Camel’s Hump Challenge raises over $95k for Alzheimer’s programs

Feb. 9, 2023  |  By Waterbury Roundabout 

Team Hatchet on the Challenge trail on Feb. 5. The team was the top fundraising group this year raising $6,485. Courtesy photo

More than 80 skiers participated in the Alzheimer’s Association 2023 Camel’s Hump Challenge last weekend, raising more than $95,000 to support educational programs and services offered by the Alzheimer’s Association Vermont Chapter. 

On Sunday, Feb. 5, skiers completed the 13-mile trek around the perimeter of Camel’s Hump to raise funds and awareness for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. 

“We are so thankful for our dedicated participants, sponsors, volunteers, and local businesses who have come together to help fight this devastating disease,” said Jenna Smith, development manager for the Alzheimer’s Association Vermont Chapter. “The funds raised through this challenge help ensure we can continue to provide a number of resources, support groups, and programs to local families.” 

Barn at the start of the Camel's Hump Challenge. Courtesy photo

This year’s recipient of the 2023 Champion Award was skier Jim Sadler. The award is presented to an individual, team or group that has provided major contributions to the challenge during the 30-plus years of the event’s history. Sadler has participated in the Camel's Hump Challenge since 2015 and has fundraised more than $18,000 since then.

“I have been very fortunate to have an outstanding collection of supportive friends and family to help me raise funds for this great cause. I take some solace in knowing what awareness I’ve been able to bring to this disease and seeing the progress that has been made in recent years toward finding treatments,” Sadler said. 

Multiple Champion Award recipients on the Challenge trail: (left to right) Jim Sadler (2023), Brad Moskowitz (2022), and Rob Backlund (2021). Courtesy photo

Having come to Vermont to attend the University of Vermont in the late 1980s, Sadler has worked in the ski and snowboard retail and equipment industries. He said he first entered the Camel’s Hump Challenge after experiencing a friend with Alzheimer’s and since then has had his father diagnosed with the disease. 

He’s taken part at least a half dozen times, he said, and attests to the event name. “Conditions vary each year, sometimes having been pretty sketchy, including sliding down a glazed-over, off-camber trail, while other years luck would have us skiing over perfectly fluffy snow on a sunny spring-like day,” he said. “The event name is appropriate, it IS often a challenge, but always very gratifying.”

A number of local organizations and businesses supported the event including Bivo, Camel’s Hump Nordic Center, Couching Lion Mad River Ski Patrol, Maple Sugar Farm, Lawson’s Finest, Red Hen Baking, Switchback Brewing, Stoner Andrews Inc., Shelburne Farms, Select Design, Skida, Ski Express, Healthy Living, Darn Tough, Untapped, Ursa Major, and Lake Champlain Chocolates.  

Results with team listings and more information is online here. More information about the Alzheimer’s Association Vermont Chapter is here.