Lee Canyon’s fifth annual Feel Good Fridays fundraiser series kicks-off Friday, March 5, 2021. Every Friday in March, daily lift tickets are $25. Lee Canyon donates $5 of every sale to the High Fives Foundation, a nonprofit supporting mountain sports athletes with life-altering injuries. This year’s event helps support the Paralympic dream of 24-year old Las Vegas native Shelby Estocado, who sustained a T-6 spinal cord injury while snowboarding at Lee Canyon, February 23, 2020.
A Bishop Gorman class of 2014 graduate, Estocado played NCAA Division 1 softball at the University of Tulsa before graduating in 2018. She also played for the U.S. Baseball Women’s National Team. In 2020, a fall while snowboarding resulted in a spinal cord injury and broke her sternum. After two surgeries at University Medical Center in Las Vegas, she spent six weeks at Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colo., a neurorehabilitation and research facility that specializes in spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Here she was introduced to the High Fives Foundation.
“This was a life-changing event, but it’s helped me to become fully invested in what is happening in the moment,” says Estocado. “The support of High Fives and my family and friends has been humbling. I want others with spinal cord injuries to know that it’s possible to get outside, push yourself, and discover new sports.”
Estocado is wired to be a high-performing athlete. After being released from Craig Hospital, she moved from Las Vegas to Reno to train with the High Fives Foundation. Five months after her accident, she was on an adaptive mountain bike. This winter, she is working on her mono-ski skills while also training for the 2021 CrossFit Games. On Friday, March 12, she returns to Lee Canyon to spread High Fives’ message and encourage other people with spinal cord injuries to remain patient and hopeful.
“Since meeting the High Five Foundation, Lee Canyon has been deeply committed to supporting their mission,” says Jim Seely, Lee Canyon’s director of marketing. Since 2017, Lee Canyon’s community has helped raise more than $50,000 for the High Fives Foundation. “Shelby has inspired our entire team. Her resilience and spirit are the definition of Vegas Strong. We look forward to being a part of her journey as an athlete.”
Feel Good Fridays is a Play it Forward event, a part of Lee Canyon and POWDR’s Play Forever corporate responsibility commitment. Play it Forward celebrates and enables actions supporting the local community. Due to COVID capacity restrictions, Lee Canyon encourages people to book parking reservations for Feel Good Fridays in advance. People can also contribute to High Fives Foundation online at www.leecanyonlv.com.
