High Points: A good Sunday

U2 sang “Some days are better than others.” Boy, are they right. 

And this past Sunday, the final day of November in the 25th year of the third millennium, was a very good day, indeed — especially for those who love snow and sports.

It began when we awakened to the first significant snowfall of the season. Oh, I know, we caught a random storm back in mid-October, but since then, it has been as dry as July. Even if we just got a couple inches, more a taste than a banquet, at least we saw what it looks like around here with snow on the ground. The sight of flakes falling finally was something to be celebrated. And though it didn’t do much to change things on our ski mountains, it hopefully signaled the start of a new weather pattern. It has been colder and grayer since, so at least making snow is back on tap. And no question it is feeling more like winter than it was just a week ago.

That same morning, over at Copper Mountain — “The Athlete’s Mountain,” as they are calling it — one of the greatest athletes of our generation was making history as snow fell from the same system that hit us. In challenging conditions, Mikaela Shiffrin won another World Cup women’s slalom race, extending her on-going record for World Cup victories to 104. It was her third slalom race of the season and her third victory. Perfection.

The last time Shiffrin won a World Cup slalom race on Colorado snow was back in November 2015, when she won two slaloms on Aspen Mountain in two days. That was a decade ago, and many here in Aspen remember that weekend when she dominated the racing by winning the first race by 3.07 seconds and then turned around the next day and won by 2.65 seconds. It was an astounding performance.  

With her victory at Copper Mountain, Shiffrin also qualified for the U.S. Olympic team for the fourth time in her illustrious and historic career. In February, she will take to the snow in 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, hoping to add to the two Olympic gold medals she has already won. Not only is she a favorite to garner gold once again, but she also is already the face of the Milan-Cortina Olympics. It seems that every commercial and promo for the upcoming Games features her. Let’s hope she stays healthy and can deal with the hype that awaits over the next couple of months. 

And the best Sunday ended with the incredible Denver Broncos once again snatching victory from the potential jaws of defeat on Sunday Night Football. It took a leaping Nik Bonitto, who swatted down a pass on a two-point conversion by the Washington Commanders, to secure a 27-26 win.

The Broncos, who started the season with high expectations but lost two of their first three games, suddenly find themselves with a 10-2 record after winning nine straight games. Many in improbable fashion. 

Broncos fans thought that nothing could top the 19-point fourth-quarter comeback versus the New York Giants, but the overtime win over Washington on Sunday came close. In their last four games, they have beaten the Texans, the Raiders, and the Chiefs, each by 3 points, all in games that literally came down to the final possession, and then the Commanders by a single point. That’s living dangerously.

It may be putting the cart before the horse (There are still five games left for the Broncos in the regular season and a potential playoff schedule to consider), but if the Broncos were to make it all the way to the Super Bowl, they will return to Santa Clara, California, and Levi’s Stadium where they last won a Super Bowl a decade ago. Oh, and there will be women’s Olympic skiing that same day, Feb. 8, in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

If it snows on Feb. 8, it could be another very good day.