Aspen, part V -- let it snow!

I don't think I can emphasize enough how much snow they've got here! This is late March, which is supposed to be "mud season" as the snow melts and the ground turns to mush. Instead, they're talking about extending the skiing season by another couple of weeks -- until late April -- and the locals are actually sick of looking skyward and seeing another dumping of "white gold" on the way.

Today was play day for the family. Fiona and I took a snowshoe tour of the back side of Mt. Ajax (that's her with our tour guide, Lindsey), bathed in brilliant sunshine -- and my face has a pinkish hue to prove it.

Toward the end of our trek, the skies turned dark, and Lindsey pointed toward the horizon and said, "In 20 minutes, you won't be able to see the tops of those mountains." And sure enough, dark clouds heavy with snow soon obscured our view of those majestic peaks.

After lunch, we took the kids sledding (which was a gas -- like riding a bicycle, you never forget, no matter how long you've lived in the desert), and it was still sunny. But by mid-afternoon, a heavy snowfall blanketed the valley (if you can call 7900 feet a valley). Massive flakes the size of quarters floated down upon us, and the girls decided it was time to sneak in one last dip in the hot tub.

It's been a great week, and the 10-hour return trip to Southern Nevada begins in a scant few hours, so I'll sign off for now. But Aspen has won me over. Any time the local publisher needs some face time with the VP of Circulation from her parent company, I'm riding shotgun.v