The inspirational story of a challenging childhood that found skiing as an escape, that led to epic adventures and an incredible journey of personal growth

WITHOUT RESTRAINT – How Skiing Saved My Son’s Life

As a child, Ryan DeLena had difficulty controlling his emotions and he was placed in therapeutic schools that relied on detrimental methods of behavior modification such as physical restraint. Nothing helped from a team of doctors to heavy medication. Then in 2010, Ryan was voluntarily committed to a mental hospital for further evaluation. His parents Rob and Mary Beth were counseled to place him in a group home. They refused. Two years earlier, after an impulsive decision to take Ryan skiing, Rob discovered a different child than the version experts were so sure about. By his second day of skiing, Ryan was executing advanced runs, and with each conquest in the winters that followed, Rob began to question the path laid for his son by the professionals paid to judge him. He later convinced Mary Beth to fight the medical and educational complexes over Ryan’s care and school placement, and together they fostered the freedom Ryan needed to pursue his dream of becoming a professional ski mountaineer. Written in two voices, Without Restraint is a joint father-son memoir told with both pain and levity, struggle and strength, adventure and heart. It is the story of a misunderstood boy, a father’s growth, and a shared love of the outdoors that formed their unbreakable bond.

NINETY ONE (Trailer) – Relentless Commitment, For Nothing Guaranteed.

A note from Ryan about the film:
After completing the Presidential Ski Project in March of this year, I announced there would be a film about it. However this film has become so much more.
Ninety One is my story. From the trauma I went through as a child in the mental health system, to completing a ski challenge some said might not be possible in a lifetime. Ninety one is not an adaptation of Without Restraint, nor is it a compilation of my GoPro footage. Rather, it uses the Presidential Ski Project as a framework to showcase where I came from, and where I was able to take it. With never before seen footage, including the first and only footage of a PF Flyer ski descent, the film showcases the East in breathtaking fashion.
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This film brings forth the deepest parts of me, but it’s also a very east coast film, capturing the unique backcountry scene in the Mount Washington Valley through the eyes of a kid who grew up inspired by the legends, and decided to seek out a challenge that hadn’t been done yet. I’ve always wanted to contribute something like this to the culture, and I’m stoked to bring it to you this winter.

Extreme Rock Climbing in the Northeast

Here’s a great photo of Ryan’s rock climbing exploits in Rumney, NH on Simon Bar Sinister 5.12b face.
“Still super stoked on this great day of climbing! I feel like these really capture each stage of the climb well: funky traverse, high clip, heel hook, reeeeeaaaach, yes!”

And Prolific Ski Adventures around the globe

Cayambe, Ecuador – Here’s an excerpt from Ryan’s social media post:
“We spent many days just a mere 3,700ft from the summit, traveling up and down the same rocky scree slope in bad weather. On the third day the wind finally settled and the clouds weren’t socking us in. The idea of just gunning for the summit that afternoon was tantalizing, however it was too hot to negotiate the upper seracs. We just had to trust we’d still have the weather in the night.

When we woke up, the forecast called for another wet, cloudy evening. I was certain we’d blown our opportunity. With little optimism, we hiked up to our cached gear, only to find that the higher we got, the more we could see the stars. The weather was hovering low on the mountain, leaving clear skies above 15,000ft. We moved quickly up a variation to the right of the climbing route, negotiating more significant crevasse difficulty, but allowing us to keep our skins on as opposed to slower boot-packing on the normal route. We witnessed one of the most beautiful sunrises of my life, with spectacular views of lights in the valley below, and volcanoes piercing the cloud ceiling. We clicked into our skis and enjoyed incredible turns down the glacier, washing away all our complaints of wet clothes poor sleep and volcanic scree. We trusted the process long enough to see it through, and oh was it glorious!”