(the Little Nell, yesterday)

Resembling a scene out of  the early season playbook from upstate New York’s Hunter Mountain, a.k.a. “The Snowmaking Capitol of the World”, the recent low temperatures have allowed the still primitive-by-east-coast-standards snowmaking system of Aspen Mountain to crank out the fake stuff. An anonymous Aspen Ski Company insider, identified only as ‘M. Blakeslee’, confirmed that, if temperatures stay low and snowmaking continues, top-to-bottom skiing could be given the green light on Thanksgiving, Opening Day. You heard it here first.

As I picked up my ski pass yesterday, the roar of the snowmaking was reminiscent of earlier days back east. Then (25 years ago), as a kid, there was nothing more exciting than to make the three hour trip upstate to ski Hunter or Windham, battling huge lines(even by east coast standards) to ride slow lifts, only to ski down under the snowguns, sandblasting your face and causing short term hearing loss. It didn’t get any better than that.

Somehow it’s still exciting today.

See you out there Thursday.