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00:00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:00:03 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:00:32 Once, a person was severely injured.
00:00:36 So severely, in fact, that the person
00:00:42 suffered motor paralysis and the loss of many body functions
00:00:46 normally taken for granted.
00:00:47 Furthermore, the injured person faced a lifetime
00:00:54 in a wheelchair, experienced catastrophic disruption
00:00:59 of personality, was extremely fearful
00:01:03 of future relationships with family and friends,
00:01:07 and had no means of support.
00:01:08 One dilemma was obvious--
00:01:17 to cope or not to cope.
00:01:22 To cope meant to work and play and live and love
00:01:26 as if nothing had happened.
00:01:27 But something had happened.
00:01:28 We are the spinal cord injured.
00:01:35 We're all badly hurt.
00:01:38 And many of us don't know what to do about living this way.
00:01:43 It's a very good thing, therefore,
00:01:46 that the world is full of people with injuries like ours,
00:01:50 who have coped, who are glad they are coping,
00:01:55 and who give to the human race in full measure
00:01:58 for what they take.
00:01:59 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:02:03 [CAR DOOR SHUTS]
00:02:06 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:02:34 Welcome, everyone, to the top of Corbett's.
00:02:37 Absolutely stunning up here.
00:02:40 For anyone that has skied Jackson,
00:02:41 you look around at the valley, you look at the mountains,
00:02:44 you're like, OK, I've arrived.
00:02:46 You walk out of that tram, and I have to tell you,
00:02:49 this place is absolutely breathtaking.
00:02:50 And just to be part of this event is truly special.
00:02:54 Let's talk about Corbett's here at Jackson Old Mountain Resort.
00:02:57 One of the most iconic features at any mountain.
00:03:00 What an amazing venue this is.
00:03:02 Yeah, regularly rated and voted one
00:03:04 of the steepest, gnarliest, most extreme runs in all of America,
00:03:08 possibly even the world.
00:03:10 We have got 24 athletes out here.
00:03:12 It's a two-run format.
00:03:14 They don't have to take both runs if they don't want to.
00:03:16 No.
00:03:17 We've got nine women, 15 men today.
00:03:19 And it's a mix of skiers and snowboarders on both sides.
00:03:22 And all of the competitors are competing together.
00:03:26 So women separately from the men,
00:03:28 but the skiers and snowboarders together.
00:03:31 There are no judges.
00:03:32 This is a rider-judged event.
00:03:34 Let's get underway with this.
00:03:35 Let's get to the top of Corbett's here.
00:03:36 I'm excited.
00:03:37 We're ready to kick this off.
00:03:38 Kings and queens of Corbett's.
00:03:39 The Kings and Queens of Corbett's
00:03:44 is a unique event on Jackson Old Mountain Resort.
00:03:47 It's a skiing and snowboarding competition
00:03:50 to celebrate limits.
00:03:51 Corbett's is the icon of Jackson Old Mountain Resort.
00:04:00 It's the Everest for a lot of skiers and snowboarders.
00:04:04 When you ride the tram, you go up 4,000 vertical feet
00:04:07 in 12 minutes.
00:04:08 You know, you're getting up there.
00:04:10 You're getting up there.
00:04:11 And then you press that cliff.
00:04:13 And there's a hanging snowfield.
00:04:15 And well, here comes Corbett's.
00:04:17 And you go by, and you're looking at it.
00:04:18 And it's just like, wow.
00:04:22 I mean, it's so nasty.
00:04:23 There's massive boulders, super sharp rocks.
00:04:27 It's so steep that when you look down,
00:04:30 it looks like you're standing on the second floor of a building.
00:04:36 Within this death-laden cliff area, there is one route through.
00:04:41 And it's Corbett's Cool Water.
00:04:43 It's for real.
00:04:44 Anybody who says that they're a really good skier,
00:04:46 you take them up to the lip of Corbett's and be like,
00:04:48 so do you want to ski this?
00:04:50 Almost everybody is like, yeah, no, no, I'm good.
00:04:54 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:04:58 I just had never seen the kid before.
00:05:00 I didn't really know what the deal was.
00:05:03 He's going to come and watch.
00:05:06 And then I see him talking to some people.
00:05:09 And I'm like, oh, no, he's competing.
00:05:11 You know, like, oh, OK, cool.
00:05:13 Next thing I know, I'm employed to help push him up the hill.
00:05:17 When you saw how far he was getting pushed up
00:05:19 before he was going in, it was like, oh, he's
00:05:23 really going in.
00:05:25 Before the competition, Trevor and I hopped on the phone.
00:05:28 And he said, Jess, I am going to send it
00:05:31 off the nose of Corbett's.
00:05:32 And I was like, right, how far do you plan on going?
00:05:36 And he was like, at least 100 feet.
00:05:38 And I was like, OK.
00:05:41 [LAUGHS]
00:05:43 You know what might be helpful, too, give it a little push.
00:05:46 As an athlete, I was like, that would be so freaking rad.
00:05:50 Like, let's do this.
00:05:51 As the event organizer, I was like, OK, what
00:05:55 happens if things go wrong?
00:05:58 It can go terribly wrong for anyone.
00:06:00 People have broken their back in Corbett's couloir
00:06:07 just from cartwheeling down the mountain.
00:06:10 I was really, really nervous.
00:06:11 He did just have a huge spinal cord injury.
00:06:16 Was I going to allow him into the competition
00:06:20 to watch him die doing this?
00:06:22 At that point, I had my own personal doubts.
00:06:29 I decided to go up and talk to him,
00:06:31 kind of wanting to give my own assessment of, like,
00:06:33 should I try to talk this guy out of this right now?
00:06:36 And I said, this thing's pretty gnarly.
00:06:40 Do you got this?
00:06:41 He looked me straight in the eyes without any hesitation.
00:06:44 And he said, I got this.
00:06:47 All right.
00:06:49 How can I help?
00:06:52 Hey, Travis.
00:06:54 That's the one I'm going to hit.
00:06:55 This one?
00:06:56 Yep.
00:06:57 I can help you line up speed.
00:06:59 OK, cool.
00:07:00 Thank you.
00:07:01 When you take speed into Corbett's couloir,
00:07:03 it's totally blind.
00:07:05 He can't see what Travis and the other athletes
00:07:09 could see because he's in this recumbent position.
00:07:12 I mean, the trick is, like, you come in,
00:07:14 and he's kind of, like, looking out at that mountain.
00:07:16 OK.
00:07:17 So I want to land, like, right there.
00:07:19 You know what I mean?
00:07:20 Yeah.
00:07:21 Here, let me give you a full--
00:07:24 If you watch any of the spears of snowboarders milling
00:07:26 about prior to their runs, you'll
00:07:28 see everybody walk up to the lip and walk back.
00:07:32 Walk up to the lip, look down at the landing, walk back.
00:07:37 Because you don't want to be surprised
00:07:38 by that view in the air.
00:07:41 I'm going to-- I'll give you speed.
00:07:42 I'll make sure you don't go over.
00:07:43 But it's nicer to have speed.
00:07:45 Travis would push him and then stop him right at the very end.
00:07:49 The whole thing kind of was unseemly, you know?
00:07:55 As I was watching Trevor do the practice end run,
00:07:57 I just started getting more and more nervous.
00:08:00 Because it was obvious he was going to hit it.
00:08:02 Straight on, full bore.
00:08:05 That was it.
00:08:06 The stage was set.
00:08:07 He was about to air in.
00:08:08 3, 2, 1, drop it!
00:08:11 Pointed his ski downhill.
00:08:13 I remember thinking he was slow.
00:08:15 [CHEERING]
00:08:18 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:08:21 I think it was a good call.
00:08:23 It was a good call.
00:08:24 I agree.
00:08:25 [CHATTER]
00:08:28 Yeah, I just need more speed.
00:08:29 Right on, cool.
00:08:31 It kind of brought the collective anxiety
00:08:33 of everybody back in again.
00:08:35 Oh, shit.
00:08:36 OK, OK.
00:08:36 No, he's going to do it.
00:08:37 It's going to be fine, right?
00:08:38 OK, maybe.
00:08:39 Maybe.
00:08:40 Maybe.
00:08:41 You know, we brought him back up to a starting spot
00:08:44 that was even higher.
00:08:45 Probably higher than anyone went.
00:08:48 I remember saying something like, Trevor,
00:08:51 are you sure that you really want to do this?
00:08:55 You know, nine times out of 10, if someone
00:08:57 doesn't believe that they're going to land it,
00:08:59 they're not going to land it.
00:09:02 And then-- you sure you want to send that thing?
00:09:05 Yeah.
00:09:06 It's a-- you know, it was a really good call.
00:09:10 It was like a genuine place of, I need to do this.
00:09:14 It is dead silent.
00:09:21 I am down there with the vice president of operations
00:09:25 and our risk and safety director.
00:09:27 And I'm nervous.
00:09:29 They're all looking at the easiest way,
00:09:31 and I'm thinking, nope, he is going to go right off the nose.
00:09:34 What do you think?
00:09:36 I can't remember exactly what I said,
00:09:38 but I think it was something like, you know, have fun
00:09:41 and maybe see you on the other side.
00:09:43 It actually was like, see you on the other side
00:09:50 of this paradigm shifting thing that you're about to do.
00:09:54 So, you know, he reset, called the drop.
00:10:01 3, 2, 1, drop in.
00:10:03 The rest is kind of history.
00:10:04 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:10:08 Oh, my god.
00:10:26 Yeah!
00:10:28 [CHEERING]
00:10:31 That was insane.
00:10:36 [CHEERING]
00:10:40 Wow.
00:10:48 God, everyone wanted to just touch him, you know,
00:10:52 just to have a piece of the magic that just happened.
00:10:55 [LAUGHTER]
00:10:58 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:11:01 Can you tell us, how did Corbett get his name?
00:11:16 Well, refresh my memory, because was he
00:11:22 the one that first wrote it?
00:11:24 You know, I guess over time, people forget.
00:11:27 There is so much lore about Corbett's
00:11:29 Couar within the Jacksonville community,
00:11:31 but I don't know a ton about Barry Corbett.
00:11:34 I grew up riding on Jacksonville Mountain Resort,
00:11:37 but now I don't know what happened to Barry.
