Partners in Adventure: KÜHL and Wasatch Adaptive Sports

Just like KÜHL®, Wasatch Adaptive Sports was born in the mountains.

Founded in 1977, WAS started offering programs out of Snowbird Resort and over the years has grown to offer year-round experiences at locations around Northern Utah. Within the past year, they have increased their programming by 32%, offering mountain biking, cycling, and paddling during the summer. Throughout the winter months, WAS offers skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, yoga, and indoor cycling.

KÜHL and Wasatch Adaptive Sports (WAS) have built a strong partnership rooted in a shared passion for the outdoors with the core value of independence. With WAS’s mission steeped in promoting outdoor recreation, the programming focuses on increasing independence and mobility in a social environment while building strength, stamina, self-esteem, and enhancing the quality of life for its students.

WAS’s Executive Director Elizabeth Kimball shared that our partnership with the local nonprofit is a natural fit. 

“KÜHL® shares our belief that the power of recreation- the freedom, the community, the empowerment- should be experienced by all. This valued partnership will afford more students like Jonathan the opportunity to realize their goals in the outdoors.”

Elizabeth Kimball

Through our partnership, the organization aims to expand the accessibility of Utah’s world-class recreation and encourage more adaptive athletes to explore their potential on the trails. 

The spotlight on Jonathan Leonard is just one example of the positivity WAS is creating in Utah and the surrounding Intermountain west. The video amplifies his story about how he developed a renewed sense of independence and a revitalized appreciation for life that was “Born in the Mountains®.” 

As Jonathan sends it on the trail and on the slopes in Little Cottonwood Canyon, he shares:

“Wasatch Adaptive Sports has helped me build my abilities so I’m not so reliant on others. They’ve allowed me, with their adaptive equipment, experiences like I’ve never even dreamed of. I love it. The sense of independence is second to nothing. It makes me feel like I’m alive!” 

Jonathan Leonard

Thanks to their generosity and continued support, WAS will be able to offer more recreational opportunities, especially scholarship-based ones, in the year to come through their biking and skiing programs. This past summer, WAS launched adaptive mountain bike lessons and group rides on trails along the Wasatch Front. 

Ways to participate, volunteer, and donate can be found on the Wasatch Adaptive Sports website.