2 Legs is 2 Easy

In Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, specifically in the Roaring Fork Valley, one resident stands out as an inspiration to many.

Steve Karczewski was born with bone cancer in his left leg. After a year of chemotherapy and traveling around the country in search of a cure, his leg was amputated above the knee in order to prevent the cancer from spreading. Since the amputation happened when he was young, Steve has never known what it is like to have two legs, and that hasn’t prevented him from doing anything and everything he’s ever wanted as an outdoor athlete.

His parents never let him feel different to other kids, and he was just as adventurous as any other young boy. Through school years he played different sports and picked up skiing and mountain biking right around middle school. Nowadays, Steve can be seen on the slopes of Snowmass Mountain both in winter and summer. But he is not just one of the skiers or bikers out on the trails. With his recognizable one ski, he is always searching for the steepest, hardest terrain to ski on, and on a mountain bike, he is most often found going off the biggest jumps. Having lived in the valley for a while, Steve believes that other people on the slopes don’t see him as an amputee, and that he is just ‘a part of the gang’.

Steve was recruited by Challenge Aspen in 2008 to join their Paralympic racing team. He has lived in Snowmass Village ever since, and even though he didn’t find himself to be a racer, Steve admits that race training was a great foundation for his one-leg skiing. Challenge Aspen coaches trained him to ski without the prosthetic and with outriggers – skis at the end of his poles. The transition to one-leg skiing was tough, but after he got used to it, Steve decided to ditch the outriggers as well, and continue his skiing career with regular poles, and on one ski, which is uncommon amongst amputee athletes.