Virtual Red Bench Speaker Series Presents, The First Disabled Ski Descent Of Denali – Breaking Barriers With Vasu Sojitra

The Virtual Red Bench Speaker Series presents, The First Disabled Ski Descent of Denali – Breaking Barriers with Vasu Sojitra on Thursday, November 17th at 7:00 pm via Zoom.

Vasu Sojitra is breaking barriers as an adaptive athlete as well as an advocate for racial justice and inclusion. Sojitra is climbing and skiing the highest peaks on one leg. He climbed the Grand Teton, and in 2021, he and fellow adaptive skier Pete McAfee did the first disabled descent of Denali, the highest peak in North America. The excursion was featured in the latest Warren Miller ski film. Sojitra is also the first adaptive athlete for The North Face and is a co-founder of Inclusive Outdoors Project. Vasu began backcountry skiing as a student at the University of Vermont, where he graduated in 2013. His first pursuits as an adaptive athlete in Vermont were the subject of a 2014 film, Out On A Limb.

Vasu Sojitra will discuss his Denali descent and his other adaptive skiing accomplishments, with moderator David Goodman, as well as his ongoing work to make the outdoors more inclusive for marginalized people. We will also see excerpts from recent films featuring Sojitra.

David Goodman is the author of Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast and host of The Vermont Conversation, on WDEV and VTDigger. Goodman profiled Vasu in the New York Times earlier this year.

Zoom tickets and a link are available at vtssm.org/new-events/sojitra. Virtual doors to the Museum open and the discussion begins at 7:00 PM. The event is complimentary, but a $10 donation from each guest is encouraged and helps keep the Red Bench Speaker Series going.

Series sponsors include Schoeller Textile, r.k. Miles, AJ’s Ski & Sports, Sisler Builders, and Vermont Ski + Ride.

About VTSSM – Since 1988, the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum has been dedicated to collecting, preserving, and celebrating the rich history of skiing and riding in Vermont. The museum is a 501c3 non-profit that survives on the support from the ski and snowboard community.

The Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum thrives by collecting, preserving, and celebrating Vermont’s skiing and snowboarding history. The Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum is a 501c3 non-profit organization that welcomes visitors from around the world to share, reminisce, and enjoy the collections and their stories. The museum creates visually stimulating and historically in-depth exhibits, along with year-round educational programming and statewide community events