Dreaming of the First Snow!

One of the most prominent preoccupations of ski resort locals is tracking the weather.  I don't mean that we watch the Weather Channel when we get up in the morning and then go about the rest of our day.  I mean that we follow the weather, checking the radar several times a day, comparing our analysis of the upcoming system versus Jim Cantore, Alexandra Steele and our friends.  I have spent hours of my day watching for minute changes in the radar, hoping that the Nor'Easter will somehow combine with the cold air at the peak and give us a hint of what the upcoming winter will be like.

Waking up to Winter
First Snow 2009-2010 Season
Cooper's Lodge, The Long Trail, Killington, VT

Since I tend to be an extremely impatient person, I tend to have my bags packed and ready to go at any moment.  Go where?  To the peak, of course, because the first snowfall usually happens around 2 or 3 in the morning, when the temperature drops just enough to turn that fall rain storm into something more wonderful.  So we watch the weather in hopes that she will reveal exactly which night we should camp out above the snow line.  There is just something magical about hiking up the mountain during autumn and waking up surrounded by winter.

You can smell the difference coming as the humidity changes and the air becomes crystal clear, almost burning your nostrils with its clarity.  That first breathe in the morning, full of snowflakes and the fresh mountain air, is one of the most wonderful and magical moments of the year.  I always end up jumping out of bed, in a rush of excitement and end up wrestling in the fresh snowfall with Vespi.  You can feel the snow squeaking underneath your feet, with the freshly traumatized leaves crunching below.  Nothing makes me feel more like my six-year old self than racing around in the freshies, trying to experience all the snow before it melts by noon.  :)

Both the Weather Channel and wunderground.com are claiming that snow should fall in the Killington area either Friday or at least Saturday night.  These predictions have been confirmed by both Chef Frizzie and Aaron.  The only problem that I can foresee is how I am supposed to work those nights in the restaurant until 11pm and then hike up to the peak for the most magical morning of the season: the First Snow!!