U.S. Para Alpine Skiers and Snowboarders Are Amped for Winter Paralympics "Italian Style"

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy: Team USA Para Athletes couldn’t be more excited and anxious to attack courses and show the world what they’re capable of as the Milan-Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games open this weekend in northern Italy. 

Thirty-two American athletes, consisting of 24 Para alpine skiers and eight snowboarders, will begin quests for coveted Paralympic medals in sun-drenched Cortina d’Ampezzo, as competition officially kicks off on Saturday, March 7, 2026.

The action follows what promises to be a memorable opening ceremony at the 2,000-year-old Arena di Verona on the evening prior.

Para snowboard star and leading ambassador for the adaptive sports movement, Brenna Huckaby, is cool, calm, and collected, her hair dyed in streaks of purple, for what will be her third Paralympic Games.

“I’m just along for the ride. I’ve already won gold medals, so I’m just here to have fun and experience everything,” Huckaby tells POWDER, after a snowboard cross training section. 

“I have my family here, my daughters Lilah and Sloan, and I’ve already had success in the past, so I’m excited to share this experience with them. We all make sacrifices to get here and there’s only a few opportunities for them to really be a part of it.”

Huckaby, a right-leg amputee, already owns three Paralympic gold medals and one bronze medal, making her the most decorated female athlete in the sport. She can achieve a fourth gold medal in the Italian Dolomites as snowboard cross qualifications begin Saturday at the Cortina Para Snowboard Park.

Just a short jaunt up the mountain from the Para snowboard venue is the Tofane Alpine Skiing Center finish area, where brave Para alpine skiers will conclude their runs down the vaunted Olympia delle Tofane piste.

They’ll pursue medals on the same slope that Olympic downhill gold medalist Breezy Johnson and other elite female Olympians recently sped down, a daunting task no doubt. 

“Downhill is a special beast, especially on this course. It’s going to be a very entertaining run for a lot of people. There’s a bit more air than there was in the past, and it’s a bit turnier too, but it’s a lot of fun,” says Alaska’s Andrew Kurka, while confidently adding, “This course was built for me, it really is.”

Kurka, who suffered a spinal cord injury from an ATV accident at age 13, was the first Paralympian to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated in February 2022. The powerful sit skier seeks his third Paralympic medal and second gold on Italian snow.

Vermont’s Spencer Wood, who was diagnosed with hemiplegia of the right side of his body as a baby due to a stroke, is inspired by his fellow Vermonter, Ryan Cochran-Siegle (RCS).

RCS raised his game at the Olympics to capture his second consecutive Olympic super-G silver medal just a few weeks ago. Wood hopes he can also make the Green Mountain state proud.

“He’s a true class act, and I hope to lay down some more wood for Vermont,” Woods says about RCS. “We both have maple syrup running through our veins, but he’s the one sapping it, and I’m just drinking it all,” he says, with a laugh.

Para alpine skiers will race in five disciplines, grouped into sitting, standing, and visually impaired classes. There are additional classifications within each group that skiers compete under.

While it’s all down to business this weekend, the world’s Paralympians have been relishing the awe-inspiring Italian Dolomites scenery, craggy peaks illuminated splendidly during sunrises and sunsets, and the friendly vibes of the historic ski resort that captured the world’s hearts during the recently concluded Olympic Winter Games.

Now, it’s the Paralympians' turn to enter the spotlight and shine.

"It’s just incredible here, the environment, being here in Italy,” says U.S. Para snowboarder Noah Elliott, who is riding momentum from a top-notch string of results. “The food is fantastic, and there is wine available occasionally, which is awesome, and you gotta have it while you’re here.

“Looking around in this panoramic beauty of mountains from Cortina, I just love this mountain range, it’s gorgeous. The sun’s out, tons of fun, and the village has been incredible,” Elliott says, referring to the Athletes Village in nearby Fiames, just a short trip outside of Cortina.

Milan Cortina’s Paralympics mark the 50th anniversary of the first Paralympic Winter Games and also the multi-sport event’s return to Italy for the second time, 20 years after Torino 2006.

The 14th edition of the Winter Paralympics will showcase approximately 665 athletes representing 50 National Paralympic Committees, while competing in 79 medal events across six sports: Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country skiing, Para ice hockey, Para snowboard, and wheelchair curling.

Competitions take place across three venue clusters: Cortina, Milan, and Val di Fiemme, March 6-15.

According to official data from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) dating to the inaugural Paralympic Games in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, in 1976, the United States trails only Austria, 343 to 335, in the overall medals table, with Norway standing third at 334.

In terms of gold medals, Norway is clearly the frontrunner, with 140 total, followed by the U.S. with 117.

Seven of those U.S. medals, including two golds, belong to six-time Paralympian skier Laurie Stephens. The 42-year-old Paralympic veteran will have the honor of serving as one of two U.S. flagbearers, along with sled hockey four-time Paralympic champion Josh Pauls, in the opening ceremony parade of nations at the Arena di Verona on Friday evening.

"I began my Paralympic journey 20 years ago in Torino and then to carry the flag at my final Paralympics in Cortina is a full-circle honor," Stephens said. "It’s one I'm proud to carry forward as I step into coaching the next generation."