For the brave

SNOWMASS, COLORADO - Last December, Hardball spent several days with disabled veterans at Walter Reed Army hospital in Washington. Last month, some of those same amputees were among the 350 disabled military veterans who participated in a winter sports clinic. It was an inspiring and transforming week.

A life without a limb
Oscar Olguin is 19-years-old. About six months ago in Iraq, an insurgent bomb ripped apart his right leg.

"I was conscious the whole time, which was kind of bad," Olguin recounts. "I saw my boot on the floor, and it looked like my boot had just tipped over and fallen on the floor."

Olguin had never imagined life without a limb.

Seven months ago, Casey Owens wasn’t sure when he lost both legs whether or not he would live at all.  "We hit a double stacked anti-tank mine," he says. "It blew me through the roof and threw me about 30 feet."

FREE VIDEO GALLERY MSNBC Newly disabled vets Apr. 11: Approximately 350 recently disabled military veterans participated in a winter sports clinic in Colorado. It was an inspiring and transforming week. MSNBC For the Brave Apr. 12: The veterans, many wounded in Iraq, have been gaining new insights into their abilities and their future through the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in Colorado. MSNBC Lessons from vet-to-vet Apr. 13: For guidance— on and off the mountains— vets turn to the staff, many of whom are also disabled vets. MSNBC Support systems Apr. 14: Family members journey with their injured vets, and their stories are also awe-inspiring.

And last summer, doctors thought Dawn Halfaker wouldn’t survive, much less snowboard, after an Iraqi grenade severed her arm. It was the arm she had relied on as a basketball star at West Point.  "It’s still very sensitive, it’s you know, it’s basically sheer bone," she describes.  "There’s not any muscle or fat in that area, so, it’s really painful."

But it’s a pain, both physical and mental, that other disabled veterans seem to understand.

So last April, in Snowmass Village, Colorado, 350 veterans representing every conflict since World War II joined together for a winter sports clinic.

In addition to skiing, they played sled hockey,  shot clay pigeons, and climbed rock walls.

"It boosts their morale, boosts their character, and lets them know that they can do stuff and overcome those obstacles that they have in their life," says Adrian Maldonado, a Veterans Association outreach specialist.

Jim Sursley lost three limbs in Vietnam and remembers the questions he used to ask: "Will you be ever be able to be employed? Will someone love you? Will you be able to be married and have children and just lead a normal life?" 

"As time progresses, to have these kinds of events to challenge you," says Sursley. "It just reaffirms that those things are certainly possible and that the sky is the limit as to what you can possibly achieve."

All disabled veterans can participate, regardless of their level of disability. At the end of the day, the conversations are like those at any other ski resort, like, "Are you doing the jumps yet?"

An important step
The clinic, now in it’s 19^th year, has grown thanks to sponsors and volunteers. Their rejuvenated spirits are often difficult to talk about. The reality is that everybody seems to know these veterans still face setbacks.   Some have tough rehab sessions ahead or are especially vulnerable to loneliness and depression.

But the week marks an important step.

"I never did this before," says Olguin. "I never skied before. Now I’m going everywhere.  Going to concerts, dancing in mosh pits, going to clubs.  Life isn’t over. I just lost a leg."

Pulling together a clinic like this requires instructors and support staff. Nearly all of the 700 at this event paid their own way. Many of the support staffers are disabled American veterans whose stories are just as inspiring as the first time participants. 

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