After last year’s late opening and recent thought-provoking  events, we’ve truly been counting our blessings this opening weekend.

We’re thankful to be among a strong community of like-minded folks coming together to enjoy what nature has provided.

Today, our blessings included four inches of fresh snow and a forecast that has us almost dizzy with anticipation.

The morning fog seemed like a fair trade off for those gifts. We were definitely enjoying that nice little layer of fluff on the slopes and the little pockets of boot-deep goodness.

It didn’t take long to reach mid-mountain where visibility was no longer a challenge and where we had a smooth blanket of powder to splash around on.

It seemed like too much to ask for the sun to break out and clear away our morning fog. But that blessing came our way, too.

After the first couple runs, the fog was a thing of the past and we were free to explore all of our 1,500 acres without struggling to see.

We hopped into open glades covered with soft, forgiving, feather-light powder.

Some of this good fortune was right under the lift lines. (I took the photo below from the Lakeview Lift).

Nature’s beauty, fresh powder, blue skies and a bit of sunshine combined to soothe our worries and put smiles on our faces.

Add to that a forecast for up to a foot of snow overnight, and it’s enough to give us hope that wishes for a great winter actually can come true.

– April