Game on!

The ski season is here. With resorts opening up across the West and snow falling on Liberty's headquarters for global domination here in Avon, Colorado, it's time to think about getting the first turns of the season yourself. And right now there are plenty of options: For you easterners, Mt. Snow and Sunday River are open. In Colorado, Loveland, Arapahoe Basin, Keystone and Copper are open. Farther west, Mammoth opened on October 16 as did Las Vegas Ski And Snowboard Resort, which notched the earliest opening for the ski area ever, on Oct 7. Montana's Great Divide also clocked up the earliest opening in the resort's history, October 17. LVSSR, which had, sadly to suspend operations has now reopened. Another resort that open ed and then shut was California's Boreal. The warm spell also temporarily shuttered Mammoth. So Cal's Bear Mountain and Mountain High are also open. And in Canada, Calgary's Olympic Park is open along with Mt. Norquay. And if your favorite ski lift isn't running, take heart. Some friends of Liberty, including photographer Michael Martin took matters into their own hands and got after it themselves. Here's Michael's report of his first turns of the winter: "After watching snow dust the Yampa valley, we were itching to get the first day under our collective belt. Ted Livingston had just driven all of his remaining belongings from Chicago to Steamboat, solidifying his residency. Stating that it was 'hammering snow' throughout his white knuckle drive through Wyoming, we opted for the Never Summers as our zone of choice. Starting out, we looked at the Crags, but it's still early and the bouldery lines are raw and exposed. Parking at the summit, we skinned roughly 2000 feet and picked our way into our line. The top turns got our attention with chalky, wind-buffed snow. (Ted doing Scot Schmidt) As we eased into the wind sheltered mid section, The Cheat, Michael DeCoske, nailed the first face shot of the year with buttery turns, almost to the bottom. A hi-five and a beer in Gould confirmed that ski season is here."