Well A-Basin got to be the first ski area in the nation to officially open today. They said this is the earliest it has ever opened. We’re going to Boulder this weekend for the annual Spyder sale. Maybe we’ll stop by the Basin and take a few runs on their man made snow. Skiing most of my time at Monarch really spoils me though. Since Monarch only has natural snow I don’t get to ski that hard icy stuff too often. It really showed at my level III exam in the Medium Radius Carved Turns manuver on a predominently made made snow surface at Copper Mtn. That’s one of the two manuvers I still need to retake. On the other hand, skiing on all natural stuff all the time really showed up in the Variable Terrain & Snow Conditions manuver as well. I passed that one on the first try. No sour grapes, really. 🙂