The Chairlift Incident

We're just back from a week at Tahoe, during which there fell 5 1/2 feet of snow. It was gorgeous and the skiing today was epic. I have a lot to say about this trip but let's start with ski team for now.

This is our first year on Squaw Valley's ski team. Eldest Daughter is cake: easy going, flexible, happy. Thing 2 is a different story. Let's recap.

Day 1
Conditions: Sunny. 10F. No wind. Groomed terrain with light dusting of powder. This is as good as it gets for December skiing.
What her coach says to me at pickup: She needs a really good night's sleep.
What she says to me at pickup: I am not happy!

Day 2, after 11 hours of sleep and a high protein breakfast
Conditions: Snowing lightly. 20F. Windy. Fresh powder.
What her coach says to me at pickup: She loves powder!
What she says to me at pickup: I had a great day Mom!

Day 3
Conditions: Snowing moderately. 25F. Windy. Fresh powder.
What her coach says to me at pickup: We had a little Chairlift Incident.
What she says to me at pickup: I was not going to ski down that run, Mom.

Apparently her group went up the Exhibition Chair. Thing 2 could only see the steep way down. So while her coach and teammates unloaded, she did not. The slacker lift operator did not notice the 6-year-old downloading. So down the mountain she went, solo. And, by the way, at Squaw no one bothers to pull down the guards on chairlifts and there was no way she could have done it herself anyway.

Meanwhile her coach is screaming at her to hang on and skiing under the chair preparing to catch her if she falls. I have no idea where the other kids were. Thing 2 is yelling, too, because she is really scared. Eventually the chair got to the base of the mountain again and she got off, all pieces and parts intact.

Knowing how Thing 2's mind works, I am certain this won't be the last Incident in her future.