How Adaptive Snowboarders Enjoy the Slopes

Snowboarders (sometimes called riders or shredders) have been carving turns on mountain slopes since the 1960s. Adaptive snowboarding (also called para snowboarding) gives people with physical disabilities a chance to enjoy the sport, too.

“Adaptive snowboarders use modified equipment or guided support,” says Sarah Eby, MD, PhD, a sports medicine specialist with Mass General Brigham and Spaulding Rehabilitation. Dr. Eby is the head team physician for the 2026 U.S. Winter Paralympics para snowboard and para alpine ski teams.

Adaptive snowboard equipment

Adaptive snowboarding is a type of adaptive sport that’s accessible to people with a range of physical disabilities. It can be a recreational or competitive sport.

Modifications to adaptive snowboarding equipment help riders safely enjoy the slopes:

• Communication systems: Adaptive snowboarders with visual impairments wear helmets with built-in two-way communication systems. With this system, an adaptive snowboarder can communicate with a guide, who directs them down the slopes.
• Ski poles or outriggers: Ski poles or ski outriggers aid a rider’s balance and movement. Ski poles are handheld poles with pointed tips that pierce the snow. Ski outriggers have cuffs that go around a rider’s forearms and mini-skis on the ends that glide over the snow. Some outriggers have brakes to help control speed.
• Rider bar: This waist-high, U-shaped bar mounts underneath snowboard bindings (what boots clip into to hold riders on the board). Riders push the bar forward or backward to control turns and movements. Holding onto the bar helps riders maintain their balance.
• Tethers and harness systems: Tethers attach to the front of a snowboard, while harnesses go around a rider’s waist. An instructor holds on to the cords of a tether or harness to help control a rider’s speed, balance, and turns.

Adaptive snowboarding methods

Adaptive snowboarders have a few options for getting down a mountain:

• Stand-up snowboarding: Changes to snowboard boots and bindings, as well as prosthetic limbs, support adaptive snowboarders who are able to stand. These riders may also use ski poles, outriggers, or other equipment.
• Sit-down snowboarding: A mono-board or sit-board has a bucket seat mounted on a snowboard with a shock absorber. A rider sits in the seat and uses ski outriggers or their arms and hands to control movement, speed, and balance.

Benefits of adaptive snowboarding

Snowboarding is a great way to get in a winter workout. “Snowboarding is good for your physical and mental health,” says Dr. Eby. “In addition to exercise, being outdoors with friends can help lift your spirits.”

Risks of adaptive snowboarding

“Compared to skiers, snowboarders are more prone to shoulder injuries, hand and arm injuries, and other upper-body injuries,” says Dr. Eby. “These injuries often happen when you fall or brace yourself during a fall.”

Snowboarding causes some injuries that are common in skiing, such as:

• ACL tears
• Concussions
• Knee injuries

You can lower your injury risk by strength training and staying physically active in the winter.

Getting started in adaptive snowboarding

Like any sport, it takes time and practice to get good at snowboarding. Dr. Eby recommends taking lessons and trying out different adaptive snowboarding equipment before investing in the sport.

These actions can help you get started:

• Take adaptive snowboard lessons at Spaulding Adaptive Sports Centers.
• Call your local ski resort and ask about adaptive snowboard programs.
• Contact the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Universal Access Program (UAP) for free or low-cost adaptive snowboard equipment and instruction.
• Visit Move United, a national nonprofit organization that supports adaptive sports programs.

Para snowboarding at the Winter Paralympics

Para snowboarding became a sport in the Paralympic Winter Games™ in 2014. It’s part of the para alpine skiing (adaptive skiing) program. The 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, which take place March 6 to March 15 in Milano Cortina, Italy, feature several snowboard events.

Each event has two para snowboarding categories for riders with different lower-limb impairments, as well as one category for riders with upper-limb impairments. These classifications ensure fair competition among athletes with different physical disabilities.

Para snowboard events include:

• Single-banked slalom: Each rider completes three runs on a course that has dips, turns, and snowbanks. The top athletes advance to the finals, where they’re paired into brackets and compete against each other. The rider with the best time in their bracket advances to the next round until there’s a winner.
• Dual-banked slalom: Riders compete on two identical, parallel slalom courses that are shorter than the single-banked course. This race uses the same bracket and elimination system as the single-banked slalom to determine a winner.
• Head-to-head snowboard cross: Riders navigate a course that has banked turns and jumps. They complete three solo qualifying runs to determine their bracket placement. In head-to-head competitions (also called heats), riders in the same bracket simultaneously race against each other for the best time.
• Time-trial snowboard cross: A single rider completes a timed snowboard cross. The rider with the fastest time wins.

“The Winter Paralympics may not get as much publicity as the Olympics,” says Dr. Eby. “But it’s exciting to watch these athletes—who have overcome many physical challenges—give it their all while representing their countries. Their athleticism and determination are inspiring.”