Spider Sabich personal stories #12021-02-09T13:49:33-07:00
I knew Spider as a family friend, he went to high school with my older brother. I have a great story to tell (at least I think it’s great). I was going to college in Sacramento after getting out of the Air Force in 71’. A good friend and I had joined the ski patrol and were skiing at Sierra Ski Ranch (now Sierra at Tahoe) in Dec of 72’. We were standing near the bottom of a run when a familiar figure flashed by. We skied down to the bottom of the lift, re-introduced ourselves to Spider and got to spend the rest of the morning free skiing with him. I say “skiing with him” but it was actually skiing after him. We rode the lift back up and took off down a black diamond run. We tried to keep up with for the first 50 yards and immediately gave up as he easily pulled away. He was kind enough to wait for us at the bottom of the lift. I don’t think I was ever as surprised at anything as I was that morning when I got to see firsthand how good a world class skier actually was. He was an amazing skier and it was one the most humbling experiences in my life and came at a great time. My friend and I were on the verge of getting real cocky and were lucky to be exposed to skiing at that level. We realized then that while we might become a good skiers we would never be at anything even remotely close to that level. It kept me from turning into a conceited jerk and kept me humble. We enjoyed the morning of skiing for lots of reasons but mainly because we got to spend time with a genuinely good guy. I saw him a few times after that at different events and he never failed to spend a few minutes talking to me and getting caught up. He sure didn’t have to do that and I know He had more important things on his plate.
I appreciate your efforts and the efforts of your colleagues to tell Spider’s story and I look forward to seeing the film when it’s released.
I’ve taken the liberty to attach a few photos I took back in the early 70’s, I think you’ll recognize the venues.
I’m still skiing at age 72 too.
 
Best regards,
John F Ferguson
Sisters, Oregon