00:11:40 Well, you want the real story, or you want
00:11:42 the story that we spun?
00:11:43 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:11:54 Jackson Hole was-- we thought Bale was great
00:11:57 until we saw Jackson Hole.
00:12:00 It just was a beautiful, charming place.
00:12:05 I met Barry in August of 1959.
00:12:08 When I first met Barry, he was teaching skiing on the town
00:12:12 hill in the winter.
00:12:13 Paul McAllister, who started the resort,
00:12:19 was a friend of Barry's and mine.
00:12:23 The day that I went up with Paul and Barry
00:12:26 was an absolutely gorgeous, bright blue day,
00:12:28 and the snow was wonderful.
00:12:30 And we looked at the city plots and had a picnic looking up
00:12:35 at what became Corbett's Cool War.
00:12:39 And Barry looked at it and said, someday somebody
00:12:43 is going to ski that.
00:12:44 Someday somebody is going to ski that.
00:12:46 Somebody is going to actually ski that.
00:12:49 And ever since then, it's been known as Corbett's Cool Ar.
00:12:53 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:12:57 I didn't know about all his accomplishments
00:13:03 until someone said, hey, do you know who you're talking to?
00:13:07 I said, yeah, Barry Corbett.
00:13:10 Do you know about him?
00:13:11 He was this larger than life human being.
00:13:18 He did first ascents on Mount McKinley.
00:13:21 He did first ascents on the highest and second highest
00:13:23 peaks in America, Mount Vinson, Mount Tyree, among others,
00:13:28 shall we say.
00:13:30 Yeah, he, for his time, was definitely
00:13:32 a very badass mountaineer.
00:13:35 He was literally the Camelman.
00:13:39 He could never get away from that picture.
00:13:40 I mean, it's all over the place.
00:13:42 I've got one in the bathroom.
00:13:43 I'm not even here.
00:13:44 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:13:48 When I met Barry, it was on Everest.
00:13:54 The major goal of the expedition was to get
00:13:58 the first American up Everest.
00:14:00 It wasn't to climb a new route.
00:14:02 But Barry and I had really had this similar passion,
00:14:07 do something on the mountain that was unknown.
00:14:11 Most climbers would love to have a first ascent.
00:14:15 And the West Ridge was just that.
00:14:18 It was the biggest mountain in the world.
00:14:20 And that particular part of it had not been climbed.
00:14:23 At the time of the summit bid, Barry said,
00:14:27 I think it should be Hornbine and Unsole.
00:14:30 You guys are just about over the hill.
00:14:33 And I'll be coming back someday.
00:14:35 And Barry humped loads up to the next camp
00:14:39 while they moved on and went to the summit.
00:14:42 It was the first ascent of the West Ridge.
00:14:46 I want to, on behalf of all the people of the United States,
00:14:49 to express our great appreciation
00:14:52 for this wonderful effort by our fellow citizens.
00:14:55 We're very proud to welcome these men here
00:14:57 to the White House.
00:15:00 He was a very creative guy.
00:15:02 And climbing around the rocks was his passion.
00:15:05 But he needed something more.
00:15:07 And film was that, something more.
00:15:12 When Barry got back from Everest,
00:15:14 I said, Barry, look me up.
00:15:15 Maybe we can get together on some films.
00:15:18 And we made the first Jackson Hole film.
00:15:19 What got me into freestyle skiing
00:15:26 were these two iconic ski films, Ski the Outer Limits
00:15:30 and The Mobius Flip.
00:15:33 Barry went up there.
00:15:35 And they did the first big flips into the cool water.
00:15:39 And that excited a lot of people,
00:15:41 because nobody was even ready to ski it,
00:15:43 no less do a flip into it.
00:15:47 Made our career.
00:15:48 These, then, are the Outer Limits, a flight into space,
00:15:55 reaching to regain a shadow.
00:15:58 There's poetry in the way it's shot
00:16:00 and what the narrator is saying.
00:16:03 And they were doing things that nobody in the world had seen.
00:16:06 For a kid like me and all over the world,
00:16:10 it just captured the imagination of, yes, I want to do that.
00:16:14 I want to fly.
00:16:15 I want to ski the Outer Limits.
00:16:18 What was impossible yesterday is today's absolute limit,
00:16:30 tomorrow's commonplace.
00:16:33 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:16:37 There's you and Ashley.
00:16:55 And there's Mama.
00:16:57 This is a great picture right here.
00:17:00 There's Trevor with his father.
00:17:04 And he's one seas--
00:17:05 Halfway's corner.
00:17:06 Halfway's corner on the bottom.
00:17:08 Sports shop my dad had growing up, my mom and dad.
00:17:13 And then it turned into a skateboard shop
00:17:15 and snowboard shop.
00:17:19 Trevor loves snowboarding.
00:17:22 You see nothing but white teeth in the little goggles
00:17:26 when he was a little kid.
00:17:27 He wouldn't even go inside to get something to eat.
00:17:29 No, I got to do it again.
00:17:30 I got to do it again.
00:17:33 Growing up, my parents were super busy running
00:17:36 their stores, training for marathons.
00:17:40 So my parents were extremely absent.
00:17:43 I was running two businesses, 12-hour days, sometimes
00:17:47 six days a week.
00:17:48 Yeah, it was very challenging.
00:17:51 There was a lot of challenging moments.
00:17:56 When my parents separated, Trevor was about five years old.
00:18:01 I think Trevor emotionally took the divorce and my mom
00:18:05 leaving super hard.
00:18:08 From the time that we were in third or fourth grade,
00:18:15 we moved probably every six months.
00:18:19 You know, I knew we didn't have a lot of money.
00:18:23 So we had, like, someone rent the third room, basically.
00:18:26 So we could get more rent.
00:18:29 It looks pretty good, though.
00:18:30 It looks just, like, cleaned up and, you know,
00:18:32 it's decorated and shit.
00:18:34 Looks like an actual family lives there.
00:18:35 [LAUGHS]
00:18:36 I guess, like, all these houses we lived in,
00:18:40 it was just so, like, short.
00:18:44 As a kid, I didn't know any better.
00:18:45 I didn't know what a normal family or relationship
00:18:48 looked like.
00:18:53 In high school, he never had a ton of support from his family.
00:18:58 He was our, like, brother pretty much.
00:19:00 I mean, bouncing around between houses,
00:19:02 sleeping on couches and stuff.
00:19:04 And we weren't in any after-school clubs.
00:19:05 So it was, let's get drunk and high.
00:19:08 At first, I did not know that Trevor
00:19:13 was abusing the painkillers.
00:19:16 But then he said to me, mom, I have an issue.
00:19:20 I have this problem.
00:19:21 I keep taking these pills because I'm very depressed.
00:19:26 I was just at the time in my life,
00:19:28 I just didn't know what to do.
00:19:30 I couldn't go to school.
00:19:31 I couldn't apply to Keene State.
00:19:33 They didn't really want me.
00:19:33 I could probably do the community college around here.
00:19:36 But, like, I didn't know what to do in life.
00:19:38 I didn't know where to live.
00:19:39 I didn't know what to do for work.
00:19:40 Growing up in Keene, everyone's idea after high school
00:19:46 was to get out of Keene.
00:19:50 There was nothing here for Trevor.
00:19:53 And that's when Ashley went to Colorado.
00:19:56 When he saw Ashley moving and seeing how happy Ashley was,
00:20:01 and she's in Colorado, the mountains, and snowboarding,
00:20:06 he's like, I'm out of here.
00:20:09 Ashley goes, Trevor, get a plumbing job.
00:20:14 And Trevor came out to Colorado and was like,
00:20:18 this is what I'm going to do.
00:20:19 I'm going to pursue plumbing.
00:20:20 I'm going to get my plumbing license.
00:20:23 And he was shortly on his way just before his accident.
00:20:28 Barry had finished shooting the Ski the Unrelentless film.
00:20:41 And we had a contract to shoot the International Ski
00:20:45 Instructors Association meeting in Aspen.
00:20:49 I remember very clearly that he was going up there.
00:20:52 And then I got very nervous.
00:20:53 Something really bothered me.
00:20:57 And I just stared at the phone for maybe two or three hours.
00:21:00 And the phone rang.
00:21:01 This has been a terrible accident.
00:21:04 It's Barry.
00:21:04 Dad never talked about how he got hurt.
00:21:12 My mom didn't really talk about it either.
00:21:14 Those were pretty dark days.
00:21:16 So people didn't really want to revisit that.
00:21:18 Barry was filming the skiers.
00:21:27 And it was in the middle of the day.
00:21:29 So the undulation of the terrain was not
00:21:31 completely clear to the pilot.
00:21:33 It's all blasted by sun.
00:21:37 Barry had the seat belt loose.
00:21:39 So he could turn to the side of the helicopter
00:21:42 and shoot.
00:21:45 The helicopter pilot clips a knoll and starts to bounce.
00:21:49 And on one of those bounces, Barry breaks the seat belt,
00:21:53 takes out the door, and goes out the door.
00:21:55 We were all going nuts that Barry was going to die.
00:22:04 We thought, sure, he was dead.
00:22:07 And they got him into Denver to Craig Hospital.
00:22:12 And they kept him alive.
00:22:13 I did go down to see him when he was still in the hospital.
00:22:21 He had some of those elbow crutches.
00:22:23 And he asked me to bring them when I came.
00:22:26 So I did.
00:22:27 And I remember a nurse looking at them and saying,
00:22:31 what are those doing here?
00:22:32 He'll never use them.
00:22:33 That's when his life as a paraplegic began.
00:22:39 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:22:42 This is the first time I've been here since my accident.
00:23:03 And I was definitely scared to come back here.
00:23:09 This spot is super important in my recovery.
00:23:12 Getting closure, being OK and accepting with my injury.
00:23:17 I lost everything up here.
00:23:19 Being back here is something I need
00:23:24 to do to move forward to accomplish a lot of my goals.
00:23:28 And one of those goals is skiing here at Bale Paps.
00:23:31 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:23:35 So the day that Trevor got hurt, my brother Trevor and I
00:23:57 decided to go up to Bale Paps.
00:24:00 So we got to the parking lot, got our gear out,
00:24:03 started hiking up next to the snowmobile track.
00:24:07 And we hiked up about 100, 150 yards.
