More snow, please

All you want for the holidays is more days like Tuesday. Not clothes. Not a new iPod. Not even a kiss on New Year’s Eve.Just more snow. Truly, the first powder day of the season always makes you feel like a 5-year-old on Christmas morning. It starts the night before as you watch the fresh snow pile up outside your window.You try to sleep, but that’s nearly impossible. You keep waking up and checking your alarm clock just to make sure you haven’t overslept. And as soon as it goes off, there’s no time to waste wiping the sleep out of your eyes and eating a bowl of cereal. You throw on all your gear as fast as possible (don’t forget your gloves), grab a granola bar on your way out the door, then speed walk over to the Gondola Plaza for a ride that seems to take longer than it ever has. As soon as the door opens, there’s more speed-walking, followed by a frenzied 30 seconds spent strapping into your snowboard. Then bliss.Dipping into that first soft turn is akin to ripping off the wrapping paper on the biggest present underneath the tree. It’s the one thing for which you’ve been pining for months.That first face shot pushes out a healthy shout, followed by a big wet smile. And as soon as you arrive at the bottom of the lift, it’s a rush to get on as fast as possible. Once more people show up, you wise up and start riding the singles line. Still, even with all the newcomers, there’s plenty of snow – and it only continues to fall.Even as you write this, it’s still coming down. Christmas comes only once a year.But powder days? Well, the first one is always memorable. But there’s something even better. That’s today, the second one of the season. The Aspen Skiing Co. expects to have top-to-bottom skiing on Aspen Mountain sometime today, Skico spokesman Jeff Hanle said. Ski patrol will also open different aspects of Bell Mountain, and there is the possibility of the FIS chair running for the first time this season. Snowmass opened the Big Burn on Tuesday and likely will fire up the Sheer Bliss lift sometime today, Hanle said.The Aspen Times, Aspen, Colo.