The Ski Hills Are Great Therapy For Our Wounded Soldiers

Billy, a Green Beret, with his wife, Jennifer, on the slopes in Whitefish, Mont. Aisha Chowdhry

Hitting The Slopes To Recover From the Wounds of War -- New York Times

WHITEFISH, Mont. — From a distance, Billy, a Green Beret, looked like any other snowboarder, traversing the slopes with apparent ease. Only up close could other winter revelers see that he had a prosthetic leg.

Billy, who asked that his last name not be used because he is still a member of the Army Special Forces, was wounded in Kandahar, Afghanistan, a little over four months ago. That day, he had cleared 15 explosive devices successfully. But then a device — one he thought he had dismantled — exploded. He lost his right leg from the knee down and sustained injuries to his right forearm and two fingers.

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My Comment: I completely concur with the analysis from this article. When I am on the slopes .... all the problems of the world melt away when you are going down the hill .... and when you hit the bottom, the exhilaration of the finish (and not crashing) makes you want to do it all over again.