Remembering Steve Zuckerman, Eagle County paramedic whose life ‘touched thousands’

What does it take to keep a mountain community going? Surrounded by steep slopes, battered by high winds and coated in snow, the residents and visitors of Eagle County need superheroes to keep them safe.

Steve Zuckerman, who served as a full-time Eagle County paramedic, a member of Vail Mountain Rescue, and a Beaver Creek ski patroller for over 25 years, was that superhero.

Zuckerman died on Feb. 23 while responding to a backcountry rescue call in East Vail. During Zuckerman’s memorial, which filled all 535 seats at the Vilar Performing Arts Center at Beaver Creek on Sunday, friends, colleagues, and family members spoke to the qualities that made Zuckerman so exceptional.

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“The first word that came into my mind was ‘helper,’ because that’s what he was,” said Brandon Daruna, chief executive officer of Eagle County Paramedic Services. “In all circumstances (Zuckerman) had an opportunity to help, he took that opportunity,” he said.

During his more than 25 years of service, Zuckerman “touched thousands” with his work, said Scott Beebe, president of the Vail Mountain Rescue Group.

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The military slogan: ‘so that others may live,’ shared with paramedic services and mountain rescue, “was what Steve was all about,” said Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Tucker of the High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site in Gypsum. “He was always willing to go out in the middle of the night, in a blizzard, with little to no sleep, after working a 12-hour shift,” to help save lives, Tucker said.

A real-life superhero

To most of his friends, Zuckerman was known as “Zman,” but one friend and colleague had a different name for him: Superman.

Steve Vardaman, operations manager at the Eagle County Paramedic Services, spoke about a time he and his partner needed some help with a patient they had just loaded into an ambulance on the scene of a bad car crash in Wolcott, when off-duty Zuckerman, who was driving by, opened the doors of the rig and jumped in to help.

“After that, I joked with him that ‘Zuckerman’ was actually ‘Superman,'” Vardaman said.

Another time, while working out complicated logistics to rescue people from a vehicle that had rolled several hundred feet off Vail Pass, Vardaman received a call from an off-duty Zuckerman, who was returning from skiing in Summit County, and listening to the details on the radio.

Upon arriving on the scene, Zuckerman booted up and headed down the ravine to the car.

“To this day, he is the one and only emergency responder that I have ever known to actually alpine ski to a car wreck,” Vardaman said.

As Vardaman exemplified through his stories, Zuckerman cherished teamwork. “Steve’s life has been a testimony to me of that sense of camaraderie and teamwork and passion and compassion for others,” Beebe said.

Zuckerman was one of the first volunteers on the Colorado Hoist Rescue Team, Tucker said, extracting people from difficult and dangerous situations via helicopter. When the team got its first StableFlight heli-bag, which enabled rescuers to be carried below the rescuing Black Hawk helicopter alongside the patient they were evacuating, Zuckerman volunteered to be the first to be carried in the equipment as the team learned how to use it, which led to some dramatic spinning while the team perfected its practice.

Zuckerman was “innovative and not averse to risk,” Tucker said, willing to be left on a 13,000- or 14,000-foot mountain as the team evacuated a patient.

Zuckerman was at the top of his field, a premier expert on conducting rescue medicine in the outdoors under uncertain conditions. He was a leader of the Medical Emergencies in Skiing and Snowboarding course, teaching U.S. Ski & Snowboard volunteer physicians how to apply their medical skills in the ever-changing world of on-the-hill medicine.

When South Korea was awarded the 2018 Winter Olympics, doctors came from South Korea to learn from Zuckerman about how to safely conduct ski races.

Zuckerman’s communication skills, calm nature, and talent for logistical organization made him the perfect race director for the Birds of Prey ski races at Beaver Creek.

“Downhill racing, helicopters, ambulances, a chance to wear six interagency radios at once,” said Colin De’Aeth, Beaver Creek Ski patroller, to laughter from the audience. “If there was an event more suited for Steve Zuckerman, I don’t know what it was.”

Zuckerman’s ‘favorite role’

Beyond helping preserve the lives of countless others, Zuckerman knew how to live his own life to the fullest. From his love of windsurfing to his passion for Bruce Springsteen — “Who has seen The Boss more than this man?” asked Tyler Chapman, Beaver Creek ski patroller — Zuckerman was able to step outside of the serious nature of being a mountain rescuer and paramedic and find joy.

“(Zuckerman) filled many roles here in the valley, wore a lot of hats, but I can safely say that his favorite role was being a father,” said Barrett Langendorfer, Beaver Creek ski patroller and Vail Mountain Rescue member, who wore a coat from each job when he spoke.

Zuckerman’s two children, Ben and Anna, both spoke at the memorial, as did his younger sister, Judy Zuckerman, about the tremendous impact Steve Zuckerman had on their lives.

Ben Zuckerman read a poem written by his mother, Natalie, after a conversation they had. Each line began, “He’s just our dad,” and ended with a personal memory of what Zuckerman had been like around his family. While for most of the community, Zuckerman was a lifesaver, a leader, a superhero, to his kids, “he’s just our dad,” Ben said.

Anna Zuckerman spoke about the special relationship she had with her dad, in which he cultivated her independence, and she matched his calm yet stubborn personality, pushing his buttons and violating the curfews he set for her by a few minutes every time.

Anna spoke about finding comfort in her father in a way she could not with anyone else. “I remember you telling me to, ‘relax, sweetie. There is nothing happening right now that we can’t figure out, okay? So just relax,'” Anna said, quoting her dad.

Directing her words to Zuckerman, Anna said, “I don’t think I can quite describe the way I feel in knowing that I’ll never be held by my dad again the way that a father holds their daughter, but I promise to always ‘relax, sweetie, and keep moving forward.'”

“I love you, and I’ll be home no later than 10:02,” Anna said.

Judy Zuckerman thanked the community gathered at the memorial for the support and understanding they had provided to the family, and shared some words of wisdom rooted in Jewish tradition.

“May his memory be a blessing,” Judy said. “For us, these words imply that it is up to those who bear the memory of the person who passed away to keep their goodness alive by remembering their good work and good deeds, speaking their name, and carrying on their legacy,” she said. 

“We know your memories and your actions and the way you will move forward will honor his legacy,” Judy said.

The indoor part of the memorial ended with a flag presentation and final pipes from the Mountain Rescue Association Interagency Honor Guard.

The final radio call went to all three of Zuckerman’s occupations. “Final tones for Eagle County paramedic, Vail Mountain Rescue team member, and Beaver Creek ski patroller, Steven A. Zuckerman. In honor of your 25 years of service to the residents and guests of Eagle County, we thank you,” said the radio call.

After friends, family, and colleagues shared their words, much of the crowd moved to the base of the Centennial Lift, where an air ambulance flew circles overhead and nine snowcats descended the mountain in formation, over a blue “Z” drawn in the snow. The night finished with fireworks over Beaver Creek mountain, including a heart-shaped explosion.

As people stood in the cold watching the procession against the darkening sky, many hugged, caught up and checked in with each other. It was the truest testament to Zuckerman’s legacy: He brought people together, even in the worst of circumstances, and the most challenging of times.