anything else you wanted to add before we?

Chloe Giroux:

close out, thank you so much for the opportunities that have been provided to me and looking forward to what the future holds me for adaptive sport.

Kristy Wolfe:

Thank you for joining us today. The purpose of the Wolfe Pack Warriors Foundation is to give, amplify and connect. Visit our website www. wolfepackwarriors. com to learn more about this initiative or connect with us about a registered charity that is important to you. Don't miss the next episode. Follow Give, amplify, connect on your favourite podcast platform to hear from other Alberta-based nonprofits about the work they are doing. On a final note, remember to take care of yourself and your pack.

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Okay, you're gonna be okay, You're gonna be okay pack.

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