Ski instructor impaled by tree branch...

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“I was coming down Thunder and it was our first run of the day,” he said. “I had made the first five turns and was coming back to lift line when I saw a gap between two trees. With my experience, you can bash between trees and it’s not that big of a deal. But this time I guess I didn’t get away with it.”

Hagood collided through the trees, which knocked him off balance, and he tumbled through the snow. “I thought maybe my chinstrap got pushed up into my face, so I tried to brush it off and that’s when I felt the stick,” he said. “So, I shook left to right and saw the stick moving in my peripherals. I reached out and grabbed it and wiggled it before realizing it was pretty far in there.” That was when Hagood had his first aha-moment. He said, “Holy crap, I just got impaled. And then I yelled over to Pete, ‘Hey look I got a new piercing.’”

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