5

Explore Your Options

Be the change you want to see in the world.—Mahatma Ghandi

It’s 5:30 in the morning and chilly. Krista Powers wakes in the half-light of dawn. She’s up first to start the cook stoves for kids involved in the Crested Butte Adaptive Sports Program. Her wool hat serves both for warmth and to cover a bad case of bedhead.

The kids were rambunctious the night before—partly because they’ve never spent the night in a tent. This is their first-ever climbing trip. The smell of breakfast lures them out of their sleeping bags. As the sun rises and warms the day, the birds’ song is interrupted by nervous laughter. For many of the kids, their lives defined by disability, rock climbing belonged in the realm of the impossible—until this ...

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