Writers in the wild: First turns of the season
One of the cool things about the ski season is that mother nature can sneak up on you. You can be expecting a late-November start to the season but a surprise late-October storm can change your plans. So, although I was expecting to wait a few more weeks to get my skis out, when Mt. Rose announced on Nov. 2 that they’d be opening early that Friday, I was more than ready to get a jump on the season.
The night before, I gathered all of my ski gear, made sure no spiders had made a home in my boots over the summer and laid in bed restlessly, like a kid trying to fall asleep on Christmas Eve.
I arrived at Mt. Rose 45 minutes before the first chair was scheduled to start spinning. I was already too late, the mountain had run out of the bright green, Opening Day at Mt. Rose shirts.
Despite the early season snow-storm, temperatures had risen so before I even got to the lift, I realized I was extremely overdressed. I placed my skis on a rack and rushed back to my car to drop some layers.
The excitement in the lift line was palpable as a DJ was getting the energy up. There was a wide-range of ages there, from the five-year-old I rode the lift with, to the college kids probably missing classes to be there (no shade, I would’ve done the same thing) to the retired guy looking to ski everyday this season.
The mountain was running the Lakeview Express Chair, and even though I’ve ridden that chair many times before, I was extra thrilled to be riding it that day.
The only runs open were Kit Carson Traverse to Kit Carson Bowl to Ponderosa but despite guests only having one option, none of my runs ever felt too crowded. I personally think Kit Carson Bowl is a really fun run, especially in the early season when my legs aren’t quite ready for anything steeper. The run had great snow coverage and the snow itself felt awesome.
It was still a work day, and my quads were screaming so I was only able to ski four runs but I’m grateful for even that short amount of time on the mountain.
I have a really good feeling about this ski season, and Friday was not the last Mt. Rose will be seeing of me this year.
