On the hill: Aspen is a winter wonderland — in October

Wednesday’s snowfall in Aspen had me excited. I dusted off the snowboard, found my goggles and as I was about to step out the door glanced at my phone and saw it was only Oct. 10.

Talk about devastating.

Needless to say, I’m ready for winter. And for a short while, it felt like it was mid-December. However, the sad truth is we are still six weeks from the start of ski season, and those six weeks are going to feel like six months.

Hopefully this early-season snow is an indicator that winter riding will be epic, unlike each of the past two seasons when we were still scraping rocks in January. I’m a little pessimistic, especially considering our dry summer, but maybe this is the year Old Man Winter gets his act together again. The dude has been a little off in recent years.

I don’t know about you, but I could go for a real powder day right about now. As depressing as the snow conditions were last winter, it was my early-season concussion that ruined everything for me. I didn’t get a legitimate powder day, nor did I record a single bowl lap at Aspen Highlands. My quest for my first 100-day season in Aspen ended a solid 60 days short.

I’m more than ready to make up for it this winter, and seeing the snow come down Wednesday has me amped for the possibilities. After all, this is why we live in a ski town. The winter, and the snow, is what unite us in a way those baffling warm-weather people can’t understand. Aspen is never prettier than when it is covered in the white stuff.

But, let’s all take a deep breath. The recent snowfall has been nice, but it’s nothing more than a tease. Like it usually does, the Indian summer will come and that six weeks will feel like a lifetime. Yet, winter will find its way home eventually and, when it does, I’ll be here patiently waiting.

acolbert@aspentimes.com