News & Stories

Skiing Has Always Been In Kathryn Walton’s Blood

This article was originally published by Mekialaya White in CBS News Colorado on May 24,2024. Read the original and full article here: https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/breckenridge-als-patients-ski-session-colorado-als-united-rocky-mountain/.

Join Kathryn Walton at Ski ALS with ALS United Rocky Mountain at SkiALSColorado.org.


ALS United Rocky Mountain is dedicated to directly serving the ALS community at the local level while also funding critical research to find a cure. Through events like our Ski ALS event, we provide essential support to individuals with ALS, their families, and caregivers. This incredible event offers 5 individuals with ALS the opportunity to experience a day on the mountain through adaptive skiing, creating unforgettable moments of joy and empowerment.

In 2024 Kathryn Walton was able to join us for adaptive skiing on the slopes of Breckenridge with friends and family.

Skiing has always been in Kathryn Walton’s blood. And CBS News Colorado’s Mekialaya White was able to discuss that passion with her first-hand.

“My dad was a former ski racer, so I started skiing at two, and we skied as a family,” Walton said.

“It was in December of 2023, after about three years of doctor’s appointments and decline. It started with just dropping things, tripping, and falling, and then got the diagnosis that I had ALS. There’s something about knowing what’s happening even though it may be scary. I think just to sit in a place of acceptance,” she said.

Walton didn’t just accept her ALS diagnosis, she ardently battles it. It didn’t stop her from being on skis. She started off standing, then eventually found sit-skis.

“Toward the end, I could ski better than I could walk. To be able to sit-ski has been a dream, to be able to get back on the mountain. The entire time I did, I was in tears. The feeling of being on the mountain brings me peace,” she said.

It’s a peace bigger than her circumstances.

“I’m really lucky because I’m upper motor neuron-dominant and slower progressing than folks that I know now. I’m living in this moment of today: I have a beautiful family, I have two kiddos and two bonus kids, so four kids altogether, and a supportive husband that we’ve made this journey together. It’s not like they’re saying, ‘My mom is sick.’ They’re saying, ‘She can do anything that we love,'” Walton continued with a smile.

Kathryn Walton loves skiing on the mountains of Colorado and is able to do this again with ALS United Rocky Mountains Ski ALS event. She will be joining ALS United Rocky Mountain Colorado for the 2025 Ski ALS at Breckenridge again.

Kathryn Walton and ALS United Rocky Mountain would love for you to join them on the mountain this year.

You can join at: SkiALSColorado.org.

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