Jonathan Babco*ck was skiing with his sister, Linda Babco*ck, at Winter Park Resort on Feb. 9 when he says a snowboarder hit him and launched him into a tree, which caused him to break two ribs and receive a hairline fracture on his pelvis.
The two were skiing on Village Way, one of the longest runs at Winter Park Resort, composed of blue and green territory. Jonathan thinks that the snowboarder came from the White Rabbit trail, a blue and green run that intersects with Village Way, but said that he is not entirely sure.
“But I know where I got hit and where I ended up exactly because it was right under the lift,” Jonathan Babco*ck said.
The intersection between Village Way and White Rabbit sits underneath the Olympia Express chairlift.
Jonathan said that after the impact he was conscious and asked bystanders to make sure that the snowboarder did not leave. According to Jonathan, the person responded with, “What do you want me to do?”
Jonathan said that the others around him simply “didn’t know what to do.” In pain and in shock, he couldn’t think of what to say or what to tell people to do.
Linda was skiing with him at the time of the collision but told the Fraser Winter Park Police that she was skiing ahead of Jonathan and only heard a “smack” behind her. She also said she saw some snowboarders in the area but that she didn’t witness the collision itself.
Jonathan said that he didn’t get a good look at the person who had hit him. In the incident report, Linda only states that she believes the male snowboarder who crashed into Jonathan was wearing black pants and a black and white jacket, but could not describe the suspect any further.
Jonathan is not sure whether the snowboarder was out of control or simply not paying attention to where he was going.
“When people are out of control and they hit someone, they usually stay because they’re tourists and they want to do the right thing,” Jonathan said. “I mean, I have no idea.”
In Linda’s statement to the police, she said that a female volunteer host at Winter Park Resort arrived on the scene. Winter Park Ski Patrol arrived soon after to Jonathan’s location and transported him by toboggan to the base. After being examined, he left the resort to seek further medical attention.
Winter Park Resort said in a statement to The Denver Gazette that ski patrol cooperates with local authorities when necessary and that it is growing its “team of volunteer on-mountain safety ambassadors to have a larger presence and to help remind skiers and snowboarders to slow down, ski or ride in control and within their ability.”
Jonathan said he’s been taking it easy while recovering. He does physical therapy everyday, but he describes the healing process as “tough.”
Jonathan turned 67 on March 16 this year. He is a seasoned skier, saying he has been skiing for 55 years. He also mentioned that he averages around 100 days of skiing per season. He also works part time as a greeter and lobby attendant on the Mary Jane side of Winter Park Resort.
During Jonathan’s years of skiing, he said that he has hit trees before, broken a hand once, endured various bruises and bumps, but he has never collided with another skier and sustained such injuries.
He expressed some worries, saying that the dangers are discouraging people from skiing altogether.
“People are quitting at a certain age because they don’t trust people and so they just say, ‘I’d rather not ski instead of getting hurt,'” Jonathan said.
He has a couple of ideas for how to solve these problems at ski resorts.
Jonathan said that skiers should be more aware of their surroundings and that there should be stricter penalties for people who do not follow mountain etiquette, including lifetime bans.
He also suggested that beginner lessons should be cheaper to encourage more people to enroll and reduce the number of out-of-control skiers.
“Having lessons for beginners being cheaper because the next wave of people (that) are gonna go out of control are coming now,” Jonathan said in reference to spring break travelers.
“Think of this, they gotta pay for transportation, they have to pay for lodging, they got to pay for tickets and they got to pay for rentals,” Jonathan said. “They do four things before they even ski, and if they want to take a lesson, that’s hundreds of dollars more, and they say screw it. I’ll just learn myself.”
Winter Park Resort offers a variety of lesson opportunities, including group, private, clinics and more, at various price points and experience levels. The cost of lessons varies widely depending on experience levels and age. However, someone looking to save money might take lessons from a friend or family member while on the slopes.
Hanna Hurst is friends with Jonathan and took to social media after his injury to try and find leads on the person who hit him. Although they have not had much luck, she said that she hopes this event can at least raise awareness about safety on the slopes.
“I was obviously upset my friend was injured,” Hurst wrote in an email to Sky-Hi News. “But I am very troubled by the lack of personal responsibility others show on the mountain when someone is hit so hard to break bones, and they choose to ignore the 10th part of the Skier Responsibility Code.”
Anyone with details or leads should contact the Fraser Winter Park Police Department.
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