00:24:10 We saw a guy coming down on a snowmobile
00:24:12 and stopped and let us know there was a jump up further.
00:24:15 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:24:18 When we got to the jump, it wasn't anything too crazy.
00:24:26 I wasn't really worried about any of us
00:24:28 hitting that size jump.
00:24:31 I hit it first, then my brother, and Trevor hit it last.
00:24:37 End of the day, it's dark.
00:24:39 And I drop in and come down this cat track.
00:24:44 I saw him.
00:24:44 As soon as he took off the lip, he just
00:24:46 kind of went off a weird angle.
00:24:48 And I was flying through the air like a Superman.
00:24:50 And I didn't want to land on my neck.
00:24:52 So I tucked my neck, landed on my back.
00:24:55 My boarded boots compressed like a taco.
00:24:57 And I just heard a loud, loud pop.
00:25:01 A person called me.
00:25:04 And I was doing a car deal.
00:25:06 I was in the middle of negotiating.
00:25:08 So I would never answer my phone.
00:25:11 I happened to answer it.
00:25:13 Trevor's hurt.
00:25:14 He can't feel his toes.
00:25:17 I said, put Trevor on the phone.
00:25:22 Trevor, get your ass up.
00:25:25 Don't be faking this shit.
00:25:27 He said, Dad, I can't move my toes.
00:25:32 I just remember laying there, thinking about my girlfriend,
00:25:47 my sister, telling my parents, telling my boss,
00:25:51 not being a plumber anymore, not doing the things I love
00:25:53 anymore.
00:25:55 And I looked at my feet.
00:25:57 And it was just like, I knew right away.
00:25:59 Called search and rescue, said that they're
00:26:07 going to send a team up.
00:26:08 But since the storm was hitting pretty hard at that point,
00:26:11 they said it was going to take at least an hour.
00:26:13 And then one of us needed to go down and meet them.
00:26:15 My adrenaline started to wear off.
00:26:20 And my back was killing me.
00:26:23 Time was just going slow.
00:26:30 I was scared no one was going to find me.
00:26:33 I was scared I was going to freeze to death.
00:26:35 No one was coming for me.
00:26:38 From when he crashed to when search and rescue was on scene
00:26:41 was roughly 2 and 1/2, 3 hours.
00:26:45 The search party was on, just no shoes.
00:26:49 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:26:51 My brother called me twice.
00:26:53 Trevor's really cold.
00:26:54 He's in pain.
00:26:55 We're coming.
00:26:56 I'm not going to leave you guys.
00:26:57 We're coming.
00:26:59 I remember thinking to myself, just don't close your eyes,
00:27:02 Trevor.
00:27:04 Don't close your eyes.
00:27:05 Because I feel like if I did, I didn't
00:27:07 think I was going to wake up.
00:27:08 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:27:11 Listen, something hard has happened to us both.
00:27:27 And neither of us likes it, despite the inexplicable fact
00:27:33 that you'll encounter lots of us who say our lives have been
00:27:36 improved by our accidents.
00:27:40 Strange.
00:27:41 Still in all, I don't think it takes much heavy thought
00:27:47 for anyone who's broken a back or neck
00:27:50 to realize that big changes are coming
00:27:56 and that nobody is giving anybody
00:27:58 much choice in the matter.
00:27:59 [CAR DOOR SLAMMING]
00:28:02 I had a friend drive me to the hospital.
00:28:12 When I got there, we were waiting.
00:28:14 And I asked the receptionist, I was like, hey,
00:28:19 there's this kid coming in from Vail Pass.
00:28:21 Do you know what the ETA is?
00:28:25 And she said, oh, well, it's a code whatever.
00:28:28 It's pretty serious.
00:28:30 They're probably going to be here in about an hour and a
00:28:32 half.
00:28:34 And I said, OK, well, I'll just wait.
00:28:37 Can you just let me know when he gets here?
00:28:41 And I remember when he got there, I saw him.
00:28:48 And he grabbed my hand.
00:28:52 And I looked at the X-ray.
00:28:55 And he said, it's going to be OK.
00:28:57 Everything is going to be OK.
00:28:59 I love you.
00:29:00 I don't remember saying that to my sister,
00:29:09 grabbing her hand and look at her
00:29:11 and saying it's going to be OK.
00:29:14 But it made me tear up hearing that now.
00:29:17 And I'm just showing her every day
00:29:20 that it's going to be OK, and my family, and people that love me
00:29:25 or close ones around me.
00:29:27 It sucks what happened to me, but it's going to be OK.
00:29:30 And I just feel like I just keep proving that every day.
00:29:54 To see Trevor in the hospital, laying there,
00:29:57 was a really difficult thing.
00:30:00 And it was just hard for me to see my boy broken.
00:30:03 As a parent, you never want any of this stuff
00:30:09 to happen to your children.
00:30:12 And I was afraid and fearful of what his future would be like.
00:30:20 I shattered T11, T12 of my vertebrae.
00:30:24 I punctured my spinal cord and dislocated my back
00:30:26 90 degrees into my stomach.
00:30:30 I got two 12-inch rods and 12 screws in my back.
00:30:35 And they basically told me, there's no way.
00:30:39 There's no way you're even going to move again, walk again,
00:30:42 anything like that.
00:30:43 At Craig, the most common question for people
00:30:50 is, am I going to completely recover?
00:30:55 There are people who come into the facility who feel truly
00:30:59 that their lives are over.
00:31:01 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:31:04 All right, Toesies, move.
00:31:08 Move.
00:31:11 Come on, move, Toes.
00:31:13 Come on, move, Toes.
00:31:15 Move, Toes.
00:31:16 Move, Toes.
00:31:18 Move, Toes.
00:31:21 Come on, big Toes, you got this.
00:31:23 This is a family affair.
00:31:27 And the research is very clear that people
00:31:30 with better support system, tighter families,
00:31:34 have better outcomes.
00:31:36 We were a little distant at that point in time.
00:31:39 And I think maybe I put up a wall.
00:31:43 I was-- I withdrew when I was around him.
00:31:48 My mom, she struggled to watch Trevor in his PT.
00:31:54 She was just like, I can't be here,
00:31:56 and like would get up and walk away.
00:31:59 I think that really took a toll on Trevor.
00:32:04 When you're inside recovery or a rehab facility,
00:32:07 every single day matters.
00:32:09 At Craig, you've got nearly 100 people
00:32:13 with very similar injuries that all have different outcomes.
00:32:16 But you're all fighting together to have the best
00:32:20 outcome for each other.
00:32:23 You have six months to two years to get nerve return.
00:32:27 And our whole goal was for me to walk.
00:32:30 Come on, come on, go, baby.
00:32:32 Kind of tough for me to do that.
00:32:38 One day at a time.
00:32:43 I think that was the first time I had genuinely seen Trevor
00:32:51 motivated to do anything.
00:32:55 He was looking for new ways to challenge
00:32:57 himself every single day.
00:32:58 Yeah, there's the left leg.
00:33:05 See, now I can lift it too.
00:33:07 I need right leg.
00:33:08 That's as far as I can get, but that's really good.
00:33:15 Got it.
00:33:18 I took all these things that I learned playing sports
00:33:20 as a kid.
00:33:21 It was like, all right, how can I make this a game?
00:33:24 I remember meeting Trevor for the first time
00:33:29 at Craig Hospital.
00:33:31 Therapists would come to me and say,
00:33:33 this guy's going in fifth gear.
00:33:36 It's premature.
00:33:36 He needs to be in second gear.
00:33:38 And how do we slow him down?
00:33:49 What's up, camera?
00:33:51 Walking into the sunshine.
00:33:53 One of the biggest things that happened with a spinal cord
00:33:56 injury is that first goal people set is, I want to walk.
00:34:01 And yeah, we all want to walk.
00:34:03 But recovery has to be built on smaller goals.
00:34:09 What happens if that's your only goal and it doesn't come true?
00:34:13 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:34:16 It's only fair to warn you that many of us
00:34:22 have found the first weeks or months after the escape
00:34:25 to be the most difficult ones of all, hard times.
00:34:31 While the institution was toilet training you and teaching you
00:34:34 mobility, it was also becoming your sheltering mother who
00:34:38 loved you in spite of your flaws, real or imagined.
00:34:43 That comfortable shelter can be difficult to abandon
00:34:49 for the ragged, jagged edges of real life.
00:34:54 Ask yourself whether you want to live or die.
00:34:59 Many folks with spinal cord injuries
00:35:02 have told me that they once contemplated suicide, usually
00:35:05 soon after their accidents.
00:35:09 They were all, of course, still alive when I met them.
00:35:12 A month after Trevor left Craig Hospital,
00:35:19 he hit a pretty low point.
00:35:21 My mom told me that Trevor drove the car off the road on purpose
00:35:29 and she was really concerned.
00:35:35 For a little while, I was very nervous for his future
00:35:40 because I knew he would be needing pain medication.
00:35:47 I was very worried that he would just fall back
00:35:49 into using prescription drugs.
00:35:54 The pills definitely numb me to just a lot of life.
00:35:58 So I was just trying to forget all the stuff
00:36:01 I used to be able to do.
00:36:03 And once I started using drugs and partying,
00:36:07 I just felt numb.
00:36:11 I didn't care about anything anymore.
00:36:15 We were genuinely concerned about him.
00:36:18 I was no longer in the picture.
00:36:20 My parents had gone back home.
00:36:23 He had no one else.
00:36:24 I ended up moving back to Max's house
00:36:31 and lived on his couch for a couple of months.
00:36:35 This house was not meant for somebody with a disability,
00:36:39 especially one that involves a wheelchair.
00:36:43 The only bathroom was on the second floor.
00:36:46 Every other day, I would climb the stairs,
00:36:49 scooting up one step at a time on my butt
00:36:52 just so I can go to the bathroom.
00:36:55 I was definitely not in a good state.
00:36:57 I think I was at my lowest, lowest point there.
00:37:02 It was probably the toughest time mentally for him.
00:37:06 Right out of it, he's like, dude, I'm going to walk again.
00:37:08 When in reality, that just wasn't his situation.
00:37:11 He could put in as much work as he wanted to towards the goal
00:37:15 of walking again, and that wasn't necessarily
00:37:18 going to happen, no matter how hard he tried.
