Para-alpine skier from Colorado is aiming for a return to the snow after an accident in February

Anyone who knows her will say that Paige VanArsdale is one badass. Her mother, Melissa VanArsdale, can even recount several examples of her harshness.

“One time when she was running cross country for high school, she was completely passed out with blood running down her leg, but when she got up and finished the race covered in blood, Melissa explained. “That’s exactly how Paige is, she’s always been a fighter and always comes back stronger.”

Paige is used to a fight. The 24-year-old para-alpine skier from Steamboat Springs was born with cerebral palsy and continues to fight that battle today. Cerebral palsy is a condition that affects the functions of the brain and nervous system, but affects each person differently. For Paige, CP causes the right side of her body to be weaker and less flexible than the other half. Because of this, she has problems with balance.

As a young girl, Paige participated in a variety of sports, including t-ball and soccer, but she had a particular affinity for the individual sports of swimming and skiing. She began skiing at the age of 3 and competed in para-alpine racing as a teenager. Now Paige trains at the National Ability Center in Park City, Utah.

This winter, Paige’s competitive season got off to a slow start as she focused on school work. Their first race of the season took place in Kimberley, Canada in mid-February.

On February 15, Paige faced three runs of the day; a training run and two competitive races. Because of her condition, it is more difficult for Paige to turn left on skis because her downhill leg is weaker. What makes it even more difficult is that the competition rules prevent Paige from using a bar on her weak side.

On her final run of the competition day, Paige was nearing the finish when she encountered the most challenging slope on the course – nicknamed “Lord’s Leap”.

“I went down the hill and there’s a big slope that’s pretty steep,” Paige said. “I didn’t do particularly well in the area that my coaches were in. I turned around right in front of them at 3 o’clock and fell. At least my skis broke when I dropped out, but when I got back up I knew something was wrong.”

Paige’s trainer Eric Leirfallom immediately ran over and helped her to the side of the track. After the race ended, Paige strapped herself back on her skis and gradually made her way down the mountain, writhing in pain and a swollen left knee.

Paige was unable to compete in the remaining races of the week but was still unsure of the severity of her injury. Two days after her accident, she returned to Park City and was taken to the emergency room, where an X-ray confirmed that she had a fracture of the tibial plateau on the outside of the knee joint of her left leg.

Shortly thereafter, Melissa picked up Paige and drove her home, where she received further testing at the Steamboat Orthopedics and Spine Institute. She was told to remain on her left side without weight-bearing for six weeks and to use both crutches and a wheelchair throughout March and much of April.

“She was able to start physical therapy before she could walk,” Melissa explained. “They want you to start exercising your joints so you don’t cramp up. They trained her knee joint and tried to get the muscles around the knee strong again because they weaken so quickly if you don’t use them and it takes longer to build the muscle back up.”

Paige still has follow-up appointments with SOSI, which will include more x-rays, and she will have at least 11 more physical therapy sessions on her road to recovery. Medical expenses for emergency care, UCHealth radiology, SOSI and physical therapy have added up and Melissa has started a GoFundMe page to cover the costs.

Although Paige still has a few credits to earn, she recently graduated from Healing Mountain Massage School and dreams of becoming a massage therapist after completing her anatomy and kinesiology courses this fall.

Paige will soon be receiving a recumbent tricycle that will be customized for her so she can balance while riding and enjoy the spring and summer mountain air. Once she has fully recovered, she plans to take part in some dryland training sessions with her trainers this summer.

She is expected to make a full recovery from the accident and has no plans to take off skis any time soon. She’s ready to get back on the snow in the winter and continue pursuing her skiing dreams.

“I will definitely be joining my ski team again next year,” Paige said.