{"id":801211,"date":"2019-11-10T19:00:48","date_gmt":"2019-11-11T02:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=374302"},"modified":"2019-11-11T08:09:49","modified_gmt":"2019-11-11T15:09:49","slug":"local-adventure-nonprofit-helps-veterans-build-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/local-adventure-nonprofit-helps-veterans-build-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Local adventure nonprofit helps veterans build community"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Summit County local Austin Breuninger, an avid backcountry splitboard snowboarder and stand-up paddleboarder, launched High Country Veterans Adventures in 2016, a nonprofit dedicated to providing adventure-based outdoor activities to military veterans who may be struggling with mental health issues.<\/strong>
Naomi Schware \/ Special to The Daily<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

FRISCO \u2014 In September of 2016, Summit County resident and veteran Austin Breuninger registered an adventure nonprofit, High Country Veteran\u2019s Adventures<\/a>, to help other nearby veterans use the power of nature and outdoor sports to combat the trauma they experienced during their military service. Breuninger knew from personal experience how nature was healing for his own mental health and decided to share this realization with other veterans. <\/p>\n

After a fulfilling 12-year military career, having a normal life with a regular job took a toll on Breuninger\u2019s mental health. Breuninger lost several friends to suicide and he felt that what saved him was the ability to lose himself in the Summit County mountains and waterways. <\/p>\n

With goals of Breuninger\u2019s new nonprofit organization being to create a peer-support network, Breuninger began hosting group activities like stand-up paddleboarding, backcountry splitboarding and cross-country skiing. While the turnout for Breuninger\u2019s first few events was slim, he was happy to help the veterans that did show, no matter how few. Now, Breuninger says he has formed a solid community of veterans in the area. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re starting to see repeat participants and then the numbers are growing too,\u201d Breuninger said. \u201cWhen we first started, we held events and a lot of times no one would make it. But it\u2019s changed. We\u2019re getting our name out there and that\u2019s I think most of the battle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Breuninger explained that organization provides support for all veterans, as he felt that there is a lot of support for disabled veterans but considerably less for non-disabled veterans. An interesting phenomenon that Breuninger has found \u2014 through partnership with the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus mental health clinic \u2014 is that despite the fact that a veteran may be experiencing mental health issues such as PTSD or depression, they feel unworthy of services because they \u201chave all their limbs,\u201d Breuninger said. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople feel shameful for seeking help when they weren\u2019t injured,\u201d Breuninger said.<\/p>\n

Breuninger also said the most common thing people have trouble with after serving in the military is connecting with people who have not served. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a social net for people that have fallen out of connection with the service,\u201d Breuninger said. \u201cA lot of times veterans don\u2019t feel they can communicate clearly.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that giving people space to talk and connect with other veterans takes the communication barrier away and helps veterans work through things with people that understand what they are dealing with.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found value in this and we just wanted to share it with other people,\u201d Breuninger said in reference to finding refuge in outdoor recreation. <\/p>\n

There are now five members on the board of directors three years after the launch. All but one are veterans, the other being an outdoor industry professional, as well as three outdoor guides. The nonprofit earned a group paddleboarding permit last summer to conduct outings on Lake Dillon and hosted a hut trip last spring, which they will be hosting again this year at the Breckenridge-based Francie\u2019s Cabin. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe kind of want to incentives these smaller trips and phrase them as warmups (for the hut trip),\u201d Breuninger said. <\/p>\n

Last year, the hut trip featured yoga sessions led by the Veteran Yoga Project. Breuninger said that including veterans in every way possible increases connection and opens conversations within the groups. Breuninger said that one of his goals going forward is to continue partnering with organizations offering similar services to create a crossover effect. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as we can get our events led by veterans,\u201d Breuninger said. <\/p>\n

Breuninger wants the nonprofit to be accessible to all veterans, so all events are free and gear is provided to those who don\u2019t already have their own. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no interest in turning any veteran away,\u201d Breuninger said, adding that this includes disabled veterans.<\/p>\n

This is possible through donations which come from private individuals, local corporations and the local government via town grants. Breuninger explained that the board members and guides are just facilitating these activities, as they all have other jobs. Breuninger is a full-time fire inspector for the Red, White & Blue Fire Protection District.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoing consistent events, that\u2019s our goal moving forward,\u201d Breuninger said. \u201cAdding in more stuff, getting on the lake was a huge deal and then offering things for different skill levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

While High Country Veteran Adventures hosts activities like backcountry skiing and snowboarding that require more preparation, Breuninger also looks for activities with a low learning curve that may be more accessible. Snowshoeing, for example, is an activity Breuninger finds that most able-bodied veterans can do. While Breuninger said it may not be the most exciting activity, it gets veterans outside and together.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything\u2019s going exactly as I envisioned at this pace,\u201d Breuninger said. \u201cWe\u2019re getting buy-in from participants, buy-in from the public, buy-in from the private sector. The word is spreading.\u201d<\/p>\n

via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summit County local Austin Breuninger, an avid backcountry splitboard snowboarder and stand-up paddleboarder, launched High Country Veterans Adventures in 2016, a nonprofit dedicated to providing adventure-based outdoor activities to military veterans who may be struggling with mental health issues.Naomi Schware \/ Special to The Daily FRISCO \u2014 In September of 2016, Summit County resident and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-801211","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-01 13:54:56","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801211"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":801221,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801211\/revisions\/801221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=801211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=801211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}