Prelude to opening day drama

Ski season in Aspen and Snowmass is slated to start in 21 days. We’ll see. It is going to be another nice day in town today, with highs around 50. Low temps through Saturday are right at the freezing point, and begin to drop a bit after that. Friday is expected to bring clouds, says the National Weather Service, but not snow. Additionally, temps are expected to be 5 to 10 degrees above normal through Wednesday. So dry and mild are the current watchwords and it looks like we might be in for a little snow-coverage drama leading up to opening day, which is more typical than not. Certainly the World Cup races on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 28 and 29 will add some real tension, as all Olympic ski racing fans around the world will be interested in the race. The PR value of a Thanksgiving weekend ski race is larger than normal this year, which means so is the potential downside for a cancelled race. Yet it is still very early in the drama. Three weeks out is a world away. But it looks like the first week is going to not going to produce much snow, either manmade or natural, and so the dramatic tension rises under sunny skies. If all goes well, the snow will come and the race will happen. And the event will align with the current national buzz that Colorado has snow. Keystone opened today with 4 runs and three lifts, joining A-Basin, Wolf Creek and Loveland on the list of those areas with spinning bullwheels. Tis a beautiful day to go skiing in Colorado…