When Don Armstrong moved to Park City in 1990, he immediately began looking for a way to help. Having always been an advocate for volunteering, he began perusing the newspaper searching for possible fits. He eventually found the perfect fit.

Nowadays, the 58-year-old Armstrong can be found on the slopes giving guidance, coaching, and making a difference.

For the last 18 or 19 years, Armstrong has been associated with the National Ability Center as both a volunteer and, for the last 11 years, as an adaptive ski coach. Armstrong wasn’t exactly the strongest skier before moving to Park City, but his job with the NAC helped usher that along.

“That’s when I started to learn everything,” he said of his early days in Park City.

But it’s his ability to connect with people and see progression that makes it worthwhile, he says.

Take 24-year-old Ryan Estes as a prime example. The native of San Diego, Calif., a former hockey player, snowboarder and student at the University of Colorado, Estes was paralyzed on Jan. 5, 2009. As he recalls, he went off a kicker during a day riding his snowboard at Big Bear Mountain Resort in Southern California.

He doesn’t remember much, but according to witnesses he got up to 25 feet in the air before losing control, landing directly on his neck, shattering his C7 vertebra.

Along with a shattered vertebra, he had compression fractures all the way down his spinal cord and severe bruising in his rib cage and chest.

Estes described the horror of not being able to move as “screaming in a nightmare, but it just came out as a whisper.” Estes, a highly-active young adult in his early 20s, had an uphill battle to face.

Over the last week, Estes ventured out to Park City and to the NAC for his second visit to try to master the monoski; He spent a week in town last year during his introduction to the NAC.

“I love doing it,” he said. “I love the mountains. But it’s very hard to keep my balance. It’s difficult to pick up. I crash about every 50 feet.”

But his positive outlook hasn’t wavered; in fact, it’s only gaining strength.

“It really means a lot,” he said. “It was nice to get that feeling back. I feel free. It’s hard to describe. But I so badly want to be good. I want to be able to do well. It’s my competitive nature.”

As a coach and supporter, Armstrong says the most important thing for him is to keep things light.

“We try to figure out what their goals are and we go from there,” he said. “I try and keep it pretty positive and fun, to get out and do things for themselves.”

“He (Estes) might try three or four different disciplines (of adaptive skiing),” Armstrong said. “Some people really want to learn and push it.”

Estes is one of those people.

“I’m really still learning,” he said. “I’ve had great times.”

Armstrong said the competitive drive is often impeded by the steep learning curve, and that sometimes, folks talking adaptive ski lessons tend to press too much. He added Estes is one of those athletes, but he knows one of his newest pupils has the talent.

“It’s really rewarding to go out and enjoy that with somebody,” he said.

Estes said his goal is to become a Paralympian and participate in the Winter X Games Mono Skier X competition.

To reach his goal, he has been looking at different locations to serve as potential training areas/

“I’ll definitely be back,” he said. “Park City is definitely an intriguing destination.”

Armstrong hopes the NAC and Park City made a strong impression on Estes and the coach hopes to see him again in the near future.

“(Estes) sure works hard at it,” he said. “I’ll tell you that.”