Just a normal day at Purg
Local skier reflects on terrain park incident, life after going viral

Ever wonder what it’s like to be an overnight internet sensation? Just ask local skier Dave Sugnet, whose viral video of him narrowly missing a young snowboarder in the landing zone of Purg’s Pitchfork Terrain Park nearly broke the internet (at least locally.)

 

As of Monday, Sugnet, 35, said the video – which was filmed March 21 by his buddy, local digital creator “Shred” Ned Daly – had more than 3 million views.
“The original video posted by Ned on Instagram got up to 1 million views the first day, and now it has 3.2 million,” said Sugnet. “There’s comments in Russian, Spanish and French, from all over the world. It’s just been crazy to see it blow up as much as it has.”

 

For those who are not among the 3.2 million worldwide viewers to marvel at Sugnet’s prowess in a last-nanosecond epic spread eagle over the child’s dinosaur-bedecked helmet, here’s a play-by-play.
“It was just a normal day at Purg,” Sugnet began, adding that Daly was filming the action at the park, as he often does, using his Insta 360 camera. Sugnet said on his fifth or sixth run, trouble brewed as he hit the last jump. “As I’m just about to take off into the air – literally, at the end of the jump – I see the kid,” he said.
Since Sugnet was already committed to his jump, an inverted flat spin 360 – something he describes as an off-axis flip – he couldn’t see the kid until he spun back around.

“I did that flip extra fast, so I could spot him, and I thought I was going to be able to avoid him to the left,” Sugnet recalled. “But he kept cutting left, so he ended up right below where I was about to land. So last second, I was somehow able to spread my legs, and at the same time, twist and rotate my left ankle to keep my ski from clipping him. 

“It was a miracle for sure. It was way too close for comfort, but I’m so thankful it worked out,” he added.
Needless to say, Sugnet’s “normal day at Purg” was about to become everything but. As social media views piled up, so did calls from friends and news organizations from around the world. Within a few days, Sugnet and Daly signed an agreement with Sportful, a company that licenses videos to news organizations, and clips started appearing on everything from Fox and ABC News to People Magazine and Unofficial Network, a ski industry site. The two even did a short interview with “Inside Edition.”

“One of my buddies was at the gym in Denver, and he sent me the video on TV. I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘Well, that happened fast,’” he said. 

Sugnet’s mom, Leela, even saw it on ABC News in California. “My mom’s like, ‘I’m not surprised you went viral.’ It’s funny because I’ve been posting so many videos, probably 1,000s over the last few decades of skiing … but I’ve never had anything get that much attention,” he said. 

Of course, underscoring all that popularity is a message about safety. Although downhill skiers and riders typically have the right of way on the ski hill, Sugnet, who grew up in Durango, said rules are different in the park. There, the uphill riders has the right of way, and it is proper protocol to avoid hanging out in landing zones or where one can’t be seen from above. He said there is a bright orange sign at the narrow entrance of the park, informing riders of the rules. Granted, the child – who Sugnet estimated to be 6 or 7 – even if he could read the sign, likely came in below it, via an adjacent run where there is no fencing to separate the run from the park.

 
Sugnet said the child did not appear to be with his parents or an adult. He also did not seem to know he was entering a terrain park, which leads Sugnet to believe he was not local.

“Afterward, he kind of scooted by us, and I just said, ‘Sorry, buddy, that was a really close call,’ and I told him, ‘Please be aware that people do fly off these jumps all day … so just avoid going into the landing zone so you don’t get hit.’” 
Since the incident, Sugnet – the 2013 National Slopestyle champion who skied competitively and professionally for years – said he has received untold comments on the video, most of them positive. 

“I’ve gotten so many comments from people who are like, ‘That’s the most athletic reaction I’ve ever seen in my life.’ Some people are like, ‘You should be a fighter jet pilot.’” (Or a stunt man, as I suggested. For the record, he said he will keep his day job as a real estate photographer.)

Sugnet chalks it all up to luck and quick reflexes from doing the same tricks on repeat.

 

Sugnet

“I attribute it to the repetition of skiing aggressively for so many years,” he said. “I think I’ve built up quick reaction time to stay on my feet and ski another day.”

And, since this is the Internet, there were some negative comments, as well. To those folks, Sugnet would like to set the record straight.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’ve also coached kids. I’ve done avalanche safety training, and I consider myself a pretty safety-conscious person,” he said. He added that it “makes his heart happy” to see little kids at the terrain park, progressing safely and, of course, following the rules.

“I just want people to know that I don’t feel like I am entitled to the terrain park. I don’t think I’m the cool guy that needs the video clip over the kid’s safety,” he said. “If I would have seen him, I would have let him go first and said, ‘Good job, buddy.’ But it was just one of those weird situations.”

Perhaps even more important that all the media coverage and attention, Sugnet feels like it was a teaching moment for all. For his part, he said he will be using a spotter in the park from here on out.

“Overall, it’s just a good safety lesson for everyone to be a little more alert, including myself,” he said. “I want everyone to be out there enjoying it. I’m just thankful that no one got hurt.”