Cyndy DeMartino
Adaptive Sports Coordinator
Cyndy received an introduction to adaptive sports while working as a climbing guide for The Colorado Mountain School (CMS) in Estes Park in 1995. As a guide, Cyndy took students from Colorado Center for the Blind climbing in Eldorado Canyon where she learned tips and techniques to enhance each student’s experience. Cyndy learned more from her students that day and in the many days that followed, which fueled her passion in sharing the sport of climbing with inclusivity. Prior to guiding for CMS, Cyndy worked for Colorado State University teaching climbing and other outdoor pursuits before becoming the Assistant Director to the Outdoor Adventure Program at the University.
Cyndy was born and raised in Malvern PA and grew up water and snow skiing, mountain biking and trail running. Her family was a bit eclectic and lived in a barn, which her dad was converting to a home. This provided the added bonus of scaffolding as an indoor jungle gym for years on end. Just before she moved to CO, in 1992, she discovered climbing through some friends. She loved the movement and community that climbing offered and knew she wanted to pursue climbing as much as she could. As time went on, Cyndy realized the joy in introducing others to the power of climbing and the natural world.
Cyndy graduated from CSU in 1996 with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology. After marrying Craig DeMartino, Adaptive Adventures National Climbing Manager, the two pursued climbing with a passion and have been fortunate to climb extensively around the world, including destinations such as Greece, Croatia and Slovenia, among many others. Craig and Cyndy have two adult children, Mayah 26 and Will 24, who both grew up in the climbing/outdoor world and have experienced climbing and travel all around the world, where they could encounter the richness of other cultures.
When Craig was in a climbing accident in 2001, Cyndy dove deeper into the world of adaptive climbing, to support Craig in his dreams and goals. The two worked together to get Craig back to climbing and find solutions for obstacles he faced. The two began to meet other adaptive climbers as Craig competed in the first several years of the Paraclimbing World Cup events and volunteering at other events such as Adaptive Climber’s Festival. She was also part of the team along with Craig in helping to modify climbing feet and the eventual finished product foot that would become the Evolv Adaptive Foot which has helped revolutionize adaptive climbing. She began volunteering at Adaptive Adventures in 2016. In 2021, Cyndy started working on a contract basis for AA teaching adaptive climbing and was added as a full time staff in January of 2025.
Cyndy particularly loves empowering others to reach beyond their comfort zone, with gentle encouragement, to achieve things they didn’t believe were possible. She loves seeing the joy experienced by climbers when they surprise themselves with their accomplishments. For her, nothing compares with having a participant realize that their life can be incredibly fulfilling by using adaptive sports and climbing in particular, as part of their recovery story.
She can be reached at cyndy.demartino@adaptiveadventures.org or call .
