AMMI BORENSTEIN: THE MEMORIES JUST SPILL OUT
I lost a brother. When I met Chad in 1991 we hit it off instantly. Even back then, he would let out his goofy laugh at my bad jokes while he would be telling me the details of the next adventure. Back then the adventure was luging and the details were about sled construction and blade design, but the passion that he brought to it was the same passion he kept with him. We shared a ton of great times together in the years since then. Working together, spending time in the mountains together and growing up together. One memorable trip was when we carried our snowboards to the top of Mount Adams in a single push. The weather on the way up was clear and the snow was perfect for the ride down. Unfortunately, right as we summited, the winds picked up and a white-out rolled in. The weather got so bad that we couldn’t ride down and had to walk. We lost our tracks and hadn’t set wands so we spent the next few hours fumbling our way down. It finally got dark and we couldn’t find the car, so we bivied for the night. Before we fell asleep, we spent a couple of hours laughing at ourselves for the comedy of errors. And, of course, we found the car in 10 minutes the next morning. Some of the other great memories were times when Chad and Lara came to my kids’ earliest birthday parties. It was so great to have them be such an integral part of my family. One of my favorite pictures of Chad is here. My girls made him wear one of the party hats, like it or not. I remember Lara laughing her head off at the moment this picture was taken. And the memories just spill out from there. I was touched that he came to so many important events in my family. I was incredibly honored when he asked me to be his best man at his wedding. I was forever grateful when he helped me work on my house. And on, and on… As I think back through it all, I realize that he was more than a friend. He was a brother. Having been connected to Chad for half of my life, it’s hard to imagine the rest without him. I will miss you brother.