00:37:21 Reality would set in, and he just wasn't adjusted to it yet.
00:37:26 How were you going to support yourself?
00:37:28 Where were you going to live?
00:37:31 I mean, his plumbing thing was going great,
00:37:33 but after this accident, you're not going to be a plumber.
00:37:37 So what are you going to do?
00:37:40 That was a big concern of mine, huge.
00:37:44 Did you talk with him about that at all, or was it--
00:37:46 I did.
00:37:48 And I'm not good, not good at all.
00:37:51 [music playing]
00:37:54 It wasn't an easy beginning.
00:38:07 There were some rocky times that Barry was trying
00:38:09 to get his shit together.
00:38:12 He couldn't ski.
00:38:14 He couldn't climb.
00:38:15 He couldn't do anything.
00:38:18 So here he is, stripped of the core of his life.
00:38:22 In the '60s, there were disincentives
00:38:25 to be in the community.
00:38:27 People felt truly that life is over.
00:38:31 A trauma is a change.
00:38:34 Life is change.
00:38:37 And if you don't evolve with that change,
00:38:40 you remain stagnant and static.
00:38:45 And that was not Barry.
00:38:46 Barry was the epitome of fluidity.
00:38:49 [music playing]
00:38:52 Dad was amazing that way.
00:38:53 He would come into the fire and come out
00:38:56 forged in whole new ways.
00:38:57 He always found a way to find strength
00:39:00 and find a way to cope with changing circumstances.
00:39:03 In 1980, my dad published a book called "Options."
00:39:12 He decided to interview people all over the country who
00:39:14 had spinal cord injury.
00:39:16 And so the book brought together the stories
00:39:19 of all of these people interlaced
00:39:21 with his own stories.
00:39:22 In my interactions with patients,
00:39:28 I would give them this book.
00:39:31 And I'd say, when you've read a few of the narratives,
00:39:36 let's get together and talk.
00:39:38 Let's see how this helps you re-envision who you
00:39:42 are and where you're going.
00:39:45 He essentially wrote the book on living and thriving
00:39:50 with a spinal cord injury.
00:39:53 It had a huge effect on people.
00:39:56 It really is foundational in terms
00:39:58 of the beginning of people writing about disability
00:40:02 and what it's like to live and thrive with spinal injury.
00:40:11 In tandem with "Options," he created two companion films,
00:40:16 "Changes" and "Outside."
00:40:18 In this film, I wanted to show new cord injuries how
00:40:20 old cord injuries live--
00:40:22 three years, five, 10, 20, as much as 35 years
00:40:25 after their accidents.
00:40:27 I wanted to visit people all over this country, people
00:40:30 with injuries like mine and much worse than mine,
00:40:33 and see what their lives were like.
00:40:36 So a journey was begun, a journey in search
00:40:38 of spinal cord injured Americans.
00:40:41 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:40:45 He had so many people that had done incredible things
00:40:53 despite their spinal cord injury.
00:40:56 The communality was that every single person
00:41:00 to have a creative, meaningful life
00:41:02 had to reinvent themselves in some way.
00:41:04 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:41:09 I like to think that before I was paralyzed,
00:41:12 there were 10,000 things I could do.
00:41:14 And now there's 9,000.
00:41:16 So I can either dwell on the 1,000 that I've lost,
00:41:20 or I can concentrate on the 9,000 that's left.
00:41:22 And of course, the joke is that none of us in our lifetime
00:41:25 are going to do more than 2,000 or 3,000 of those things
00:41:27 in any event.
00:41:28 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:41:34 I don't want to tell you that life will become easier,
00:41:38 or the choice is simpler, or that spinal cord injury is
00:41:42 in any way beneficial to one's mental and physical health,
00:41:48 because those things aren't true.
00:41:53 I do want to tell you that this monumental inconvenience can
00:41:57 be lived through, lived with, loved with, laughed with,
00:42:02 surmounted, shared, transcended, and that you have not
00:42:06 been deprived of choice.
00:42:10 You do have a lot of options.
00:42:13 You can be OK if you choose to be OK.
00:42:17 The future, however unfathomable, is yours.
00:42:22 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:42:26 I have heard--
00:42:27 I can't tell you how many people that
00:42:29 have said the spinal cord injury was my epiphany.
00:42:35 It was my start to reprioritize my life.
00:42:40 Who am I?
00:42:42 Who am I now?
00:42:46 I was Trevor's first ski instructor
00:42:48 at the Adaptive Sports Center in Crest Butte
00:42:50 when he came with Craig Hospital in February of 2016.
00:42:55 Trevor's stoke and lack of fear stood out
00:42:58 above anyone else I've ever taught before.
00:43:03 He had goals before I even knew his name.
00:43:06 The first day, Trevor was talking
00:43:08 about sit skiing in the back country on Vail Pass,
00:43:12 catching air, jumping cliffs.
00:43:15 Where can we go jump this?
00:43:17 And what about that box over there?
00:43:20 We don't typically allow people to do any kind of jumping,
00:43:23 but every chance I looked away, there
00:43:26 was jumping something off the side.
00:43:30 That trip changed my life.
00:43:32 Just like, oh, boy, you get excited.
00:43:35 You're like, all right, well, what's next?
00:43:36 And you're just like, oh, can I do that?
00:43:40 He was stoked, and that was the first time I had actually
00:43:45 seen him happy in a while.
00:43:48 Well, since I got hurt snowboarding
00:43:50 on the mountain about a year and three months ago
00:43:53 on the top of Vail Pass, I sat there for 3 and 1/2 hours
00:43:57 in a blizzard from 4 to 730 at night.
00:44:00 So I never really thought I could be back where I am today.
00:44:05 And so what this means, getting back on the mountain,
00:44:08 is there's no words that can actually describe the feeling.
00:44:12 This will be a huge part of my life for the rest of my life.
00:44:17 I went on that trip, and I realized
00:44:19 that I'm not going to wait around my whole entire life
00:44:23 to just see if I'm going to have a chance to walk.
00:44:26 I'm going to go do and attack other things.
00:44:29 Post-traumatic growth is the ability of a person
00:44:36 to experience trauma and craft it into a positive means
00:44:44 for themselves.
00:44:45 How does tragedy transform itself into opportunities?
00:44:52 High Fives invited him to do a ski camp in Lake Tahoe,
00:44:57 and that's when his relationship with Roy really blossomed.
00:45:03 High Fives is a national nonprofit organization
00:45:07 with a mission to prevent life-changing injuries
00:45:10 and provide resources and hope if they
00:45:12 happen in the outdoor sports.
00:45:13 [CHEERING]
00:45:16 When High Fives gives a grant, you've got to set goals.
00:45:18 So that we see how our grant funding is helping you progress
00:45:22 and you keep achieving a better quality of life.
00:45:25 Trevor's biggest goal once he started getting into sit skiing
00:45:33 was to make the Paralympic team.
00:45:35 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:45:38 Come on, Trevor.
00:45:39 Push, push, push.
00:45:40 [CHEERING]
00:45:43 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:45:46 [CHEERING]
00:45:50 Seemingly within three or four months of starting his training,
00:45:53 he was already competing for spots on the team.
00:45:56 With the silver medal from the USA, baby Trevor Gittes.
00:46:00 So he ended up moving to Winter Park
00:46:02 and started out his third winter and then
00:46:07 decided to quit ski racing.
00:46:11 A lot of us were wondering why.
00:46:15 I quit ski racing because I had a passion for hitting jumps
00:46:19 and cliffs and rails and everything else.
00:46:23 I just wanted to ski the whole mountain.
00:46:26 When Trevor gave us his list of goals for our grant,
00:46:29 there was more on there than just making the Paralympic team.
00:46:32 He wanted to do a backflip off a rail.
00:46:34 He wanted to jump into Corbett's Couloir.
00:46:37 He wanted to compete in the X Games.
00:46:39 He wanted to sit ski at Vail Pass
00:46:42 and do the first ever sit ski double backflip.
00:46:46 I told him, stick with ski racing.
00:46:49 There's money there.
00:46:51 But he was doing his thing.
00:46:54 He was going to free ski.
00:46:57 My dad and my sister, even Roy, were kind of chuckled.
00:46:59 And I was like, yeah, this is what I want to do.
00:47:01 I want to try to make a living off this.
00:47:03 I want to get sponsors.
00:47:04 I want to do this for a career.
00:47:06 And I said, honey, let's get a solid career
00:47:11 and go forward, because this is short term.
00:47:16 What was his response?
00:47:18 His response to that was, he didn't say anything.
00:47:23 My thought was, go fuck yourself, dad,
00:47:25 because I'm going to do it.
00:47:28 It is the video taking the ski world by storm.
00:47:30 A sit skier launching off the top of the mountain
00:47:33 at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
00:47:35 Trevor Kennison happens to call Colorado home.
00:47:38 Join Kennison on the slopes and see what he's doing
00:47:41 with all that newfound fame.
00:47:44 I'm sitting here watching ESPN.
00:47:46 This is Trevor Kennison, who is unable to ski,
00:47:49 except in this contraption that he has.
00:47:51 Trevor Kennison.
00:47:53 That's my kid.
00:47:54 Holy shit.
00:47:56 After Corvettes, everything in my life changed.
00:48:01 People just recognized who I was.
00:48:05 Trevor started going bigger and bigger.
00:48:09 He's using his daredevil persona to inspire others, able-bodied
00:48:13 or not.
00:48:14 I love learning.
00:48:15 I love pushing it, and learning and learning and learning.
00:48:18 Trevor was starting to set a bar that others hadn't seen.
00:48:35 He was progressing so fast in a sit ski.
00:48:39 This is Trevor Kennison, and he is with us here today.
00:48:43 He's pretty much a pro.
00:48:44 You're pretty much famous at this point.
00:48:47 You've made some pretty big strides
00:48:49 these past couple of years.
00:48:51 No one's ever done this before, right?
00:48:52 No.
00:48:53 How has that impacted you?
00:48:55 Over the past two, three years, it's
00:48:56 just given me hope in my life and to move forward with it
00:48:59 and to live life to the fullest.
00:49:03 His attitude and his spirit is always just so positive.
00:49:06 That first time I rode with him, he hit like that 20-foot jump.
