A laborious start to winter?

 

So far, our early winter pales in comparison with last year’s. Okay, we got some snow yesterday, but it’s not that much and we certainly were so spoiled in late 2022 that we can’t be fully satisfied with what we’ve got now! 

Now that I’m retired, I feel less anxious about snow that fails to show up on time, but I must confess that it’s been the case for all of my working life in the ski industry. Being under the whims of a weather we don’t control is a sure recipe for continued stress and it certainly did affect me almost every single season. 

Winters with absolutely no snow are extremely rare, but this common 60th birthday for Avoriaz (my old stomping ground) and Park City is a stark reminder that the 1963-64 season was a catastrophe all over the Alps. Those of us old enough to remember that season could add that modern snow-making wasn’t there to save the day. 

Hopefully an exceptional winter like this one isn’t in the offing, but with climate change, who knows?