Folsom athlete Steve Karczewski (better known as Steve the Pirate) has been riding Folsom Skis for a few years now, but was stoked out of his mind on the newest BTO build he ripped on for the 19-20 season. Steve is an amputee and skis on one leg (of steel) harder than most people ski on two. Here’s what he thought of the BTO build we set him up on most recently…
Steve the Pirate here reviewing my hard-charging, big-mountain-slaying BTO ski from Folsom. Like all of us, my 19/20 ski season was cut short which made the good days we did get all the more important. The boys at Folsom Custom Skis hit it out of the park for me with my custom BTO. Being a single leg skier, it is paramount that my ski fits my style and needs for a typical day on the mountain. For me that includes steep rock ridden pitches, full out high speed run outs and picking and playing in the trees. (Versatility, as some would say.) The BTO checks all the boxes this list for me and then some.
Unique like my skiing, Folsom’s complete custom process allows you the freedom and creativity to make your skis truly personalized and perfect for you. From Camber Profiles and Flex Indexes to Core Materials and Tail Shape; it’s like taking the best parts of every ski you’ve ever owned and put it into one ski. Here’s my build overview that we collaborated to design:
Skiing on one leg only, I find my skis need to be stiff enough for all my weight (dispersed onto one ski rather than two) yet nimble and light enough to be manageable skiing with only one leg all day. With my BTO I found a wide platform, enough tip and tail rocker to float and play around but also the right flex and camber underfoot to be confident at speed and in chunder. Folsom created that perfect mix with the BTO they made me. This ski has NO speed limit!
Making Aspen Snowmass my home 12 years ago I quickly found out that people ski fast and aggressively out here. You have to find the equipment that matches what you are doing out there on the mountain.
Imagine if you will: A fresh 10 inches of dry snow overnight, you find yourself on the top steps of Aspen Mountain’s gondola plaza with a bunch of hungry, frothing at the mouth, powder-crazed locals. You think about your first lap, maybe an all out leg burner down Walsh’s… traverse to Bell Mountain for some Hollywood turns under the Gondy… through to Kleenex corner for an all out race-like bombing of Nell down to town…
The lift opens, the riders shuffle aggressively towards the next Gondola cabin, you look up at your skis… are you ready? Are you confident? With my BTO in hand I always am.
Follow along Steve’s adventures via his Instagram here (spoiler alert: he also rips on a mountain bike), and remember his motto: “Two Legs is Two Easy!”.