Durango was holding its breath this past weekend to see what the first major winter storm of the season would dump on the area. Would it pass us by and deprive us of the much needed pow that we all were wishing for? Absolutely not. 34 inches at mid mountain Sunday morning when the lifts opened at 9. The storm had passed, and the sky was once again clear blue with crisp temps for one of the best opening days in quite some time.

I was most definately in line with the other 100 eager Durangotarians waiting to catch the six pack to the top for the first runs of the season at DMR. As the clock overhead lift 1 hit 9:01, the cheers went out as the first to the top pushed throught the gates and were on their way. No one was sure of the conditions we would encounter on the way down. Even my buddies on the Patrol where wondering as just friday they were wading through the grass around the area. Now two days and over three feet of snow later, everyone was pleasantly surprised. Luckily the snow was wet enough to give a good base, but not to heavy as there was a good buildup of fresh powder. As many areas were not yet groomed that well, everyone was slipping through the 18 inches of powder on their way down the runs and having a blast.

Poachers were gladly jumping ropes to get in on the fresh pow that was still on closed runs, and when caught, didn't mind giving up their pass with a big grin on their face. That first run on a closed route in fresh pow was all worth it.

Many more days to come....