Durango skier Dave Sugnet has been thanking his guardian angels for the past week after a close call while skiing at Purgatory Resort.
In a video that has since gone viral, Sugnet was captured March 21 performing a series of tricks in Purgatory’s Pitchfork terrain park by his friend, Ned Daly. ABC affiliates in Los Angles, Chicago and Houston picked up the story, as did CBS’s “Inside Edition,” which said the video had more than 3 million views.
After clearing a rail and a jump in the freestyle section of the mountain, Sugnet performed a flatspin 360 – a trick combining a 360-degree rotation with an off-axis flip.
Just as he took off from the jump, a child riding a snowboard passed beneath the jump – right where the airborne Sugnet was about to land.
With a combination of lightning-fast reflexes and dumb luck, Sugnet was able to spread his legs and straddle the young snowboarder midair. Sugnet landed safely, narrowly avoiding severe injury to both parties.
“As I’m taking off, I saw a flash of red,” Sugnet said. “At the very last split second, somehow I was able to react quickly, spread and twist my legs so that the tail of my ski didn’t clip him. It was just a miracle and a bit of luck and timing that we didn’t collide.”
Sugnet – a lifelong competitive freestyle skier and former ski coach – said the close call was a result of him and the snowboarder not paying attention to their surroundings.
“We had already done a few successful runs through the terrain park and did some tricks off the jumps,” Sugnet said. “We didn’t see (the snowboarder) until I was in the air.”
The general safety consensus at ski resorts is that the downhill skier has the right of way. However, in the terrain park Sugnet said that right-of-way goes to the skier or snowboarder performing tricks – particularly jumps – because it is extremely difficult to avoid obstacles and people while flying through the air.
“They say ... that the flowing rider has more of the right of way,” Sugnet said. “But it’s not like the flowing rider should be entitled to do whatever they want and endanger people, of course. So there should be awareness on both sides.”
Sugnet said looking uphill, especially in a terrain park, is key to keeping everyone safe.
“Just taking a quick look uphill before you cross into a dangerous path is always going to keep you a little more safe,” Sugnet said. “I’m hoping this can be a big safety lesson for everyone, including myself.”
In a statement regarding the incident, Purgatory Resort spokesman Matt Ericksen said the resort is grateful no one was hurt.
“We do not have any information about this incident,” Ericksen said. “We’re grateful that no one was injured.”
Ericksen said safety is a top priority at Purgatory, which is why skiers and snowboarders are responsible for understanding and following the mountain’s safety rules, remaining aware of their surroundings, and using terrain park and natural features appropriate for their ability.
“Terrain parks are designated areas accessed through marked entrances,” Ericksen said. “At each entrance, signage outlines the SMART approach.”
SMART stands for “Start small, Make a plan, Always look, Respect and Take it easy,” and is a set of safety tips for safe, fun progression in a terrain park, according to Ski Safety U.S.’s website.
Sugnet said he is thankful neither him nor the child was injured in the incident, and said nobody was at fault.
“Both mine and the kid’s guardian angels were looking out for us,” Sugnet said. “I’m so grateful nobody was hurt.”
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
