Lee Canyon’s Feel Good Fridays fundraiser supporting the High Fives Foundation starts Friday, March 3. Every Friday in March, daily lift tickets are $25; $5 of every sale goes to the nonprofit that helps mountain athletes with life-altering injuries. Lee Canyon’s month-long event has generated more than $80,000 for the Reno-based foundation’s adaptive athlete programs like skiing and mountain biking.
High Fives Foundation athletes include Bishop Gorman graduate and former NCAA athlete Shelby Estocado who sustained a T-6 spinal cord injury three years ago while snowboarding at Lee Canyon. Today, Estocado is training for the Paralympics.
“Lee Canyon’s Play Forever values are aligned with the High Fives Foundation’s mission. We are deeply committed to empowering people to get back into nature and discover or return to mountain sports,” says Jim Seely, Lee Canyon’s director of marketing.
High Fives Foundation Founder and CEO Roy Tuscany is a former competitive skier whose T12 vertebrae burst in a skiing accident. He was told he’d never walk again, but today, Tuscany walks and skis. He attributes his success to months of aggressive physical therapy and the support of people through a high-five.
Friday, March 31, Tuscany and a team of High Fives adaptive athletes, many military veterans, will hit the slopes at Lee Canyon. The day is part of celebrating High Fives’ Military to the Mountains (M2M) program. Annually, 22 veterans and first responders are selected for the program by the Adaptive Training Foundation and the City of Reno. Since 2015, the program has helped 165 veterans.
For more information, visit www.leecanyonlv.com.
