Danger on the mountain

I was run into by a snowboarder on Jan. 2. I guess the snowboarder thought she was being cool while trying to cut me off on lower Demon at Purgatory Resort. There was no apology, and she and her friend rode off, laughing at my indignation. I was not badly hurt, but I did have to crawl upslope to gather my ski and pole that I lost in the collision. Now I have begun to notice that it seems to be some sort of a challenge to snowboarders to ride as close as possible to skiers – intimidation of the most juvenile kind.

Why is this even allowed to be an issue? Am I not permitted to enjoy myself on the mountain – as is the right of anyone – without fear of an injury caused by someone else? And why is there not more monitoring to stop this kind of behavior? I echo the opinion that, “Slow zones need to be seriously enforced by pass removals.” That goes for no-jumping areas as well. Something must be done before someone is seriously injured.

I applaud Purgatory owner James Coleman’s idea of upgrading the lifts. But perhaps he should invest first in hiring more staff for the mountain and see to it that we are not terrorized, needlessly, by dangerous behavior.

– Adele Riffe, Hesperus