In 2011, Carlos Torres was unsure he would ever be able to play sports again. Just a handful of months later, he had fallen in love with skiing. 

“I joined the Marine Corps right out of high school,” Torres said. “That was in 2007. I had six years in service, was deployed to Eastern Europe in 2010 for a peacekeeping operation out there and in 2011, I was deployed to Afghanistan. That is where I got injured. I stepped on an IED (improvised explosive device) on July 3, 2011. That set the stage for where I am now. It has been a challenge, but it hasn’t been as difficult as it could be because of the support us veterans have encountered.”

After losing his legs, Torres underwent a lengthy recovery process. Once he earned back some mobility, he began participating in events with Team Semper Fi, one of the greatest support systems in his life. These events take veterans like Torres all over the country to participate in athletics in various capacities. 

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STARS Ranch welcomed Torres and 17 other wounded veterans to town this week for a ski clinic, which allowed for an intimate setting for the veterans to ski and ride at Steamboat Resort for a three-day camp.

The clinic is run by America’s Fund and Team Semper Fi in conjunction with Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports (STARS), a relationship that began in 2019.

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America’s Fund started in 2004 and has provided support for over 33,000 service members and their families. The Fund provides a holistic approach to the healing process — body, mind and spirit.

One branch of the Fund is Team Semper Fi, which is a series of sports programs that help connect service members with sport to support them both physically and mentally. This includes providing adaptive equipment, professional instruction and coaching, as well as a wide range of activities from fly fishing to cycling, and, in this case, skiing and riding. 

Jon Lujan, Team Semper Fi’s winter sports program manager, said in the last 20 years, the organization has given out over $500 million in grants to service members for everything from injury assistance, to home adaptations, to sports. 

Lujan himself is a disabled veteran and sought help after helping others in a similar situation. He said sport should be for everybody.

“I think the commonality we all had was that we were injured and were all physically fit and active,” Lujan said. “You take that away from us, and you take a part of who we are. Getting service members back into sporting events is critical, because it is health, wellness, endorphins, everything outdoors and finding a sense of purpose. That is what we focus on with Team Semper Fi. ‘Recover Through Sport’ is our mantra.”

According to Lujan, Team Semper Fi hosts roughly 4,000 veterans who participate in sporting events regularly. 

“We have a staff of 11, which hosts over 120 events per year all over the country,” he said. “We’re pretty busy.”

Though the sports may be different, the process for veterans to participate is more or less the same. Once cleared by their case managers, the veterans can apply through the Team Semper Fi website for various events.

Lujan said this week’s ski trip had around 140 applicants but less than 20 slots were available.

This trip was for intermediate and advanced skiers to get back to sliding on snow. The group skied alongside their STARS instructors on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with a handful of them branching off Thursday to ski the backcountry with Steamboat Powdercats.

Torres, who originally learned to ski through the Semper Fi program, has been on a number of these ski trips and participates on a mono-ski. He said he typically does not know most of the other participants but there is an instant connection on Day 1. 

“You come together and meet veterans from all over the country and build lasting relationships,” Lujan said. “This trip in particular, I’ve met two veterans who I had never met before but they live in Southern California … so we’ve exchanged numbers and are going to keep in contact.”

Torres says the best part of this ski trip was hanging out with other veterans and sharing stories into the late-night hours at STARS Ranch. They spent time at Strawberry Park Hot Springs, competed in cornhole tournaments and had dinner downtown. 

Lujan said most of the therapy happened around the fire pit rather than on the mountain itself.

“No matter what branch you served in, there is a bond,” Lujan explained. “That bond is something you can’t describe and it pulls people out of dark places.” 

Lujan says these trips are incredibly important for the men and women who have suffered major injuries and will need lifelong support. There will always be a need. 

Disabled veterans who are interested in the Fund’s programs can visit TheFund.org/Contact-Us for more information. 

“Being around a group of veterans, you instantly have that connection,” Torres said. “We’ve all been in war, we’ve all had our battle scars, and that has connected us beyond belief.”