Coaches described 20-year-old ski racer Spencer Nelson, killed climbing Saturday, as a dedicated and caring college athlete who rebounded from a life-threatening accident a year ago to help his team medal in the NCAA Championships.
Nelson underwent intensive therapy for a spinal injury sustained in a May 2009 motorcycle crash and went on to fulfill one of his life goals — skiing for the University of Colorado at Boulder — the following fall.
Overcoming that challenge gave Nelson an appreciation and enthusiasm for life not often put into words by 20-year-olds, said former coach and friend Ian Dunlop.
The two chatted at length a week ago on the drive back to Colorado from a kids’ ski camp on Mount Hood in Oregon, where Dunlop and Nelson volunteered their expertise.
“He definitely gained a lot of perspective from his near-death experience,” Dunlop said. “He gained a lot of confidence that he could do whatever he put his mind to. He was on cloud nine, talking about how life is short and you have to live it to the fullest.”
Dunlop, 26, coached Nelson for about seven years at the Winter Park Competition Center, where the hometown boy was admired as a star skier.
He was a driven athlete who remained best friends with his top rival and reached skiing pinnacles at an early age while continuing to mentor the young skiers advancing behind him, according to Dunlop and others at the center.
Nelson, his father, his best friend and five others were on their way down one of the Maroon Peaks near Aspen on Saturday when a dislodged rock struck his head and sent him tumbling 600 feet.
“Off to Aspen to climb the Maroon Bells!” Nelson wrote on his Face book page Friday, one of dozens of excited announcements about rock-climbing, hiking or mountain-biking excursions filling the summer before his sophomore year.
Nelson described himself much as his coaches saw him.
“I am very dedicated and motivated in everything I do and always strive for excellence,” he wrote in his page’s biography. “Don’t get me wrong though, I love to have fun and hang out with my friends and girls.”
The summer sporting trips stemmed from his love of the outdoors but also helped him stay fit during the off season, said Richard Rokos, CU-Boulder’s Division I ski team coach. “I don’t need to exaggerate,” Rokos said. “This is an unbelievable tragedy.”
Jessica Fender: 303-954-1244 or jfender@denverpost.com
