Intrepid on skis and in life, the inventor of the Hurricane cut his own path

When Jeret “Speedy” Peterson took flight, you didn’t have to know a full-triple-full-full from a triple-venti-mocha-latte to know you were witnessing something spectacular. For the past six years, Peterson was the only aerials skier in the world who could nail a quintuple-twisting triple backflip. Unlike other quints, Peterson ripped out three twists on his second flip, a most improbable sequence.

Not long ago, one of my more gifted acquaintances met his maker after a tumultuous bout with demons that many of us could never comprehend. Jeret Petersen was much more than a talented skier, and his legacy is quickly becoming something that he probably couldn't have ever fathomed.

Coaches, teammates, friends, and family of Jeret "Speedy" Peterson came out in force to represent Team Speedy at the UT NAMI Walk this weekend. Here are highlights from the event as well as information on how you can get involved with The Speedy Foundation.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A charitable foundation established in the name of Olympic silver medalist Jeret "Speedy" Peterson plans to donate $10,000 toward the creation of a statewide suicide prevention hotline in Idaho.

"Speedy was an amazing athlete," [Cook] said Tuesday night through a U.S. Ski Team spokesman. "I will always remember jumping alongside him as he pushed the sport, himself and his teammates to be the best. In addition to being the incredible athlete that we all knew, Speedy was a true friend. His loyalty and commitment to each of his teammates was unwavering and he will be missed by all who knew and loved him."

"Today is a sad day,'' U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun said in a statement. True enough. It is never supposed to happen this way, to the happy athlete we might remember seeing standing on the podium. Not when he is 29.

“Speedy was an amazing athlete,” added teammate Emily Cook. “I will always remember jumping alongside him as he pushed the sport, himself and his teammates to be the best. In addition to being the incredible athlete that we all knew, Speedy was a true friend…

Peterson's long-time coach and friend Matt Christensen said: 'Regardless of the amazing stuff he did skiing, it was the stuff he did for other people that was incredible to me. 'A lot of people saw his story and said he must be a wild jackass and a cowboy. He was just the opposite.'

"He spoke about battling depression and even had thoughts of suicide. That was always the hardest part for him, just living life. It wasn’t competing. It was living that was hard." Natalie said.

The skiing community reacted with shock to his death. A true innovator in the sport, Peterson landed the silver in Vancouver with a daring five-twist and three-flip aerial maneuver called the "Hurricane."

Jeret "Speedy" Peterson had the kind of smile that you couldn't help but return. He'd flash that grin, and you found yourself, without even considering why, smiling back at him…

“Today is a sad day in our sport,” Bill Marolt, the CEO of the U.S. ski team, said in a statement Tuesday. “Jeret ‘Speedy’ Peterson was a great champion who will be missed and remembered as a positive, innovative force on not only his sport of freestyle aerials but on the entire U.S. Freestyle Ski Team family and everyone he touched.”