Will's Runout honors teen skier

SANDPOINT - A Feb. 5 ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for a trail at Schweitzer Mountain Resort that has been named in the memory of a Sandpoint teen who died unexpectedly of a heart ailment while skiing in 2009.

"We're very happy and touched, and it's just a wonderful little tribute," said Susan Johnson, mother of William Johnson.

The trail is called Will's Runout and is located in the resort's Outback Bowl. The trail, which parallels Lakeside Runout, can be found by off-loading from Chair 6 at the midway point and taking the Bluegrass trail.

William had skied since he could walk and he had a season pass every year. He grew up like may kids here on the mountain. So it was a special place for him, Johnson said.

Will Johnson, 15, was found unconscious in the resort's north bowl on Dec. 22, 2009. Susan Johnson said her son suffered a sudden cardiac death, a rare condition that evades diagnosis.

"It's almost always fatal," she said. "It has no symptoms and isn't picked up in a physical exam."

In the wake of his death, friends and family mounted a petition drive to encourage Schweitzer to name a run in his memory. Schoolmates Riley Hadeen, Jonathon Prendato and Buddy Chambers, and sister Rebecca, collected more than 500 signatures.

Schweitzer CEO Tom Chasse said the resort has been receiving three or four requests a year for a trail to be named in somebody's memory, but they're typically from people outside the community.

"This one here was sort of a no-brainer," Chasse said.

There are about a half-dozen trails at Schweitzer named in honor of those who passed. They include Kathy's Yard Sale (community activist Kathy Pelland), Heather's Run (cancer fighter Heather Gibson), Jack's Dream (resort founder Jack Fowler), K-Mac's (Schweitzer owner Keith McCaw) and Bud's Chute (community-minded East Hope Mayor Bud Moon).

Johnson finds some relief that her son died doing what he loved in a place that he loved.

"There are worse ways to go," she said. "If it was going to happen, at least it happened at Schweitzer."