Adaptive Adventures How Gear Innovations Are Helping More People Access the Outdoors BY ELLEN KANZINGER
ROCKING AND ROLLING DOWN THE
Gauley River, the Handi-Craft takes on raging class V rapids like the infamous Pillow Rock with a power unseen in most traditional commercial rafts. Designed to self-right when flipped over, the Handi-Craft adaptive whitewater outfitting system was born from a collaboration between Eric Thompson and Creature Crafts after a car accident in 2012 left Thompson paralyzed from the midchest down. While still in the hospital, Thompson, a long-time raft guide, ski patroller, and wilderness EMT, started thinking about ways he could get back to running whitewater. Due to the placement of his injury, he has limited core control of the muscles below his chest. “Everything that’s good about a kayak really doesn’t help you if you can’t control it with your hips,” he said. So he started
tinkering with rafting equipment, trying to figure out how to maximize his abilities and minimize his deficits. The key was to stabilize his core, much like a backrest on a wheelchair, without trapping himself in a craft that could flip upside down. Thompson rigged an oaring system to his Cataract raft that allowed him to paddle down calmer waters, but he still wanted to run the larger class IV and Vs he was used to on the Gauley and New Rivers, including finding a way to reflip the boat without the ability to jump on top and pull it back down. When he looked around at what other raft companies and adaptive programs were doing, Thompson realized his system was already better than anything else out there. Nearly all of the raft trips for adaptive users were floating beginner sections of the river. “Mostly what they were doing was, at best, taking nice lawn chairs and strapping it on top of the raft,” Thompson said. That’s when Thompson connected with
the team at Creature Craft, which had developed an inflatable raft that had success in making safer low-head dam rescues. Combining his oaring system with Creature Craft’s self-righting system and a release mechanism similar to what’s seen in swift water rescues, Thompson soon started running rapids larger than what he previously ran commercially before the accident. Now, the equipment to get adaptive users down whitewater is here and ready to go. “Instead of being, at best, cargo on the intermediate section, you can now either oar completely independently or you can participate with a guide,” Thompson said. With a boat that works, he’s focused on getting the equipment out to people and getting them down to the riverside. In addition to his outdoor pursuits, Thompson runs Access on the Go to help companies and agencies evaluate their services and make them more
O U T R I D E R U S A B U I L D S A VA R I E T Y O F E - B I K E S B U I L T F O R L O N G D AY S O F R I D I N G . P H O T O COURTESY OF OUTRIDER
accessible. He’s found that many commercial companies are unaware that under the Americans Disability Act, they are eligible to receive $20,000 annually in tax credits and deductions for equipment and improvements to increase equal opportunity to services like investing in a Handi-Craft system for potential customers. And accessibility impediments aren’t just on the water. Even with the proper boats, users often face river put-ins and parking lots that are not ADA accessible. Then there’s the issue of being able to go into town for a meal at the end of the day or find lodging for the night. “If I drive by your restaurant and you have a set of steps out front, no ramp, and no parking, it’s almost like a big middle finger on your front door saying you’re not welcome,” Thompson said. It’s not
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