The in-person portion of the fundraiser, which was to be held at Vail Mountain in Colorado last weekend, had to be cancelled in light of the coronavirus pandemic, but the organisation is still holding its online silent auction through to Friday (April 3).

All proceeds benefit the Adaptive Spirit Athlete Partnership to help the United States' Para-snow sports athletes with expenses not covered by their respective national governing body.

There are hundreds of items on which to bid, including a two-night fishing trip with Kurka in Palmer, Alaska.

"The fun thing about Alaska is we still have a very wild and majestic outdoor lifestyle," Kurka, a lifelong Alaskan and fisherman, said.

"When it comes down to it there are still places no one’s been before. 

"One of my favourite things to do is to go out on the ocean, drop down some bait and you never know what you’re going to pull up. 

"That’s super fun. 

"You feel a bite at the end of your line and it could be a 300-pound halibut or a four-pound yelloweye or a 40-pound wolffish. 

"You don’t know what’s down there."

It is the third year in a row that Kurka, the men's downhill sitting gold medallist and super-G sitting silver medallist at the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Games, has offered his services for the auction.

This is the 25th anniversary of the Adaptive Spirit fundraiser.

Steve Raymond, chair of the Adaptive Spirit Board of Directors, said having to cancel the skiing, parties, races, panels and other events was incredibly disappointing.

"But the good news is that we’ve talked to most of our sponsors and they want to stay with us," Raymond added.

"We’re also getting a lot of support with the silent auction, and that’s direct athlete support.

"That’s money that the athletes can request for additional expenses to make them better athletes, whether that’s travel, new equipment, additional training, anything that’s outside the team budget parameters. 

"We are that resource, and that’s why the silent auction is so important."

The silent auction typically brings in around $100,000 (£81,000/€91,000), Raymond said. 

As of yesterday, the bidding was over $44,000 (£35,000/€40,000).

A Facebook Live session is also planned for the final half-hour, hosted by Adaptive Spirit director Brad Parobek and including Raymond and fellow Board member Rich DiGeronimo as well as Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic snowboarding gold medallists Noah Elliott and Brenna Huckaby.