00:49:10 I remember that day very vividly.
00:49:12 He said, I want to be able to hit 90-foot jumps like the guys
00:49:17 do in the X Games.
00:49:21 Now to the X Games and a major first ahead today.
00:49:24 Trevor Kennison will become the first adaptive athlete
00:49:27 to hit the big air jump at the game.
00:49:32 A tale of pure will and determination,
00:49:35 pushing boundaries, pushing the limits,
00:49:38 and he is set to do it again.
00:49:42 Trevor Kennison looking to make history out here today.
00:49:44 First ever adaptive athlete to hit the big air
00:49:47 jump here in Aspen.
00:49:48 Straight off the jump, huge balance.
00:49:51 He's going massive.
00:49:52 Oh, so, so close.
00:49:58 I mean, took it to the bottom line
00:50:00 and just not holding on.
00:50:03 You OK?
00:50:16 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:50:19 Where's your hand?
00:50:37 Just like a hollow up?
00:50:39 No, I'm trying to get an MRI on my back.
00:50:42 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:50:46 Sitskiing is a great sport.
00:50:49 Like any form of skiing, when you
00:50:53 start taking it to its extreme, the danger level goes up.
00:50:57 When you're standing up, you have the full shock absorption
00:51:04 of your knees, which is about three feet.
00:51:06 And you add a couple more feet bending at the waist.
00:51:10 The best sitskis have maybe six to eight inches of travel.
00:51:14 If you bottom that shock out, it transfers directly
00:51:19 into your spine.
00:51:19 That can blow out a vertebrae.
00:51:25 Myself and I know other people that
00:51:27 have had secondary spinal injuries sitskiing,
00:51:31 and it's due to bottoming out of shocks.
00:51:38 I've got to be a parent.
00:51:40 The jumps, that bothers me.
00:51:44 I mean, he could come down and land on his neck,
00:51:47 and no more Trevor.
00:51:49 Oh.
00:52:02 Oh.
00:52:03 Oh.
00:52:05 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:52:09 [CRASH]
00:52:37 Goals come in two forms.
00:52:40 There are take one day at a time goals.
00:52:47 And there are the goals we perceive way out there
00:52:52 in the future Merc, which we will work toward
00:52:56 with consuming passion.
00:52:57 Your goals can open doors for you.
00:53:05 You don't have to go through the doors.
00:53:07 But they do ease the passage if you're bumping into walls.
00:53:13 You OK?
00:53:14 So pick a goal.
00:53:20 Manufacture one.
00:53:23 Pick anything you haven't been doing but can do.
00:53:26 Then do it.
00:53:29 The identification of realistic goals
00:53:31 is the keystone of all rehabilitation.
00:53:34 No goals, no free lunch.
00:53:38 Have you hit a rail?
00:53:39 Like, have you hit this rail before?
00:53:42 No.
00:53:43 In the park?
00:53:43 No.
00:53:44 But I'm going to right now.
00:53:46 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
00:53:50 Trevor dropping.
00:53:51 Trevor dropping.
00:53:52 Trevor dropping.
00:53:53 [LAUGHTER]
00:54:01 Dang.
00:54:02 All day, baby.
00:54:03 That was perfect.
00:54:10 Yeah.
00:54:11 Yo, can someone radio down to see if I should just
00:54:16 back flip it right now?
00:54:17 You can see what you want to do, man.
00:54:19 Trevor says be ready for the back flip.
00:54:22 Let me know when 10 seconds, buddy.
00:54:31 All right, 10 seconds.
00:54:32 All right, 10 seconds.
00:54:33 Yeah, boy.
00:54:34 Yeah, dude.
00:54:35 Let's go.
00:54:36 10 seconds.
00:54:37 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
00:54:41 Woo!
00:54:45 Woo!
00:54:46 [CHEERING]
00:54:48 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:54:51 Let's go!
00:55:00 Let's go!
00:55:01 Let's fucking go!
00:55:04 Woo!
00:55:05 Let's go!
00:55:07 Let's go!
00:55:08 That was so easy, dude.
00:55:11 That was so cool.
00:55:12 That was sick.
00:55:13 Yeah, thanks.
00:55:14 Nice work.
00:55:15 You crushed it, Trevor.
00:55:16 Just a while ago, three years ago, ski racing, and then,
00:55:22 like, you know, Ashley, Roy, like, my dad,
00:55:24 like, kind of chuckling at my face.
00:55:26 And then it's just like, you know, actually doing it.
00:55:28 And now it's like, I had this idea.
00:55:30 I don't even know how long ago.
00:55:31 Maybe a year ago.
00:55:32 But like, I was just like, I would tell people,
00:55:34 and people would be like, oh, yeah, that's kind of a--
00:55:37 kind of like a crazy idea.
00:55:39 Pipe dream.
00:55:40 Pipe dream, man.
00:55:41 But it's just like, more so like, coming into reality
00:55:44 and making it like a dream come true, which is pretty cool.
00:55:48 It's more than pretty cool.
00:55:49 Like, it's kind of wild.
00:55:51 And then maybe we'll put the box in there tomorrow.
00:55:54 We'll back flip onto a downed box.
00:55:56 [laughter]
00:55:58 [music playing]
00:56:01 Yeah, it's definitely bigger than last year's night.
00:56:08 So--
00:56:09 [music playing]
00:56:12 Why are you doing this?
00:56:14 Because I'm going to flip to a rail.
00:56:16 Rail to a rail.
00:56:17 [music playing]
00:56:20 [splash]
00:56:21 [music playing]
00:56:24 [splash]
00:56:25 [music playing]
00:56:28 [splash]
00:56:29 [music playing]
00:56:32 [splash]
00:56:33 [music playing]
00:56:36 [splash]
00:56:37 I didn't commit on that one.
00:56:39 [music playing]
00:56:41 That's round, I guess.
00:56:43 Where did I land, though?
00:56:45 You landed right in line with the orange dots
00:56:48 there on the right.
00:56:50 I'm going to do, honestly, another.
00:56:52 Same speed, just rip it a little harder.
00:56:54 [music playing]
00:56:57 Yep, yep.
00:56:59 [music playing]
00:57:02 [splash]
00:57:04 Yeah, that was so funny.
00:57:05 Because that's basically how I want to land on the rails,
00:57:08 like, facing here.
00:57:09 That was it, dude.
00:57:11 I say we put it in.
00:57:14 So many things that are out of your control,
00:57:16 like, on that rail.
00:57:17 Yeah.
00:57:18 This is, like, so gnarly.
00:57:20 For sure.
00:57:21 And, like, you're landing literally on, like, four inches.
00:57:23 I know.
00:57:24 [music playing]
00:57:26 I think this is going to be the scariest thing in my life.
00:57:29 I don't know, like, scary, but I feel comfortable with this.
00:57:32 You know what I mean?
00:57:33 Yeah.
00:57:34 And I just need to, like, once I get on the rail,
00:57:36 I just need to rip my back foot.
00:57:38 [music playing]
00:57:41 [splash]
00:57:42 [music playing]
00:57:45 [splash]
00:57:48 [sigh]
00:57:51 Jeez, boys.
00:57:53 Fucking nervous.
00:57:54 [music playing]
00:57:57 [splash]
00:57:58 [music playing]
00:58:01 [splash]
00:58:02 [music playing]
00:58:05 All right, let's get it, boys.
00:58:06 Yeah, let's do that.
00:58:07 All right, let's get it.
00:58:08 Yeah, let's drop it.
00:58:09 Drop it.
00:58:10 [music playing]
00:58:13 [splash]
00:58:15 [music playing]
00:58:18 [splash]
00:58:19 [music playing]
00:58:22 [splash]
00:58:23 [music playing]
00:58:27 [splash]
00:58:28 [music playing]
00:58:31 [splash]
00:58:32 [music playing]
00:58:33 [splash]
00:58:34 [music playing]
00:58:35 Oh!
00:58:36 Let's fucking go!
00:58:39 Woo-hoo!
00:58:40 [laughter]
00:58:43 Oh my god!
00:58:45 [laughter]
00:58:47 [inaudible]
00:58:48 [music playing]
00:58:51 Holy shit!
00:58:54 Oh my god.
00:58:55 I did it!
00:58:56 [laughter]
00:58:58 That's good.
00:58:59 I've been dreaming about doing this for two years.
00:59:01 Oh my god.
00:59:02 After doing the backflip last year on that rail,
00:59:05 here it is a year later.
00:59:07 [inaudible]
00:59:08 I'm so proud of myself.
00:59:10 I'm so proud of myself.
00:59:11 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:13 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:15 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:16 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:18 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:19 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:21 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:22 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:23 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:24 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:25 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:26 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:27 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:28 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:29 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:30 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:31 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:32 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:33 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:34 I'm so proud of my team.
00:59:35 He's changed in a lot of ways.
00:59:36 You know, after his accident, he couldn't ski anymore.
00:59:39 He couldn't climb anymore.
00:59:42 He sought out new conquests.
00:59:45 So in the early '70s, dad was filming a movie with Roger Brown
00:59:49 called "The Edge," and they did several weeks in the Grand Canyon.
00:59:53 No paraplegic had ever tried kayaking,
00:59:56 and as he's shooting this movie from a chair, he noticed,
01:00:00 "Hey, everything they do is the upper body.
01:00:03 That's what I've got.
01:00:05 I think I'm going to try that."
01:00:07 He learned it against all the admonitions of all the people at Craig
01:00:13 for fear of skin sores, to keep it at sulcers,
01:00:17 for fear that he would die on the river.
01:00:20 He was paralyzed in the legs, and a lot of kayaking is in the hips
01:00:25 because if you get knocked over, you have to twist your hips
01:00:29 and paddle at the same time on one side or the other
01:00:33 to get yourself back up.
01:00:35 Indeed, there was a point where he almost died on the river
01:00:40 because he couldn't sufficiently roll, given the current.
01:00:43 So Barry spent months with some of the best instructors
01:00:47 and created a way to Eskimo roll a kayak.
01:00:52 He developed techniques.
01:00:54 He found ways to hitch three kayaks on the side of his van.
01:01:00 One of the old monikers that I love about Craig Hospital
01:01:04 is "redefining possible."
01:01:06 And when I think about Barry, that's what I think about in many ways.
