PHILANTHROPY
High Fives Foundation offers support to athletes
with life-altering injuries
By Bilal Rana
Roy Tuscany grew up always
wanting to be a pro skier. Af-ter
graduating from the Uni-versity
of Vermont in 2004, he
moved west to do just that. He moved
to be part of the culture and to work
towards his dream of one day going
pro. He found work as a ski instructor
at Sugar Bowl Academy, a ski school in
California. He was making it happen.
He was living the life he set out to.
However, in 2006, the trajectory of his
life changed one fateful day. During a
morning ski at Mammoth Mountain in
eastern California, Tuscany over-shot a
100-foot jump by 30 feet, falling from 30
feet in the air. Right then and there, the
course of his life was altered forever.
The impact of the fall shattered Tus-cany’s
T12 vertebra. He could no longer
feel anything below his navel. He was
even told he would never walk again. It
was an altogether rude new reality he
was faced with; a time with feelings of
hopelessness and despair.
PHOTO COURTESY OF HIGH FIVES FOUNDATION
#HighFivesAthlete Landon McGauley at Sugarbush Resort
snowopsmag.com | SnowOps 47
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