All Images: Courtesy of High Fives Foundation
When Roy Tuscany fractured his T-12 vertebra and spine from a ski accident in 2006, the aspiring pro-skier was overwhelmed by the generosity of his community to help both physically and emotionally, but also financially. The support he received in all facets allowed Tuscany to focus solely on his recovery, which in turn inspired him to start the High Fives Foundation just three years later in 2009.
A non-profit organization dedicated to getting athletes from all walks of life back out doing their respective sports and activities, whether they be physical disabilities from a life-altering accident or cognitive disabilities from traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), High Fives has served a total of 866 athletes and 219 veterans since its inception. This year, High Fives celebrates its 15th anniversary and the organization shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. On the contrary, High Fives is actually expanding its Military to the Mountain (M2M) program to help even more veterans with life-changing injuries get back to the sports they love.
What started as a single, 10-week program in collaboration with friend, mentor, retired NFL linebacker and founder of Adaptive Training Foundation, David Vobora, has expanded in the 10 years since its inception to include ski weeks at Palisades Tahoe, Solitude Mountain Resort in Utah and new for 2026, Sugarbush Resort in Vermont—Tuscany’s original home mountain.
“My good friend Amber Broadway, who I worked with when she was at Sugarbush, got named President/GM [at Solitude] and she had always been looking for ways to expand on how High Fives can work more directly with her,” Tuscany explains to me over the phone. “I’ve been fortunate to build a lot of great relationships over my time working for High Fives and prior to my injury. Amber has been a close confidant, she gave me the opportunity and this will be the second year we’re going to Solitude.”
Over the course of 10 weeks, participants go through nine weeks of programmatic physical, mental, emotional and social training at either Vobora’s Adaptive Training Foundation in Dallas, Texas, or the City of Reno Adaptive Program in Reno, Nevada, leading up to one week of skiing and riding on snow. In the last 10 years of the program, High Fives and M2M have been able to bring nearly 200 veterans back to snow at absolutely no cost to them. With the addition of Solitude and Sugarbush, that number will continue to rise.
For 2025, the Military to the Mountain program will meet on snow at Palisades March 16-21 and at Solitude April 7-12. Looking ahead to 2026, Sugarbush will join the party in late February. To help support this program and others like it, consider donating to the High Fives Foundation.
