There are some weeks that stick with you long after they end.
For a group of High Fives Foundation athletes, Hell Yeah Week 2026 was one of them.
Based in the Truckee-Tahoe area, Hell Yeah Week brought athletes together for several packed days of adaptive sports, training, recovery, and new experiences. From mornings on Lake Tahoe to workouts at the CR Johnson Healing Center, equine therapy, and time spent together outside of scheduled activities, the week was built around a simple idea: create opportunities, challenge limits, and do it together.
And, appropriately, say “Hell Yeah” along the way.
More Than a Week of Activities
Hell Yeah Week wasn’t about mastering one sport or reaching a single goal. It was about experiencing the full spectrum of what the High Fives community can offer.
Athletes had the opportunity to push themselves physically, explore different forms of recovery and therapy, spend time outside, and connect with people who understand that progress looks different for everyone.
For Ashley Bunting, the timing couldn’t have been better.
“I’m not sure how the High Fives Foundation always seems to know what I need before I do, but after a year in a funk, Hell Yeah Week was exactly what I needed—an EPIC, action-packed week surrounded by some absolute legends.”
— Ashley Bunting
That sense of connection became one of the defining themes of the week.
On the Water
Hell Yeah Week kicked off with a beautiful morning on Lake Tahoe, where athletes worked on progressing their adaptive wake surfing.
With the boat throwing waves and the Tahoe shoreline as the backdrop, athletes had the chance to build on previous experience, try something new, and support one another on the water.
For Parker Olenick, the ingredients were pretty hard to beat.
“Hell yeah week was the most insane trip of my life. We had sick boats, rad people and perfect weather. You can’t beat it.”
— Parker Olenick
But the day didn’t end when the boat returned to shore. Athletes headed straight to the CR Johnson Healing Center, shifting from time on the water to adaptive training and continuing to push themselves in the gym.
Strength, Recovery, and Equine Therapy
Day 2 began back at the CR Johnson Healing Center with a morning workout.
The gym has long been a place where High Fives athletes can build strength, work toward individual goals, and train alongside a community that understands adaptive movement. During Hell Yeah Week, that environment became an important part of the overall experience.
After the morning workout, the focus shifted toward recovery with therapy services before athletes headed out for an afternoon of equine therapy.
Working with horses offered an entirely different kind of experience from the gym or the lake—one centered on communication, trust, balance, patience, and connection.
Together, the day demonstrated that recovery and progression don’t follow a single path. Sometimes progress means another rep in the gym. Sometimes it means time with a therapist. Sometimes it means getting outside your comfort zone and trying something completely different.
Building a Team
The activities may have brought everyone together, but the relationships formed throughout the week were what made Hell Yeah Week special.
Athletes encouraged each other, celebrated successes, laughed through challenges, and shared experiences that went far beyond adaptive sports.
Jose Martinez summed it up:
“Putting us through Hell Yeah Week created a stronger bond and showed us what a team and community is capable of achieving! Love you High5.”
— Jose Martinez
That community is at the heart of High Fives.
A life-changing injury can alter how someone approaches sports, recreation, recovery, and everyday life. Creating opportunities to experience those things alongside others can open doors—not only to new activities, but to friendships, confidence, independence, and a renewed sense of what is possible.
HELL YEAH
Hell Yeah Week packed a lot into a few days, but its impact wasn’t measured by how many activities fit on the schedule.
It was measured in progression.
In someone trying something new.
In athletes pushing each other through a workout.
In a breakthrough on the water.
In conversations between sessions.
In friendships strengthened through shared experiences.
And in a group of people leaving Tahoe with a little more confidence, connection, and momentum than when they arrived.
That deserves one response:
HELL YEAH.
