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Logan Fuller Fundraising Campaign

February 24, 2019 Off By Hawkeye Johnson

Click on the image above to view full-size PDF event flier.

The GoHawkeye Foundation established the Logan Fuller Fund in 2018 by dedicating $2,500 toward the goal of raising $7,000 to purchase a monoski for this inspiring young athlete.

A fundraiser will be held on Thursday, March 28, at 7 PM at the very cool Telluride Distilling Company tasting room in Mountain Village, Colorado. It will feature live music, door prizes, and a silent auction.

Unable to attend the party? Please consider making a donation to this fund ONLINE.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Logan Fuller during a monoski lesson on the slopes of Telluride Resort. Photo by Tracy Walker.

Local Quadriplegic Teen Needs a Ski

Destined to be Telluride’s first local independent quadriplegic monoskier, Logan Fuller has been ripping up the slopes here at Telluride and Crested Butte. It isn’t surprising as Logan was such an exceptional athlete before his injury as well. He was captain of Dolores High wrestling and football teams. From 8th grade until his junior year, he was a top 8 ranked Colorado wrestler. His junior year, he ran back a 99-yard kickoff return.

Following a rollover accident the summer prior to his senior year, his life completely changed. Instead of training for athletics, he found himself training to feed himself and brush his teeth. Instead of receiving collegiate scholarships, his family received exorbitant medical bills.

The good news is he’s back. He’s attending college online and back to his passion for snowboarding, now in a monoski (sitski). If you wonder how a quadriplegic can ski, Logan has proved the answer is apparently quite well. As he has an incomplete spinal cord injury, in addition to lower body paralysis like most paraplegic monoskiers, he has upper body weakness, but enough left to independently ski in a monoski. He’s been taking many lessons from the Telluride Adaptive Sports Program and attended a camp at the Adaptive Sports Center in Crested Butte. While he’s been off tethers after his first lesson, in order for him to ski fully on his own and more often, he’ll need his own monoski. As a complete monoski setup can run between $6,000 to over $10,000, local foundation GoHawkeye is committed to raising funds to get Logan a ski and has already rewarded him with a $2,500 grant.

Reflecting on his injury and skiing, Logan wrote: “It’s hard to not lose your mind when there’s nothing for you to do but watch time pass by. When I found that I might be able to ride a sit ski, I was immediately set on being able to get back to the mountain I loved. The happiness skiing has provided me and the outlet to freedom is more than I thought was ever possible after being paralyzed. From there on I’ve been determined to be a great monoskier who can rip any part of the mountain.”

On Thursday, March 28th at 7 pm, GoHawkeye, and Telluride Distilling are hosting a fundraiser in the distillery’s new tasting room at the Franz Klammer in Mountain Village. There will be door prizes, a silent auction and live music by the Telluride Gold Kings. Logan has deep ties locally, living in Dolores for over a decade, and he has held a Telluride ski pass since he was 10. His great grandfather moved to the Dolores area over a century ago, and his mother and grandmother were both born in Cortez. He has many close and extended relatives living throughout the area. Telluride, let’s show Logan how we treat locals in need!

Logan Fuller on the slopes of Telluride Resort. Photo by Mareya Becker.

Adaptive Skiing

BY LOGAN FULLER

I discovered adaptive skiing at Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado. There was a picture in the hallway outside my room that I admired every day as I passed by. A paraplegic skiing chest deep powder on a monoski. It made me miss snowboarding but opened my eyes to only a fraction of freedom and happiness monoskiing could provide for me. A mentor of mine Jasmin Bambur once said, “Life sucks, but it doesn’t have to. Find something you love to do.” I love skiing and I’m going to continue to do It until I physically can’t.

I’ve gone from a stale inactive lifestyle to an optimistic, active, and healthier life. Skiing gives me something to live for rather than sitting in my room watching the clock tick round and round again. The happiness skiing has provided me and the outlet to freedom is more than I thought was ever possible after being paralyzed in 2017.

My first experience monoskiing was with Telluride Adaptive sports program, where I would meet an overwhelming number of amazing friends and mentors. Although monoskiing has been probably the hardest skill to learn I have come to yet, I found myself off tether and in my new favorite place on my first-day skiing. From there on I’ve been determined to be a great monoskier who can rip any part of the mountain. My first couple lessons were in Telluride with Telluride Adaptive Sports, where I would learn the basic right and left turns. My lessons have been spaced a week apart so there is only so much progression I can make, but by my 10^th lesson, I could comfortably ride any green run on Telluride mountain.

Recently, I’ve attended a ski camp in Crested Butte with Craig Hospital and the Adaptive Sports Center. Here I would learn to ride in more advanced terrain including steeper runs with some bumps. I gained confidence in hitting blue runs that many people with my level of injury wouldn’t hit. I haven’t seen any quadriplegic who ventures far from the groomers in my short time in the sport. There was a discouraging part of that, that got to me in a way until I realized, I am going to chose what I can and can’t ski. I believe if your heart is into something, you can be great if you’re dedicated. My heart is in this sport, and Logan Fuller going to be a name in this sport one day.

Having my own monoski would truly be a dream come true for me. As a quadriplegic in South West Colorado, it is hard for me to find recreational activities that I can comfortably and normally involve myself or compete in. Before I found adaptive skiing, I found myself in a hole that was hard to live in.

The thought of a meaningless life and depression surrounded me constantly. I found myself spending 90 percent of my time sitting in my room watching the clock and playing video games… Until I skied for the first time. For the first time since my injury, I found something I loved and wanted to be involved in. Telluride Adaptive Sports Program provided me with my first taste of true freedom, excitement, and the will to continue living for something I began to love so quickly. I have been taking a lesson once a week with TASP since December 2018. With my own monoski, I would ski as much as 4 times a week. Having my own ski would help me fill idle time and help me participate in a healthy and happy lifestyle. I would be able to spend time with my friends on the mountain and continue to progress my skills in this sport even faster. Thank you for your time and consideration. –Logan Fuller