Recently I've had an itch and not the kind of itch you can scratch this early in the season. I have been earnestly waiting for the snow to fall and finally, it did. Schweitzer opened the earliest they have in twenty five years. The other reason I have been itching is because I had to wait for the Fed-Ex guy to deliver my new skis, then wait some more for my new skis to get mounted. Finally I had assembled all my gear, and trust me there's a lot. I found that 49 Degrees North had the best early snow base and it helped to have a "ten dollar off" coupon and only an hour drive. So I packed up my skis, poles, massive backpack, camera gear, music and GPS and headed for Chewelah. (That last sentence makes me realize why I am always broke, but on the bright side, the Spokane REI is doing really well.)
I couldn't have dreamed up better conditions for early December. With less than a dozen ski bums on the slopes, it was rare to see anyone outside the lodge. Add in the perfectly clear skies and temperatures just below freezing, and it turned out to be a pretty solid day. The coverage was decent, the slopes were fast and my face hurt from smiling for ten hours. I also figured out that I should be doing some ski leg workouts, but who has time for that when you have dozens of Youtube skiing videos to catch up on?
So while most people complain about the cold weather coming and commuting in the snow, imagine me doing my nightly snow dance and remember to find some of your own inspiration from winter.