Operation Mountain Freedom
February 4-8, 2008
Adapted from article in Mammoth Times and other material

Feeling The Love

Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra hosted their biggest Wounded Warrior Project yet, with 10 participants plus numerous family members. All of these service members have sustained severe injuries, and they are healing through the freedom and exhilaration of skiing and snowboarding. As usual, the whole town of Mammoth Lakes generously supported this program, as did DSUSA!

The level of skiing and snowboarding was especially amazing on this trip. Everyone had that special feeling of conquering a slope on various types of adaptive equipment. Brice, back for his third time, went from sit-down skiing to standing up! Randell, a regular with DSES, was shredding on his board even harder than last year. Josh Cope, took to his mono-ski as fast as he did a kayak last summer and Erica his wife ripped it up too. What an outstanding group of heroes overcoming adversity! It was great to have all the kids, too!

Mammoth Mountain Ski Area and lodging sponsor, The Westin Monache Resort, were huge donors! Individuals made an amazing impact through monetary donations and volunteering. Wounded Warriors kept saying, “Everyone here is awesome. I can’t believe I’m doing what I’m doing!” This group is forever a part of our DSES family, and we look forward to their return.

The Strong family takes a break from skiing - February 6, 2008

   

Every year, Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra demonstrates that it takes a village. Whenever the Wounded Warriors come to Mammoth for a week of adaptive sports, people walk or ski up to them and thank them... for serving their country, for protecting us back home. They were here February 4-8, 2008...several military men who have lost limbs and/or sustained nerve damage.

Davy and Jake Lind celebrate a new sport together
February 6, 2008

Kathy Copeland and her dedicated cadre of volunteers bring them to Mammoth from the Balboa Rehabilitation Center in San Diego. They teach teach them to ski and ride snowmobiles, etc. It can be as illuminating to watch their arc of progress as it must be for the men to experience it.

They can arrive, so internally fixed on their problems, to gradually emerge like butterflies from their protective cocoons and realize there is a world in which they can still be useful and live good lives.

For the second winter, soldiers from the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, came to Mammoth to spend a week in the Wounded Warriors Project. They are treated to excellent food, entertainment and shown a different way around their disabilities.

Wally Fanene and his instructor, Nacho, pose for the camera
February 6, 2008

Caught in the crossfire of war, these brave soldiers have lost limbs, but are able to move like they did before their accidents because of the marvels of prosthetics, while others continue to struggle with different avenues of mobility, but no matter what, their love of country is as deep as their determination to not give up or give in.

Thanks to the efforts of dedicated professionals, and assistance from area businesses and the local community, the warriors and their families enjoy a full winter experience through skiing, snowmobiling and dog sledding absolutely free of charge, including transportation, lodging, adaptive equipment and personalized one-on-one instruction.

These men love life and their families, and they have the courage and will to move forward when it may have seemed easier to give up. DSES helps them do just that, which is why these men love to be in Mammoth Lakes and ski the mountain that lives up to its name.

Woolly and Jake Lind are loving a sunny day
February 6, 2008

This year, 10 men participated. They came with their families, wives and children. Three men were returnees, sporting huge smiles on their faces: Brice Brokaw, Randell Leoncio and Josh Cope.

Wally Fanere is in the U.S. Army and was stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii when he was deployed to Iraq. At 14 months into his 15-month tour of duty his world changed. "I was in northern Iraq near the village of Kirkuk when I stepped on a land mine," Fanere said. This was strictly a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He lost his lower right leg, his arm just below the right elbow and the pinky finger on his left hand, and suffered several shrapnel wounds.

Scarlet Fanere said the call she got after her husband's accident was like a dream. "I was in a state of shock when I got the call from the army," Scarlet said. "We flew out to see him at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., two days later but it was like a dream. It wasn't real."

Brice Brokaw, U.S. Coast Guard, was stationed on an 87-foot cutter in Monterey. patrolling the San Francisco coastline. In August 2006, during some rare time off, his life was changed forever when he lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident. He wasn't sure he would ever recover.

"It took me about eight months to heal from everything because there were lots of injuries to other extremities," Brokaw said. "After a while my thought was, 'What am I going to do next?"

Randell Leoncio shreds on a “super” prosthetic
February 6, 2008

He found out about the program at Mammoth through the Wounded Warrior Project. "I was a skier, but didn't know what to expect when I first came up last year...they told me I was going to sit down and ski, but this year I was strong enough to move to the three-track, which is one ski and two outriggers on the bottom of the poles."

Brokaw is returning next summer for kayaking, hand cycling and rock climbing, as well as fly fishing. He has approximately another six months left with the Coast Guard and then plans to look into working with the Veterans Administration as a prosthetic representative. "Kathy Copeland is awesome," Brokaw asserted. "I will be back every year if I can."

At Thursday's luncheon at Parallax Restaurant volunteers, media and various DSES supporters, the importance of what Kathy Copeland and MMSA have accomplished was brought light. Gary Myers said it perfectly: "All great programs have a spark plug, and it's Kathy." He then introduced Dave Donaldson from the Naval Rehabilitation Center, who presented Copeland with a special plaque.

The goal of the Wounded Warriors Project is to help soldiers to learn to adapt to their new disabilities, including limb amputations, severe burns and nerve injuries. The Project is made possible by generous donations from Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra, Disabled Sports USA, the Westin Monache Resort and the community of Mammoth Lakes.

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