01:01:11 He redefined what was possible.
01:01:13 Barry being Barry, as a paraplegic kayaker,
01:01:20 ran all the most extreme rivers in the West,
01:01:24 including the Grand Canyon.
01:01:26 It meant a lot to him because he had been cut out
01:01:32 of all the things he really liked to do, the great adventures,
01:01:35 and kayaking gave him back adventure.
01:01:38 He found a way to have his fun no matter what,
01:01:42 and it wasn't the way he did it before,
01:01:44 but it was a way that worked for him.
01:01:47 Essentially, Barry said,
01:01:50 "I'm not going to let my wheelchair define me.
01:01:53 "I'm going to define myself through athletic endeavors
01:01:58 "that go beyond what people perceive a wheelchair user can do."
01:02:03 As you and your injury mellow through a little time,
01:02:14 you'll find that you don't think much about walking.
01:02:17 Nor will you think wistfully about whatever you used to do.
01:02:23 You'll start to think, with interest and pleasure,
01:02:28 about the things you can do now.
01:02:31 There are more than enough things you can do
01:02:35 after a broken back or neck,
01:02:37 and some of them you'll like so much
01:02:40 that you'll be unable to contain your joy.
01:02:44 (motor whirring)
01:02:47 - Yeah, we're firing up.
01:02:53 - Yeah, baby.
01:02:55 - Yes.
01:02:56 - Let's go.
01:02:57 (motor whirring)
01:02:59 (dramatic music)
01:03:03 (motor whirring)
01:03:06 (motor whirring)
01:03:17 (motor whirring)
01:03:26 (motor whirring)
01:03:29 - Yeah, boys!
01:03:39 - Yeah, boys.
01:03:40 - Yeah, boys.
01:03:41 - Let's go, baby.
01:03:43 (dramatic music)
01:03:46 - Trevor's going to ride this thing.
01:03:51 Shoot, just please.
01:03:53 - All right, three, two, one, dropping.
01:03:57 (dramatic music)
01:04:00 (Trevor screams)
01:04:20 - I don't want to do this.
01:04:22 (dramatic music)
01:04:25 - Skiing gave me that freedom, being out of my wheelchair.
01:04:31 I could go anywhere on the mountain.
01:04:33 I could be just like anyone else.
01:04:35 Having that freedom back,
01:04:37 it gave me such a purpose to life.
01:04:39 - Oh, my God.
01:04:41 (laughing)
01:04:43 - Here's the thing, it's like when I'm in my ski,
01:04:48 I feel free, I feel whole,
01:04:50 and I feel extremely happy.
01:04:52 Just sliding on the snow literally soothes my soul.
01:04:56 - Oh, my God, let's go.
01:04:59 (laughing)
01:05:01 - Yeah, boys!
01:05:04 (laughing)
01:05:06 - That was a good one.
01:05:12 - When you go skiing or snowboarding,
01:05:16 you have to adapt.
01:05:18 When I do it now,
01:05:20 I just have to adapt a little bit more.
01:05:22 (dramatic music)
01:05:25 (laughing)
01:05:40 (Trevor screams)
01:05:43 (dramatic music)
01:05:47 (helicopter whirring)
01:05:50 - Woo!
01:05:56 (Trevor screams)
01:06:01 - Every turn he just gets so pitted.
01:06:12 He just disappears.
01:06:14 (dramatic music)
01:06:17 - Woo-hoo!
01:06:24 Yeah, doggy!
01:06:26 (laughing)
01:06:28 Yeah!
01:06:30 - After a spinal cord injury,
01:06:33 it feels like you can't take anything for granted.
01:06:36 That's the thing about being in the mountains with Trevor here,
01:06:38 is you see it in him, you know?
01:06:41 He's in a sit ski, but he's not bumming about the fact
01:06:43 that he's in a sit ski.
01:06:45 - Three, two, one.
01:06:47 - Trevor dropping.
01:06:49 - He has something about him.
01:06:51 He's just kind of glowing when he's out there.
01:06:53 Just like this pure stoke that comes out of him.
01:06:55 And that's pretty special.
01:06:57 (dramatic music)
01:06:59 I don't think that he's just inspiring people
01:07:01 that are maybe adaptive
01:07:03 or have anything that's limiting them.
01:07:05 He's inspiring people that are just like me and you.
01:07:09 They're just, you know,
01:07:11 they got 10 fingers, 10 toes at work.
01:07:13 Two breaths and a heartbeat.
01:07:15 And they're looking at Trevor thinking,
01:07:17 "There's no way I can do that."
01:07:19 He's not just an adaptive athlete.
01:07:23 He's just an athlete.
01:07:25 The thing is, if you want to up the game
01:07:27 and hit stuff like this,
01:07:29 just take it one turn at a time.
01:07:31 (exhaling)
01:07:33 You good? - Yep.
01:07:35 - All right, if you copy,
01:07:37 Trevor dropping in 10.
01:07:39 - Trevor dropping in 10.
01:07:41 (exhaling)
01:07:43 - Trevor in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
01:07:49 (dramatic music)
01:07:51 ♪ ♪
01:07:53 (thudding)
01:07:55 ♪ ♪
01:07:57 (thudding)
01:07:59 ♪ ♪
01:08:01 (thudding)
01:08:03 (thudding)
01:08:05 ♪ ♪
01:08:07 (laughing)
01:08:09 (cheering)
01:08:11 (exhaling)
01:08:13 That's by far the biggest cliff I've done!
01:08:17 Whoo!
01:08:19 (laughing)
01:08:21 - Yeah, look at where you landed.
01:08:23 - Yeah, there it is.
01:08:25 - Oh!
01:08:27 (laughing)
01:08:29 Yeah!
01:08:31 ♪ ♪
01:08:33 - I've had glorious days.
01:08:35 Days when everyone and everything I encounter
01:08:39 dances to some tune I know well.
01:08:41 On those days,
01:08:43 confidence and good cheer
01:08:45 flow out of me and infect total strangers.
01:08:49 And on some days,
01:08:51 the wheelchair becomes a rolling ghetto,
01:08:54 a chrome cage that blocks communication absolutely.
01:08:59 Period.
01:09:01 Don't bother me.
01:09:03 I'm crippled today.
01:09:05 I have never felt despised for being in a wheelchair.
01:09:13 I have felt pitied.
01:09:16 I have despised myself.
01:09:20 The first is the other person's problem.
01:09:25 And the second is mine.
01:09:31 Having a spinal cord injury, it sucks.
01:09:34 A lot of people look at you,
01:09:36 and they just see a wheelchair, and that's fine.
01:09:39 But it's way more than a wheelchair.
01:09:42 A wheelchair is just a part of you, you know?
01:09:45 Those are your legs.
01:09:47 People come up to me and they're like, "Oh, what happened?"
01:09:51 "Oh, I, you know, I broke my back snowboarding."
01:09:54 And they're like, "Oh, I'm sorry."
01:09:56 And that's all they say.
01:09:58 And I'm like, "Why are you sorry?"
01:10:01 It's like, all right, that's fine,
01:10:03 but you should be sorry about the real things
01:10:06 that really get to me,
01:10:08 those things that you should be sorry about.
01:10:11 But people don't know.
01:10:13 So after Dad finished filmmaking and went into writing,
01:10:18 he became editor for a rag called New Mobility.
01:10:22 When Barry became the editor,
01:10:24 he could reach people in ways that he was never able to prior.
01:10:29 (man) Barry and the magazine covered really difficult topics--
01:10:34 drug use and/or abuse and spinal cord injury,
01:10:37 spinal cord injured people in prison, sexuality.
01:10:41 There was no subject that was taboo.
01:10:44 It was this edgy rolling stone for wheelchair users.
01:10:49 He was speaking the unspeakable.
01:10:53 Bowel programs, bladder management,
01:10:56 all things that are kind of verboten
01:10:59 are forbidden in the able-bodied community.
01:11:03 When he first got injured,
01:11:07 I wondered if he would be able to date again.
01:11:12 Trevor has always wanted a family.
01:11:15 That's something that's particularly important to him.
01:11:20 I can get hard, but I can't get a girl pregnant.
01:11:25 It's all those things that you don't think about getting injured
01:11:29 and all those things that happen after.
01:11:32 That's real life. I deal with that.
01:11:36 Barry and the magazine's understanding is,
01:11:40 look, life with spinal cord injury is life.
01:11:43 Life with disability is life,
01:11:45 so we're going to cover all facets of it.
01:11:49 How refreshing for people who thought
01:11:52 that part of their lives was over.
01:11:55 Dad brought it out into the open. He highlighted it.
01:11:58 He addressed the good, the bad, the ugly,
01:12:01 and the beautiful about sexuality when you're injured.
01:12:05 [laughing]
01:12:07 All right, so this is where I do my business.
01:12:12 This is an adaptive sex chair.
01:12:15 Basically I transfer in here, and then I just go back and forth.
01:12:19 After my injury, not being able to ejaculate like I used to,
01:12:24 this gets me that feeling again.
01:12:27 So the upholstery's a little, you know, worn down.
01:12:31 I think I need to get this a little tightened, reupholstered.
01:12:35 Makes me feel like a man again, I'll tell you that.
01:12:40 [laughing]
01:12:42 ♪ ♪
01:12:47 Spinal cord injuries, there's things that you're not prepared for.
01:12:52 And we'll just be honest, bowel and bladder are those.
01:12:56 When people have injuries at a certain level and above,
01:13:00 they have dysfunction of their ability to control the flow of urine.
01:13:06 So it can occur at any time.
01:13:08 We're about to drop in on this little cliffy, and the light's a little flat,
01:13:13 but I'm just going to punch her and feel her good.
01:13:17 Oh, God, I totally just pissed myself.
01:13:20 [laughing]
01:13:21 I didn't mean to.
01:13:23 Okay, 3, 2, 1, drop it.
01:13:26 Drop!
01:13:28 ♪ ♪
01:13:33 Woo-hoo!
01:13:35 ♪ ♪
01:13:37 Accidents are going to happen, and you have two choices.
01:13:41 It can be devastating, which it is.
01:13:46 It can also be a funny story later if you choose it.
01:13:52 Can you grab a catheter out of a zipper?
01:13:55 My GoPro backpack?
