GoHawkeye athlete Camron Gabler – Ski Instructor

by Camron Gabler

GoHawkeye Foundation was the biggest contributor to the experiences I’ve been able to have monoskiing. After skiing for two years, I decided to take my skiing a step further by competing. My training was full-time and involved many elite skiers who compete on national and Paralympic levels. I was scrounging to maintain the high-performance lifestyle and was far from affording my own monoski, especially after the costs of my training. By the end of my first season competing, I was able to obtain my monoski rig thanks to GoHawkeye Foundation’s support.

Monoskiing has been a great influence on the quality of my life—it not only is something that is enjoyable for me but has helped me improve my self-confidence and allowed me to feel a sense of freedom that my adaptive needs would normally inhibit. It is something that will continue to impact my life in such positive manner, and I also get to ski with my family who are all big into the slopes.

With Covid, my ski training was cut short and I was unable to ski for two seasons. I had just gotten my rig, was working on adjusting it to my liking, and had taken it to the slopes only twice before the season and my training was cut. My interest in competing waned while off season, but this led to a much more meaningful opportunity that brings me a lot of joy. Now that I’m back in full swing, I am dedicating my time in my Hydra on the slopes as a volunteer instructor helping other adaptive individuals learn to monoski.

I have ambitions to become a full-time ski instructor because I love seeing others find the same excitement I do skiing.

– Camron Gabler

Thank you GoHawkeye!