Salomon Freeski TV S5 E05 The Freedom Chair from Salomon Freeski on Vimeo.

As the curtain closed on The Freedom Chair at Banff Mountain Film Festival last week, the audience got to its feet to give the filmmakers and star of the show a standing ovation. Skier and subject Josh Dueck didn’t stand.

The 30-year-old Canadian hasn’t been on his feet since spring 2004, when he overshot a landing during a superman front flip attempt that left him paralyzed below the waist. Since then, Dueck has been forced to find a new way of life and a new method down the mountain. Today, Dueck hits the slopes on a sitski.

It is his “freedom chair.” Dueck won X Games gold in Mono Skier X in 2011 and silver in the paralympic games in 2010. In this film, Dueck mostly conquers backcountry, a milieu where sit-skiers rarely leave a track. The Freedom Chair won Best Film at Banff.

You can watch the 7-plus minute short above or catch the full-length documentary at one of several film fests later this winter.