Smooth and uncut snow found at Highlands on opening day

The young and talented Pat Sewell of Aspen ripping it up today somewhere in the trees at Aspen Highlands in a photo by Daniel Bayer, courtesy of the Aspen Skiing Co. PR department. It was a quality opening day with all four Aspen areas now up and running. And there could be snow directly ahead. As of 3:15 p.m. Saturday, the NWS was calling for 1 to 2 inches of fresh snow tonight in Aspen, another 2 to 4 inches Sunday, and another 3 to 5 inches Sunday night. That is so cool. And it kind of does now feel like "the warm before the storm." In regard to the snow outside the boundary lines, Brian McCall of the CAIC wrote this morning in his report that "instability signs are still present in the snowpack and observers around Marble mid week noted large whumpfs that were 'massive' and 'found with every step.' The snowpack on many slopes is still teetering on the edge. Natural avalanches have slowed down, but triggered slides are probable in most areas." Seems like part of the message there for the casual out-of-bounds skier is: don't let the new snow seduce you into poor impromptu choices on the Highlands catwalk...And we note with hometown pride that Vancouver-bound Gretchen Bleiler got second today at the Olympic qualifying halfpipe event at Copper Mountain and that Chris Klug's Summit for Life event is tonight on Aspen Mountain. Given all of the above, we suggest a moment of quiet reflection on our collective good fortune...