STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Trade your regular skis or snowboard in for a new, exciting experience this coming weekend when the third annual Muffy Davis Cup returns to Dollar Mountain.

The Cup, founded by Higher Ground and named for Sun Valley Paralympian Muffy Davis, is a one-of-a-kind experiential adaptive ski race.

Eight teams will train and compete in adaptive disciplines, such as ski biking, blind or low vision skiing, three-track or one-legged skiing and mono-skiing or sit skiing. Participants will enjoy a cocktail party and band, and awards ceremony and party, as well.

The weekend kicks off with training in the various disciplines at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 8, at Dollar Mountain. Training will be followed by a cocktail party at 6:30 p.m. Saturday night at Whiskey’s capped by music by Zachariah and the Lobos Riders at 9 p.m.

All proceeds from the door sales at Whiskey’s will benefit Higher Ground.

The race will start at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 9, at Dollar Mountain and will be followed by the awards ceremony and apres ski festivities at 4. The public is invited to cheer on the racers; tickets for the apres ski festivities celebrating the efforts of those who took part are available at https://highergroundusa.org/event/muffy-davis-cup/.

Retro ski wear is encouraged to add a splash of color to the event.

The goal of the Muffy Davis Cup event is to celebrate equal and equivalent ski and snowboard opportunities for people with disabilities and raise funds for Higher Ground programs that utilize therapeutic recreation to make a difference in the lives of veterans, first responders and children, teens and adults with disabilities.

It is, as Davis says, an opportunity “to ski in someone else’s shoes and see what it’s like for an adaptive athlete to ski a course.”

“It’s an incredible experience,” said Victoria Rossin, who tried skiing blind during the inaugural Muffy Davis Cup event. “You put on low-vision goggles and you think you’re moving, then you’re not. I work on the Ski Patrol on Dollar Mountain, and it’s  amazing how changing one little thing—in this case, my ability to see—makes for such a different experience. It’s challenging.”

Learn more about Higher Ground and its year-round programming at https://highergroundusa.org/.