Copper Mountain legend who skied record 2,993 days straight crafts new life off the slopes

Rainer Hertrich ran out of powder days. But he will always have motorcycles and a boat.

Hertrich, 63, drew national attention when the longtime Summit County resident skied 2,993 consecutive days from Nov. 1, 2003, to Jan 10, 2012. During his record streak of endless winter, which stopped due to a cardiac arrhythmia, Hertrich skied 98.45 million vertical feet.

But in the decade-plus since, Hertrich’s ski-bum lifestyle came crashing down. His left foot was amputated in 2016 due to a staph infection. His right foot was damaged in a motorcycle accident that crushed his ankle, plus another staph infection unrelated to that crash.

As a result, he hasn’t skied in roughly three years. And he’s in the process of putting his slopeside condo on the market, which will mark the end of a 44-year run as a Copper Mountain mainstay.

Hence the boat, and a love of adventure motorcycles that grows stronger than ever.

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