Featuring top-flight athletes from around the world who have overcome a wide range of significant impairmentsf, the Paralympics always offer an inspiring — if under-the-radar — counterpoint to the Olympics that precede them every two years. But the Winter Paralympics — featuring extreme snow sports — ratchet up the wow-factor, and the inspiration, by a few notches.
The 2014 Paralympics, now underway in Sochi, began March 7 and end on March 16. But the photos coming from the games are so cool that we couldn't wait until the end to share some here.
See also: Paralympics Opening Ceremony: All the Drama in Photos
This year's Paralympics feature five programs: alpine skiing, sledge hockey, wheelchair curling, biathlon and cross-country skiing (skiing, sledge hockey and wheelchair curling are already underway). Here are quick breakdowns of each, followed by those awesome photos we mentioned earlier.
Alpine Skiing: Men and women with impairments including spinal injuries, cerebral palsy and amputation bomb down slopes at speeds above 60 miles-per-hour. The discipline includes slalom, giant slalom, super-G and super combined skiing, as well as — for the first time ever — snowboard cross. Depending on impairment, some alpine athletes compete on mono-skis, fitted chairs attached to a single ski.
Ice Sledge Hockey: Don't make any assumptions, folks — this is full-contact hockey played at a fast pace. There are men's and women's events, and they're open to athletes who have impairments in the lower parts of their bodies. Players sit on double-bladed sledges, which are strapped to their feet, ankles, knees and/or hips. They use two sticks, each with two ends: One spiked end for pushing off the ice and one traditional end for moving the puck. The sport was invented in the early 1960s at a rehabilitation center in Sweden by patients who wanted to continue playing hockey despite their physical impairments.
Wheelchair Curling: This one's open to athletes with impairments in their lower bodies and made its Paralympic debut in Torino in 2006. Players toss the same 42-pound stones as their Olympic counterparts, but there's no sweeping involved. Players can toss their rocks either by hand or using a long stick.
Biathlon: Just like its Olympic counterpart, Paralympic biathlon is a mashup of cross-country skiing and target shooting. It's open to athletes with both physical and visual impairments. One cool feature for those with visual impairments is that sound signals of varying intensity tell them how close they are to the target during the shooting portions of the competition.
Cross-Country Skiing: This one's also open to athletes with visual or physical impairments, and some athletes use mono-skis here too. Race distances range form 2.5 to 20 kilometers.
The American races to win the bronze medal in the alpine skiing, ladies, Super-G, standing event at the 2014 Winter Paralympics, Monday, March 10, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.
South Korea's goaltender celebrates as his team won an ice sledge hockey match between Russia and Korea at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, Saturday, March 8, 2014.
The American celebrates his goal during an ice sledge hockey match between United States and Russia at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, Tuesday, March 11, 2014.
The Russian delivers a stone as Alexander Shevchenko, right, Oxana Slesarenko, second from left, United States's Dave Palmer, left, and Penny Greely, right, look on during wheelchair curling match between United States and Russia at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, Monday, March 10, 2014.
The American races to win the silver medal in the ladies 12km cross country ski, sitting event at the 2014 Winter Paralympic, Sunday, March 9, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.
The Brit smiles during a round robin session wheelchair curling match against South Korea at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, March 9, 2014.
The Swede, center left, and Adam Dixon of Canada, center right, chase the puck during the ice sledge hockey match at the Shayba Arena at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, Saturday, March 8, 2014.
South Korean and American players shake hands after their ice sledge hockey match at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, March 9, 2014. United States won 3-0.
The American races during the 15km men's cross country ski, sitting event at the 2014 Winter Paralympic, Sunday, March 9, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.
The Canadian Westlake, right, and the Swede Ojala of Sweden, left, shake hands before the ice sledge hockey match at the Shayba Arena at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, Saturday, March 8, 2014. Canada went on to win the match 10-1.
The Austrian races during men's super combined, slalom, sitting event at the 2014 Winter Paralympics, Tuesday, March 11, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.
The American, right, and South Korean, left, in action during an ice sledge hockey match between United States and South Korea at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, Sunday March 9, 2014. United States won 3-0.
The Swede tosses a stone as teammate Kicki Ulander steadies his chair during a round robin session wheelchair curling match against Canada at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, March 9, 2014. Canada won 7-4.
The American races during the ladies 12km cross country ski, sitting event at the 2014 Winter Paralympic, Sunday, March 9, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.
The Canadian races to win his silver medal in downhill, sitting skiing event at the 2014 Winter Paralympic, Saturday, March 8, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.