Heavenly: “Many snowboarders are dangerously aggressive.”

Yesterday, while skiing Heavenlys’ Ridge Run (a beginners run), I was suddenly hit violently from behind in the middle of my back by the forearm of a speeding out of control snowboarder, slamming me to the ground, popping me out of both skis, and scattering my equipment. From the force of the impact, and the distance he slid downhill before coming to a stop…about 25 yards… I would guess he was doing at least 20+ miles an hour when he hit me. On a beginners run! Full of people because it was one of the few runs open for lack of snow. A quick “Sorry!” and off he went.

Two following skiers, who helped me gather my equipment, told me he had almost taken them out a bit further up the hill.

No Safety Officer or Ski Patrol in sight.

Heavenly needs to get a better handle on its’ snowboarders. Many are dangerously aggressive. Riding way above their limited ability, frequently in groups of 3 or 4, catching air off every little bump, spraying snow on skiers for fun, then bragging about it. (I have personally witnessed and been a victim of this). Using skiers as slalom gates. (From the trailing skiers description, that’s probably what this guy was doing and just wasn’t good enough to pull it off). I see these behaviors all the time. These jerks are dangerous…my case a good example. I survived with only a sore back, but these reckless boarders need to have their passes revoked permanently.

This crash ended my day. And my desire to ever ski “Heavenly” again. It’s the third time I have been hit by a snowboarder at this resort.

And yes, I reported the incident to the Ski Patrol Office at the bottom of the hill. On my way…out of “Heavenly”.

Thomas R via TripAdvisor