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Paralyzed snowboarder’s invention may lead to happy landings for others

By Lena Sin, The Province

One bad fall and his life was changed.

Aaron Coret’s dream of becoming a pro snowboarder vanished in an instant four years ago when a snowboarding accident left him a quadraplegic.

But instead of getting angry, his mind said: Find another passion.

Coret did — and it’s called the Landing Pad.

Pushing the limit used to be Coret’s vice, but now the University of B.C. engineering student has invented a safety device that allows other snowboarders to do so without suffering the same consequences he faced in 2005.

“This was kind of like my dream toy,” says Coret. “Unfortunately, I don’t get to hit it, but other people do, so they can basically be really innovative with the tricks they try and have a really safe environment to do it in. And that’s what people see in it: It’s complete safety and freedom to progress.”

The Landing Pad is 27 metres long and resembles an inflatable water slide.

It’s designed to rest on a ski hill and serves as a cushion for snowboarders when they fall.

But just as importantly, the pad allows boarders to continue riding downhill if they land on their feet — a feature that sets the Landing Pad apart from other safety cushions on the market.

The latter feature is made possible by two independent air chambers built into the inflatable pad, explains Coret.

“We really want to set a new standard for safety and freestyle snowboarding,” said the fourth-year student.

Coret and friend Stephen Slen have formed a small start-up, Katal Innovations, to develop and market the Landing Pad, which is pending a patent.

The Landing Pad made its debut May 1 at Lake Louise Ski Resort in Alberta.

Coret, 24, admits it was tough to give up his original dream of becoming a pro boarder.

“I can’t even put it into words. It’s a big, big mental battle to give up something you never thought you could. But now, I’m just as passionate about what I’m doing as I was about snowboarding. And I have no hard feelings anymore. Just excited to see what happens,” he said.