auf wiedersehen hansi

a dear friend, hansi, was laid to rest yesterday after a year-long struggle against brain cancer. born in hungary and raised in austria and bavaria, hansi was one of those larger-than-life characters. he was tall and handsome with a full head of white hair that would make guys half his age envious. he gave the best bear hugs in the world. he loved to be surrounded by his friends and his adoring partner sally. he was an expert skier, mountain biker, and tennis player and he would routinely out-ski, out-bike, and out-serve most of the young whippersnappers who idolized him. in a testament to the friendship and character of the man they loved, a group of friends performed this utterly poetic gesture.

they grabbed their ski gear and hiked up the face of our local mountain. despite bright sun and 60-degree temps, piles of snow remain, stubborn and hardy as hansi himself. when they reached the top, they filled a tupperware container with hansi's ski pass and other mementos of season's past. they took a moment to write out their thoughts about the big guy on pieces of paper they sealed inside in their time capsule before burying it at the summit.



then they leaned a ladder against a tall tree in the woods...



...and suspended hansi's ski boots from the highest branch...



...before taking their final run of the season, silently turning through the piles of snow and earth.