An avid and expert backcountry skier and explorer, Josh Barilar's passion brought him to Colorado in 2007. His life revolved around backcountry skiing, but one day his life changed drastically. <br /><br />One beautiful white powder day, Josh was skiing with two friends (one being world record holder for most vertical feet in a year in backcountry skiing, Aaron Rice), when the unthinkable happened. Josh lost control in the snow on Fletcher Mountain, a 14,000' high mountain summit in the Tenmile Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America, 20 miles from Breckenridge, Colorado. He hit a stone wall breaking his femur and damaging the cartilage in his knee.<br /><br />He was wedged between the snow and rock when his friends found him and it took the search and rescue team 5 hours to find him and airlift him to the nearest hospital. He was told he may never run or backcountry ski again. But this was a diagnosis that he would not accept. "I don't think I've met anyone who likes skiing more than Josh. I think skiing is more important than breathing for him," explained his friend.<br /><br />How did Josh overcome this adversity? <br /><br />He stayed positive and focused on the things that motivated him. "You have to think as positive and present as possible... Go one step at a time because things can change..."<br /><br />What exactly motivated him to get better? <br /><br />"Being in the mountains is a big motivation to wake up every day, but also just being grateful you're still alive."<br /><br />Hopefully, we can all learn something from Josh's story of adversity, his motivation, and perseverance to overcome it and do the thing he loves most again.<br /><br />This HooplaHa original video was produced by Lucia Nazzaro, shot by Alex Richard, and edited by Kellie Sieban. <br /><br />Join us in spreading good news. Follow us on hooplaha.com.<br /><br />HooplaHa is Only Good News. We believe that positivity can change lives and strive to be the voice of humanity that recognizes people are good & doing good things for mankind. We shine a light on individuals and organizations involved in this movement. Help us celebrate people filled with kindness, those overcoming adversity with grace & inspiration, and the good in life.
