Wonder Weenie

This post is dedicated to my sister. Her nickname is Weenie from way back so that is what we'll call her today. Here she is all geared-up and ready to hit the slopes. She is smiling, happy, and fearless. Well, probably not fearless, but this is the most she looked that way for a while. Weenie's sister (that's me) is mostly to blame for the events of Weenie's first day of skiing. The first lift, which has a single slope before reaching the bottom...that is where you should stay and practice until you have it down. Well, at the top of that slope is an alternate route, which takes you down a cute path of gentle hills. The only problem is you end up at another lift that takes you part ways or to the top of the mountain. The other option is to take off your skis and walk back to the other lift by street. That didn't sound like much fun, so we headed up to the middle stopping point...though to the top would have been better...maybe. After a graceful crash off the lift, I believe it took a wind blown Weenie about 30 minutes to get her skis back on. To make matters worse, the first slope was probably the steepest one on this "easiest way down" route. It wasn't long before we had a worn out Weenie on our hands. Off popped the skis and she walked all the way down the mountain. I went a little and waited and we both finally made it back to the bottom. Though I was trying to stay positive-I did not want Weenie to give up-very little progress was made the first day. Day number two. Things always feel a little better on the second day. You kind of have the feel for it and are not already so tired from picking yourself up off the ground a million times. Weenie picked away (she used her poles more than anyone I've ever seen) at Grandma speed but you could tell she was progressing. She had the lift down and made a graceful exit every time and after going up and down the slope all morning (then cooking the clan a pot of Taco Soup for lunch), we headed back. She was moving right along. Her husband expressed that it was like watching his baby take her first steps. Time was ticking in vacation mode. There was time for one final run down the mountain and Weenie was coming along. The picture above is the slope after the cute path I mentioned earlier. After this slope you arrive at the second lift. I was a tad worried as Weenie tried to side scoot down to the lift...but at least she kept her skis on this time.

One of her slow motion falls did not ease my worries. But here she is at the top!

And the reward was tons of cute trails along the "easiest way down."
Even on steeper hills Weenie did great! Victory! Like a pro Before we made it down, the snow blew in. It was so cool (cold actually) and I'm glad we were all together to experience a totally tubular last run down the mountain. Yep...I just said totally tubular.
Burr

Cheers!

Love you and so proud of you for never giving up, Seester!

Next trip, you'll most likely pass my slow butt up :)