01:13:57 If you're staying properly hydrated,
01:13:59 that means you're going to pee 8 to 12 times a day.
01:14:02 What are you doing over there, Trevi?
01:14:04 Taking pee.
01:14:05 Why are you buying the dumpster?
01:14:07 There's no bathroom I can get to.
01:14:11 And every time you have to use a new catheter,
01:14:15 every time that you want to go pee.
01:14:18 If you are paying out of pocket,
01:14:20 a single catheter could cost you up to $18.
01:14:23 And so you could pay up to $250 a day just to go pee.
01:14:30 It's just--it's not fair.
01:14:34 Yeah, you should take a picture of this,
01:14:36 the tube hanging out.
01:14:38 It's pretty full.
01:14:39 It's just the truth, the hard truth.
01:14:44 Barry talked about how a gal wrote to him
01:14:48 saying it was mind-boggling to her
01:14:51 to even see advertisements about bladder management
01:14:55 and caths, catheters,
01:14:57 and how she felt that there truly was a community out there.
01:15:03 I didn't know anything about using catheters, suppositories.
01:15:06 It is just--it's the simplest things.
01:15:08 Going to the bathroom is new.
01:15:10 It's hard.
01:15:11 It takes forever.
01:15:12 It's not an easy road.
01:15:15 A bowel program is a routine,
01:15:18 hopefully each day around the same time.
01:15:23 You have got to put on a rubber glove
01:15:25 to take a suppository, put it up inside you,
01:15:28 and then you've got to wait a minimum of an hour
01:15:30 to make sure that your bowel's completely empty.
01:15:37 People use what's called digital stimulation,
01:15:40 where a finger is inserted around the anus,
01:15:44 and it creates peristalsis and evacuation of the bowels.
01:15:50 It can be, in the beginning, embarrassing, time-consuming.
01:15:56 It's one of the many inconveniences
01:15:59 inherent in the spinal injury.
01:16:02 Learning how to live with a spinal cord injury
01:16:09 is like scuba diving the rest of your life.
01:16:13 Am I sitting on a soft cushion?
01:16:15 Is my bladder full?
01:16:17 You constantly have to check these things that you can't feel.
01:16:24 Living with a spinal cord injury is hard.
01:16:27 I mean, indefinitely I get isolated,
01:16:30 and I definitely have my ups and downs.
01:16:33 Seeing people going for hikes or doing anything like that,
01:16:37 you know, sometimes it'll bum me out.
01:16:40 Sometimes I do wish, like, I could have that normalcy.
01:16:46 Trevor and I talk weekly, a lot of times daily,
01:16:50 and you can tell when Trevor's off
01:16:53 because he comes very silent.
01:16:55 And I think one of the things that I really recognize
01:16:58 is when Trevor's like that is, like,
01:17:00 we got to get him back outside.
01:17:04 We got to get him back out doing the things he loves.
01:17:08 We do some custom projects like Trevor,
01:17:22 but for the most part, we design skis for disabled skiers,
01:17:27 help people get back on the mountain
01:17:29 or find it for the first time.
01:17:31 Dude, so my idea is going to be genius, I'm telling you.
01:17:34 I kind of understood it on the phone, which scared me.
01:17:37 I know, right?
01:17:39 So we'll just tie, like, a 6-inch pole loop
01:17:42 so you can just-- to your mouth.
01:17:44 Dude, well, here's the thing. If I do it to my hand--
01:17:47 Yeah, you got to be one-handed coming in.
01:17:49 Right, and I don't want to be doing that.
01:17:51 So you basically want this to your mouth.
01:17:54 Well, that's what I'm saying, you know.
01:17:56 We're adapting over here, okay?
01:17:58 So some skiers use a motorized winch
01:18:03 to get speed on flat ground.
01:18:05 Able-bodied skiers use 2 hands to hold onto the rope,
01:18:08 but Trevor needs his hands to hold onto his outriggers.
01:18:11 So we're building a quick-release system
01:18:13 to attach that rope to his sit ski.
01:18:15 And the string is, like, this short to release.
01:18:18 Does that make sense?
01:18:20 All we can do is try.
01:18:22 Yeah.
01:18:23 We're in new territory.
01:18:25 Are you ready?
01:18:43 Dude, this is exciting stuff.
01:18:49 [wind blowing]
01:18:51 What's going on, Trevor?
01:19:03 I'm sweating. I'm all nervous.
01:19:05 You've never jumped over a couple fences before?
01:19:08 Uh-uh.
01:19:10 Why are you going to do this?
01:19:12 Because it's never been done, and I want to.
01:19:16 I'm going to get towed in.
01:19:18 I'm going to pull the quick-release with my mouth,
01:19:21 and then I'm going to jump that jump,
01:19:23 and then the landing's right there.
01:19:25 Even though I'm paralyzed, you know,
01:19:27 you only see able-bodied people hitting street or urban,
01:19:30 and, you know, me being in a wheelchair that's like,
01:19:33 "Oh, wait, you even ski?"
01:19:35 And it's just funny, 'cause people have no idea.
01:19:37 You know, I just want to keep evolving it
01:19:39 and keep pushing the boundaries and keep progressing,
01:19:42 and I think this is like one step in that direction.
01:19:47 Yeah, Cody!
01:19:58 Whoo!
01:20:00 [laughs]
01:20:02 How does that look?
01:20:04 [music]
01:20:07 You're getting caught.
01:20:26 Yeah, this thing is getting caught.
01:20:28 [sighs]
01:20:30 [music]
01:20:33 Can you do this one more time?
01:20:37 Got it, feel good?
01:20:39 Yeah.
01:20:41 [music]
01:20:43 Okay, just hold on as long as possible.
01:20:47 Hold on as long as possible.
01:20:51 [music]
01:20:53 Here we go!
01:20:55 [music]
01:20:58 [music]
01:21:01 [music]
01:21:04 [music]
01:21:07 [music]
01:21:09 [music]
01:21:11 [music]
01:21:13 [music]
01:21:15 [music]
01:21:17 [music]
01:21:19 [music]
01:21:21 [music]
01:21:23 [music]
01:21:25 [music]
01:21:27 [music]
01:21:29 [music]
01:21:31 [music]
01:21:33 Holy cow.
01:21:35 Dude, I'm trapped out of the fucking neck.
01:21:38 [music]
01:21:40 [music]
01:21:42 [music]
01:21:44 Honestly, I just know I have it,
01:21:46 but I don't know if my neck can handle another.
01:21:49 Yeah, for sure.
01:21:51 Dude, if you're not feeling it, the last thing I want you to do is go in and try.
01:21:54 I'm just pissed at myself because I know I could have had it.
01:21:57 I just know I could have had it.
01:22:00 What?
01:22:02 I'm not going to be able to move my shoulders tomorrow morning.
01:22:05 [music]
01:22:07 [music]
01:22:09 Is this sit ski meant to go upside down?
01:22:12 No.
01:22:14 The purpose was to return people to skiing,
01:22:17 not to go upside down and flip a 50-pound piece of metal underneath you.
01:22:20 [music]
01:22:22 [music]
01:22:24 Last night at dinner, even like an hour after,
01:22:27 I just couldn't really--it just kept hurting and hurting.
01:22:30 I just literally cannot lift my arm.
01:22:34 It hurts so bad, like right here on the, I think,
01:22:37 collarbone or shoulder or one or the other.
01:22:40 [music]
01:22:42 [music]
01:22:44 My shoulders are so important because they're basically my feet.
01:22:48 And without them, I can't push my wheelchair so I can get around.
01:22:52 [music]
01:22:54 [music]
01:22:56 [music]
01:22:58 It's kind of wild when it's like you're wheelchair-bound
01:23:01 and then you're just like, oh, there goes one arm.
01:23:05 Like transfer still independently.
01:23:08 It's like the rest of my body, like half my body is like,
01:23:13 now you're taking out another limb.
01:23:15 [laughs]
01:23:17 It's like, you're down to like one arm and four or five limbs.
01:23:22 It's definitely a wake-up call to you, I guess.
01:23:25 Am I going to stop doing what I'm doing now?
01:23:28 [music]
01:23:35 When I met Barry in the early '90s,
01:23:38 his shoulders were already starting to go.
01:23:41 He was already starting to wear out.
01:23:44 In his latter years, in spite of being in a powered chair,
01:23:49 he really was at peace with himself,
01:23:52 not fighting the injury, fighting who he was,
01:23:56 but really so much more comfortable in his own personhood.
01:24:01 [music]
01:24:05 Somewhere around 2003, Barry was diagnosed with bladder cancer.
01:24:10 The doctor told Barry the toll it was going to take,
01:24:14 that it was going to make his already frail body
01:24:17 much worse with the chemo.
01:24:20 At that point, they knew it was pretty widespread.
01:24:25 He elected not to do further treatment.
01:24:28 [music]
01:24:32 And that was it.
01:24:35 Well, what can I say?
01:24:41 I miss him a lot.
01:24:44 You know, meeting Barry and going into business with him
01:24:49 and becoming close friends with him
01:24:54 is the highlight of my life.
01:24:59 He'd be pissed at me for crying. [laughs]
01:25:03 The wild thing is, I got word of that,
01:25:09 and about four days later, my wife says,
01:25:13 "You got this letter from Barry,
01:25:17 "startling," two weeks after his death.
01:25:21 [music]
01:25:26 Okay.
01:25:28 "Dear friends, a very large part of my life
01:25:32 "is the friendships that develop over the years.
01:25:35 "As many of you already know, my life is now over.
01:25:39 "The reason you're getting this letter is that
01:25:41 "yours is one of the friendships I've treasured
01:25:44 "and want you to know that.
01:25:47 "I'm a little saddened to be leaving a little earlier
01:25:50 "than expected but feel no sense of tragedy.
01:25:53 "I've lived a lot longer than I ever could have
01:25:56 "or would have predicted 36 years ago
01:26:01 "after the helicopter crash.
01:26:03 "I have no fears for my children,
01:26:06 "who are all embarked on their own roads
01:26:09 "and doing it with astonishing style and grace.
01:26:13 "I've had love-overflowing, impassioned careers,
01:26:17 "a life of adventure, and everything I've ever wanted.
01:26:21 "Nothing missed, no regrets."
