I’ve found that the most devout snow lovers are, by nature, superstitious. You can hear it sneak in to almost every conversation about opening day prospects or every mention of what kind of ‘snow year’ we might have.

It’s human nature to wish for good things, especially as we’ve watched 26 inches of fresh snow fall in the past 12 days. But this year, there’s been a lot of ‘knocking on wood’ as we quietly voice our hopeful predictions.

It’s been many, MANY years since we’ve seen cold base area snow like this in November, and the forecast doesn’t appear to have any hope-dashing changes anytime soon. (See how I put that in italics, as if that would remove any curse?)

Still, as we sit here with a nice blanket of snow on the ground and more falling from the sky, there’s one piece of local folklore I can’t get out of my mind: The Legend of the Larch.

It was told to me years ago by a life-long local who’s followed such things closely. In my eleven seasons here, it’s so far proven true.

The Legend: Any snow that falls while the needles are still on the Western Larch trees won’t stick around. We mentioned this in 2013 while admiring the vibrant fall colors of these trees.

November 11, 2015

But now, I’m looking at the larch bows with a more discerning eye. The needles were still securely fastened last week as a heavy blanket of snow fell on the mountain. Since then, about half the larch at base-area level have dropped their needles. Others appear to be clinging tightly, perhaps freeze-dried to their branches.

Today, November 17

Perhaps it’s a signal that we’ll lose only half of the snow we’ve seen fall in recent weeks. Perhaps the snow will continue to deepen and opening day will be upon us soon. One thing’s for sure: I don’t want to dismiss the Legend of the Larch too soon. I’m far too superstitious to tempt fate like that.

• April

Do you have any preseason rituals or superstitions? If so, we invite you share them in the blog comments AND come join us Friday, November 27 at our Pray for Snow Party. Beer, bonfire, live music from Bread & Circus. And lots of like-minded people with their fingers crossed.