Stanley Buzek has been skiing for as long as he can remember. 

Like many children raised in the mountains, Buzek was introduced to the sport before he could walk or speak in full sentences.

Though he was neither old nor big enough to wear his own skis, Buzek recorded the first turns of his life while being strapped tightly to his father’s chest. Buzek may not remember the unique experience, but the moment served as the catalyst for a lifelong love for skiing.

“I couldn’t even remember the first time I went skiing,” Buzek said. “My dad used to take me skiing in a backpack and ski around since I was a little baby.”

Buzek eventually learned to ski under his own power around the age of 2 at Crested Butte. From there, Buzek and his family moved to Minnesota where the young skier not only fell deeper in love with the addicting sport, but also honed his skills.

“When I first started racing seriously was when I moved to Minnesota,” Buzek said. “I started ski racing at Buck Hill when I was 7. That was pretty crucial to my development as a ski racer. It is a super small hill with a little rope tow, so you can just get a ton of laps. I would go there after school every day and ski for like three hours.”

When Buzek reached middle-school age, his family left Minnesota and moved back to the large ski mountains in Colorado. Wanting to continue to pursue ski racing, Buzek joined Team Summit Colorado where he developed into a well-rounded, skilled Alpine ski racer.

“That really showed me what big mountain ski racing was all about,” Buzek said. “It is definitely a lot different than racing in Minnesota. I think I got a good mix of both worlds.”

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With longtime Alpine ski coach Aldo Radamus as his coach, Buzek was able to win the U18 Nationals slalom title in 2023 and scored a top-30 finish in his first Nor-Am Cup race. It was Radamus’ guidance and expertise that led to Buzek being named to the Stifel U.S. Alpine ski team at the start of the 2023-24 season.

“Aldo Radamus really changed the program and got us the good lanes that we needed,” Buzek said. “He gave us the training that we needed and made Copper an amazing place to ski. By doing that, he brought in a lot of fast ski racers which just pushed everybody to become faster.”

During his rookie season on the U.S. men’s Alpine D-team, Buzek recorded numerous standout results. Most notably, Buzek was able to secure a top-10 finish at his first Junior World Ski Championships in Morzine, France, placing fifth in the slalom. 

Additionally, Buzek was able to achieve one of his longtime goals of standing atop a podium in a Nor-Am Cup race. Buzek was able to take third overall while competing in a Nor-Am Cup slalom race in Canada.

Due to his accomplishments throughout his debut season, Buzek — a 2024 Summit High School graduate — was honored with the Rookie of the Year award from U.S. Ski and Snowboard and was promoted to the men’s Alpine C-team. 

The shift up to the next level of the national team was a little scary for the 19-year-old skier, but Buzek embraced the challenge and continued to race at a high level. Throughout the past winter season, Buzek got his first global medals, winning bronze in the team parallel and team combined races at the Junior World Championships in Tarvisio, Italy.

“Both of them were team races, which is fun because ski racing is usually an individual sport,” Buzek said. “In both of them I was teammates with my really good friends, so it was really fun to have success with my buddies like that — put Team USA on top.”

Outside of bringing home two bronze medals, Buzek was able to win his first Nor-Am Cup slalom race at the beginning of the season.

“Two years ago I had my first Nor-Am podium, so I knew I had it in me,” Buzek said. “I had high expectations for myself coming into the first Nor-Am of the year. I ended up winning the first Nor-Am of the year, so that was super exciting and relieving.”

Buzek followed up his gold-medal performance with two, second-place finishes at Nor-Am Cup races later slalom in the winter. At the national level, Buzek was able to take second overall in the slalom at the National Championships in Vail.

With a host of accolades throughout the season, Buzek was once again named Rookie of the Year by U.S. Ski and Snowboard.

“That was my second year getting the Rookie of the Year award, which is kind of funny,” Buzek said. “It is always nice to be recognized like that by the team at the end of the year.” 

Buzek’s hard work throughout the winter season led to him being named to the U.S. men’s Alpine C-team for the second-consecutive season. Buzek will compete with the national team this upcoming winter while also attending the University of Colorado — where he will be a member of the school’s Alpine ski team. 

“I will be going to school there and racing for them,” Buzek said. “This will be my first year there. I took a gap year last year to pursue my skiing. I decided to take some classes while skiing this year.”

As athletes across the globe gear up for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, Buzek has set lofty goals for himself. Beyond placing highly on the World-Cup circuit, Buzek hopes to be dressed in a Team USA singlet come February in Italy. 

“Obviously I would love to qualify for the Olympic team,” Buzek said. “That is my main goal. Outside of that, I want to try to race some World Cups. I have a World Cup spot through the No-Ams. I would ideally like to make top 30 in a World Cup, go race at the Olympics and win World Juniors slalom.”

Buzek is set to begin his third season on the U.S. Alpine ski team this December.