The NAU Review — How adaptive skis provide freedom, new parking options, a world champion and more

July 20, 2022

Despite a rare condition affecting her joints and muscles, Kim Kolstad was determined to participate in outdoor sports. Through her research, she discovered the Adaptive Ski and Snowboard Program, a collaboration between NAU’s Institute for Human Development and the Northern Arizona Adaptive Sports Association and one of only six programs in the world that provides its participants with TetraSkis, state-of-the-art adaptive ski equipment featuring a joystick and a breath-controlled system for turning and controlling speed, allowing individuals with complex disabilities to ski independently.

The NAU alumna earned the World Champion gold in the women’s hammer throw Sunday at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Andersen’s final 78.96-meter throw of the competition capped a dominant performance, in which she was more than three meters better than her nearest competitor.

Learn how an NAU team, led by professor Jim Gaherty, will conduct a seismological study of the Cocos tectonic plate deep beneath the Pacific Ocean.