The sun is shining, the snow is perfect and I have my lazy ass out of bed and at the base of lionshead 10 minutes before the lifts open. I just need to put my contacts in, my boots on and I'm out of here for a huge day of skiing all over the place amongst Vail's 5000+ skiable acres.

The plan is stay on the front side in the morning while the crowds are thin (the crowds will be thin all day, who am I kidding?) and have some pictures taken by my poor colleagues who have to work this fine day. Then I'm going to head over to the backside and to my favorite spot Blue Sky Basin where I'm going to have a picnic (I brought stuff to bbq on the complementary outdoor self-serve barbeques up at the top at Belle's Camp).

If my knees hold out, and I have a bottle of Ibuprofun that says they will, this should be the best day of the year. The only thing that could make it better would be to have someone to share it with. Too bad the kittens don't ski.

Hope you're having fun wherever you are.