01:26:24 [music]
01:26:27 My love to you all, Sgt. Barry."
01:26:31 Barry.
01:26:33 And that was him.
01:26:35 If I could have done it in his voice,
01:26:37 it would have been just casual
01:26:39 with kind of a smile in the background.
01:26:41 [music]
01:26:47 In the obit that I wrote
01:26:49 for the American Alpine Club Journal,
01:26:51 I had to pause and wonder
01:26:55 what Barry's life might have been
01:26:57 if he had not been paralyzed.
01:27:00 Dad divided his life into two sections.
01:27:05 There was his first life, which was pre-accident,
01:27:08 and his second life, which was post-accident.
01:27:10 And it wasn't until his later years
01:27:13 that he really considered it to be one life.
01:27:16 It was all, as he would have said,
01:27:19 part and parcel of the same thing.
01:27:21 I did ask him one time
01:27:23 which half of his life meant more to him,
01:27:26 and, I mean, he said it was the second half of his life.
01:27:30 He had learned so much and grown so much.
01:27:34 He gave hope to people with spinal cord injury
01:27:40 around the world and continues to.
01:27:43 He taught doctors, he taught insurance companies,
01:27:47 he taught regular old people
01:27:49 how to look at disability in new ways
01:27:52 that they never thought of.
01:27:54 It was never his goal to be a leader.
01:27:57 He became one, but the point for him
01:28:00 was what he was doing.
01:28:02 He didn't announce himself as being a leader, follow me,
01:28:06 but people did.
01:28:08 Among skiers, Burris Legacy lives in Corbett's Cool War,
01:28:15 but he left so much more behind.
01:28:18 Ski the Outer Limits is so much about pushing edges
01:28:22 and being willing to reinvent things,
01:28:25 and I think pushing limits was part of Dad's nature.
01:28:30 He really made people rethink disability,
01:28:35 and I think the world will never be the same for that.
01:28:40 Burris Legacy is taking a terrible accident
01:28:48 and turning it into a wonderful gift
01:28:52 to everybody that has followed with a similar accident,
01:28:57 giving them hope.
01:28:59 He gave them something they didn't have.
01:29:24 It's pretty crazy looking back at everything, you know?
01:29:29 Just so thankful to be where I am right now.
01:29:39 You know, you don't know what you have until it's gone.
01:29:52 No one does, but looking back on it,
01:29:55 I'm injured, I'm in a wheelchair, and it's like, dude,
01:29:58 I do more than half the able-bodied people do, you know?
01:30:02 It's a mentality.
01:30:03 It's just that you go get stuff done.
01:30:06 I was definitely scared to come back here, very scared.
01:30:18 This place has taken so much away from me,
01:30:22 and, you know, I want to come back here.
01:30:25 I want to make myself whole again.
01:30:29 I want to close that circle and make my heart not hurt anymore.
01:30:35 Take that day that you had this injury,
01:30:40 and then how do you grow from that?
01:30:43 What if you could get back to the sport you love
01:30:47 in the place that changed your life forever?
01:30:51 How empowering could that be?
01:30:53 And I think that's just, like, what Trevor took as an idea
01:30:57 and took it to the highest level.
01:31:00 One of Trevor's biggest goals was to become
01:31:06 the first person ever to land a double backflip in a sit ski.
01:31:12 And Vail Pass was the place to do it.
01:31:17 He said, "Mom...
01:31:20 "this is...
01:31:23 "my mountain.
01:31:25 "This is where I broke my back, and I came back,
01:31:28 "and I persevered my injury.
01:31:32 "I persevered what happened, Mom.
01:31:35 "I've accomplished,
01:31:38 "and I'm back, Mom.
01:31:41 "I'm back."
01:31:45 [music]
01:31:48 Nice job, Vail. Proud of you.
01:31:59 Check the jump out, Mom.
01:32:01 Oh! Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God.
01:32:05 Trevor... Trevor!
01:32:08 Jesus!
01:32:12 You gotta be kidding me.
01:32:14 Where are you gonna land?
01:32:16 Oh, my God, Trevor.
01:32:18 Wow.
01:32:20 There's the jump right there.
01:32:23 So, hey, guys, we're, like, two minutes out
01:32:27 from Trevor's speed checking.
01:32:29 I'm gonna leave it up to you all to help Trevor get ready
01:32:32 so I can shoot and get in position.
01:32:34 Okay. Good job.
01:32:36 Push it in.
01:32:38 All right, ready? One, two, three.
01:32:40 [gunshot]
01:32:42 Where are you planning on taking off the lift?
01:32:49 If you hit it, where's your ideal spot you're looking to hit, Doggie?
01:32:55 That's what I always like to do, is pick out where I'm headed.
01:32:58 So I just have to be-- when I come in, come in, come in,
01:33:01 pop, you know, just pop, and then just hold once I see it.
01:33:05 I just want to make sure, like, I--
01:33:07 Have enough air time.
01:33:09 I think I will, but I just want to make sure, you know.
01:33:12 Boom, yeah.
01:33:16 Yep, there.
01:33:18 All right. I'm ready for it, dude.
01:33:21 Your injury is an epic thing.
01:33:28 It reeks of mythic heroism.
01:33:32 Want to be a hero?
01:33:37 The fact is, you have little choice.
01:33:40 Having died to a portion of the past,
01:33:45 having passed through the fires of initiation
01:33:48 and prevailed over all obstacles,
01:33:50 the hero is ready to make visible his rebirth
01:33:53 as a more complete being by returning to the world.
01:33:57 We are the twice-born.
01:34:01 We represent to humanity its greatest fears of catastrophe
01:34:05 and its greatest hopes of transcendence.
01:34:08 We have embarked upon the hero's path, and we have no choice.
01:34:13 To others, our transcendence is the proof
01:34:17 of our heroic energy and direction.
01:34:20 To ourselves, our energy and direction
01:34:23 derive from the need to transcend,
01:34:26 because there's no other way to survive.
01:34:31 Affirm in here, I got a status check, 10-6, please.
01:34:34 Still holding up top, still holding up top.
01:34:41 Just let me know when you're 30 or so up.
01:34:46 All right.
01:34:52 30 seconds till drop, 30 seconds,
01:34:56 then there'll be a five-second countdown.
01:35:00 [SIGHS]
01:35:02 Got this, dude.
01:35:05 Everybody is ready to go. Everybody ready.
01:35:14 Copy.
01:35:19 Ready, down here.
01:35:21 Ready, down here.
01:35:24 Ready, down here.
01:35:28 [PANTING]
01:35:30 Yeah, brother.
01:35:32 All right, dropping in five seconds, dropping in five seconds.
01:35:35 Drop in five, four, three, two, one.
01:35:38 Let's do this, baby.
01:35:40 Dropping in.
01:35:43 [THUD]
01:35:50 [THUD]
01:35:52 Three, two, one.
01:35:58 [THUD]
01:36:01 [THUD]
01:36:15 [♪♪♪]
01:36:18 [SCREAMING]
01:36:38 [SCREAMING]
01:36:45 [SCREAMING]
01:36:48 [LAUGHING]
01:36:52 Let's go!
01:36:55 [LAUGHING]
01:36:57 Oh, let's go!
01:36:59 Wow.
01:37:05 [PANTING]
01:37:07 I may or may not have cried over there.
01:37:10 Oh, my goodness.
01:37:14 Redemption, Mom.
01:37:16 Redemption.
01:37:18 The last hot tip, final admonishment, and parting shot.
01:37:26 Of course, we don't often choose our adventures.
01:37:32 The best adventures befall us.
01:37:40 The parallel trick of living with a disability
01:37:43 is to see all and everything as an adventure,
01:37:46 one that endows every moment with all the most adventuresome qualities,
01:37:52 uncertainty and risk,
01:37:55 richness and joy,
01:37:58 deliberation and daring.
01:38:01 We crystallize for ourselves and for others
01:38:06 the real fact and fear of calamity.
01:38:09 If we reinforce this image, we invite sympathy and sorrow.
01:38:14 If we proceed apace, we are inspirations to everyone.
01:38:21 We should not be afraid to inspire.
01:38:26 The world needs it badly,
01:38:31 and we need the experience of giving extravagantly.
01:38:38 Our gift to the world
01:38:40 is the world's gift
01:38:43 to us.
01:38:45 Everybody, able-bodied and disabled alike,
01:38:50 should take the money and run.
01:38:54 Barry Corbett, Lookout Mountain, Colorado, 1980.
01:39:04 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:07 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:10 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:13 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:16 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:19 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:22 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:25 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:28 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:32 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:34 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:37 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:40 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:43 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:46 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:49 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:52 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:55 The World's Best Adventures
01:39:58 The World's Best Adventures
01:40:01 The World's Best Adventures
01:40:03 The World's Best Adventures
01:40:06 The World's Best Adventures
01:40:09 I am imaginary boundaries.
01:40:12 I am peculiarly drawn.
01:40:16 I am a cosmos on discomfort.
01:40:23 I am a need for public works.
01:40:28 I need directions to the hospital.
01:40:30 I need a 90's minivan.
01:40:35 I need directions to the water.
01:40:41 And I need a trailer in the sand.
01:40:46 That's what I am.
01:40:49 I am avoiding certain irony.
01:40:51 I am avoiding certain irony.
01:40:55 I am avoiding certain irony.
01:40:58 I am avoiding certain irony.
01:41:01 I am avoiding certain irony.
01:41:04 I am avoiding certain irony.
01:41:07 I am avoiding certain irony.
01:41:10 I am avoiding certain irony.
01:41:13 I am avoiding certain irony.
01:41:17 I am avoiding certain irony.
01:41:19 I am evolving in the night.
01:41:22 I am awarding the authority.
01:41:28 I am completely in the fight.
01:41:33 I need a local anesthesia.
01:41:39 I need a place to stay the night.
01:41:44 I need an alternate reality.
01:41:46 And I need an incandescent light.
01:41:51 I need a world that shows me.
01:41:57 All of the reasons that it shows me.
01:42:03 I need a world that shows me.
01:42:08 All of the reasons that it shows me.
01:42:12 I need a world that shows me.
01:42:14 All of the seasons of the old me.
01:42:18 I need a world that shows me.
01:42:23 A brand new way to give a damn.
01:42:27 That's what I am.
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