Going, going …

You can’t believe it’s already the middle of February. Where has the winter gone? With only two months left in the season at our local resorts, it’s time to make every day count.Which is why you woke up early Wednesday and stayed on the hill until around 2 – with no lunch and no bathroom breaks.It seems to happen like this every season. You think it will last forever, then it slowly creeps up on you that there’s so little time left.Admittedly, you took some days for granted. You skipped a few during the height of the tourist season in late December and early January. You also missed a few during World Cup week and some more during the Winter X Games.Now you’re wishing you had them back.But you can’t live in the past. You’re not a believer in the number of days in a season anyway – but rather how much you squeeze out of each day that you’re out there.Now, it’s all about not sleeping in and not worrying about showing up to work a half-hour later than planned. Maybe it’s even time to take a sick day (wink, wink). Heck, freshyitis always seems to be going around this time of year; no one will really notice.The Skico seems to be on the same page, extending lift hours on all four mountains. At Snowmass, the Village Express and Big Burn will run until 4 p.m.; the same goes for the gondy and the Ajax Express at Ajax, Exhibition at Highlands, and the Summit Express, Panda Peak and West Buttermilk Express at Buttermilk.You can’t waste any more time. Otherwise, you’ll be kicking yourself come April.Snow reportFinally, the dry spell has ended. Nine inches of new snow fell overnight at Snowmass, according to the Aspen Skiing Co.’s 5:30 a.m. report. Aspen Mountain is sporting 6 new inches up top, Aspen Highlands picked up 4 inches and Buttermilk has 3 inches of fresh stuff.Avalanche reportThe backcountry danger in the Roaring Fork Valley is moderate near and above treeline. Below treeline, the danger is low.As the trend has been with the last couple of storms, look for weak bonds between the old snow and new snow layers. And again, check the old windslab layers for weak bonds with the increased load.Avalanche danger details provided by the Roaring Fork Avalanche Center. For more information, call 920-1664 or visit http://www.rfavalanche.org.