Cathy Webster, Chuck Petitpas and Allie Peterson on the chairlift at Stowe Mountain Resort on March 4, 2025. Webster is one of the leaders of the TetraSki program, and she and Peterson are both TetraSki instructors. Photo by Henry Miller
There are only 25 TetraSkis in the world and now there’s one in Vermont.
by Henry Miller, Community News Service
There are only 25 TetraSkis in the world and now there’s one in Vermont. Green Mountain Adaptive Sports and the Northeast Disabled Athletic Association fundraised for years to make it happen.
A TetraSki is a sit-ski designed for athletes with complex disabilities. Skiers control their turns and speed with a joystick or a “sip and puff” mouthpiece. It’s a lot like steering a wheelchair down the mountain.
Vermont skier Chuck Petipas recently raced at the international TetraSki championship in Utah. Before the competition, Henry Miller hit the slopes with Petitpas to see the TetraSki in action.
🎧 This story was produced for the ear. We highly recommend listening to the audio. We’ve also provided a transcript below.
Chuck Petitpas in the loading bay before heading out to ski Spruce Peak on March 4, 2025. This is Petitpas’ fourth time in the TetraSki. He is preparing to race at the Brian McKenna TetraSki Express International Championship on Powder Mountain in Utah at the end of March. Photo by Henry Miller
Chuck Petitpas: Got snowy conditions. I think it’s about 32 degrees. And havin’ a blast.
My name is Chuck Petitpas, and I’m here on a TetraSki on Stowe Mountain.
A friend of mine, Dave Whalen, found out about the TetraSki. I had no idea it even existed. But it’s exactly what I was hoping for.
I was like, “Man, if I could just get a joystick controlled thing that went down, I could ski.” And come to find out that that thing exists finally. Because I had tried skiing many years ago, and you’re like just basically in a bucket, right? And you’re not really controlling the thing. They’re just tethering you, and it’s a glorified sled ride.
This, on the other hand, is you’re steering the thing. You’re skiing.
Chuck Petitpas skiing Spruce Peak at Stowe Mountain Resort on March 4, 2025. He uses his right hand to move the TetraSki’s joystick to control his speed and direction. Instructor Allie Peterson follows behind on a tow rope for emergency stops if needed. Peterson has been teaching adaptive sports for 10 years. Photo by Henry Miller
It’s $40,000 for the ski. So we had to do a huge fundraiser to get it.
But it’s here now, and people are in it. And it’s people with a wide variety of disabilities. Like I have muscular dystrophy, a form of it, but there’s people with stroke, who are recovering from stroke. Cerebral palsy. So very complex disabilities. None of us were able to ski before. And now we’re skiing.
It’s been amazing, and I can’t wait to get out to Utah and compete. And do gates again.
And this thing’s got a sip and puff on it too. So that’s a little straw that will allow you to control it. I think Dave Whalen used it during the race. Which is amazing. This guy’s controlling this — I don’t know how much the thing weighs, it’s probably like 300 pounds. And you’re in it. It’s several hundred pounds coming down the mountain. And this guy’s controlling it with a straw. It’s amazing. And I think people are having a blast with it.
And it’s, you know, all my friends and family are like, “I can’t believe you go skiing now.” And it’s like, “Yeah, I go skiing now.”
Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, in partnership with Vermont Public.
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