Chris Werhane
Adaptive Sports Lead
Chris started in adaptive sports in the late 70’s helping his mother with Special Olympics events in IL. His adaptive career started almost immediately after college when he became the Recreation Administrator at a private boarding school for kids with learning differences in Terrero, NM on the edge of the Pecos Wilderness. Chris began formal adaptive ski teaching in 1990 for Challenge New Mexico at the Pajarito Ski area in Los Alamos NM, where he eventually lead that Adaptive Ski program for over 15 years. Chris would eventually join the staff at CNM running the recreation programs, HUD housing and would eventually become the Executive Director for Challenge New Mexico in Santa Fe, NM a position he held until moving to Colorado in 2010.
Chris joined the Adaptive Adventures staff in 2010 coming in to help run the expanding Veterans programming and has held numerous titles since then settling in on his current role as the Sports Lead. He helps oversee all of Adaptive Adventures sports programming, focusing on making sure Adaptive Adventures has the most up to date equipment, training, philosophies and trends in adaptive sport. He spends his winters on the road at over 20 resorts nationwide (including Canada) running, teaching and overseeing the ski program. The rest of the year you might see him in the states he missed over the winter helping to run kayaking, cycling and rafting or visiting VA Medical Centers and partnering with lots of Adaptive Adventures 180+ partners nationwide.
Chris has spent the last 15+ years (attended over 25 years) as the On Mountain Safety director at the VA’s National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, and is currently the sports leads for the cycling venue at the VA’s National TEE Tournament. Chris currently is a member of the BSA’s National Disabilities and Special Needs committee, an official observer on the B77 committee of the National Tramway Standards Board, the RESNA committee for Adaptive Sports, often sits on steering committee’s for VA National Events, as well as, the Member School Management committee for PSIA RM division. Chris also works with numerous programs and organization’s on adaptive sports training and volunteer trainings. Chris has a PSIA Level 2 Adaptive and Alpine Level 1 cert, ACA adaptive seating training, CARSS level II, NRA Range Officer/Black powder Pistol & Rifle instructor, S.A.F.E certified, Adaptive Sports Abuse Prevention (ASAP) trainer with IMPACT, and various other certifications in many, many other realms of sport and recreation.
Raised in the Suburbs of Chicago, Chris started skiing at Wilmot in Wisconsin. He spent lots of time outdoors with the Boy Scouts. Chris graduated from Unity College in Maine with a BS in Outdoor Recreation. He spent 9 summers working for the BSA at the largest High Adventure camp in the world (Philmont Scout Ranch), and he spent 5 summers working for the USFS in the Pecos Wilderness. Chris worked for the State of New Mexico fighting forest fires in 1985 and in 1991 became part of the El Dorado Fire & Rescue, where he spent 18 years as the assistant chief until retiring from active fire duty in 2011.
