Around here there are certain distinctly recognizable events that mark the changing of the seasons.  Spring is the explosion of wildflowers in the mountains.  It’s fall when the surrounding hillsides are covered in aspen gold.  And you know its summer when highway 50 is jammed with campers with out-of-state plates.

Winter? Winter is opening day at Monarch.  The start of ski season.  

This past Wednesday was opening day for the 2023/24 season.  The mountain got 25” of snow over the past week and wherever you went in town you could feel the anticipation. Everyone in the area was stoked for first turns on fresh powder.

Even midweek, a lot of people turn out for opening day. I headed up the pass early to beat the crowd and to get a parking spot within sight of the lodge.  To avoid the early morning lift lines, I opted for a couple of uphill laps to let the crowds thin out.  

I was on the mountain heading up at 8:30, a full half hour before the lifts started spinning at 9:00 a.m.  I had the whole place to myself for that first 30 minutes.

It was definitely early winter conditions.  Lots of small trees and bushes still sticking through the snow.

The occasional hole where a creek hasn’t been completely covered yet.

Not to mention plenty of random half-exposed boulders. But the cool thing about starting with an uphill ski is that you get to take in the mountain at a slower pace, get a feel for the snow and really see the conditions before you start skiing down.

There’s just something about tracks through fresh powder that makes my heart flutter.

Freshly groomed, untracked corduroy is pretty sweet too.

Heading up the summit ridge to the Panorama lift.

Dropping in for my first run of the day.

Aside from that early morning rush, the crowds weren’t really that bad for an opening day.  After a two-lap warm up of uphill skiing, I switched to lift-serviced skiing for the afternoon.  They only had four lifts and about two-thirds of the runs open but it was enough to give you a long-awaited taste of the winter goods.  

It was a gorgeous, sunny bluebird day; if anything, maybe a little too warm. But check out the way the snow is sculpted like waves on a beach in this photo.  This and the mountains scoured dry in the background gives an indication of how windy it must’ve been up here over the past few days.

Always great views from the top of the Continental Divide.

The first day of ski season is always entertaining.  All day long I could hear people whooping and hollering all over the mountain.  Lots of folks out enjoying their day. Here’s to winter and the start of a brand new season. Hoping its a good one!