Ah, November. The month when Mother Nature can’t decide if it’s a balmy fall day in the 70s, or the heart of winter. November is when one by one, the resorts finally start opening for the skiers and snowboarders who have been eagerly waiting those first turns.

It’s a month when weather reports are obsessed over, and everyone becomes an amateur meteorologist. The Farmer’s Almanac becomes a staple in conversations, and a source of elation or despair, depending on its snow predictions for the upcoming season.

November didn’t get off to a roaring start in Colorado. While there was a picturesque dusting on the Rocky Mountains from previous snow, it wasn’t enough to give people visions of powder days in the immediate future. Resorts have been making snow, and there will be plenty of runs open to get some nice early season cruising in, but no one had expectations of needing their powder skis on opening day. After this most recent storm, however, attitudes have changed a bit. The excitement in the air is palpable, as snow reports get totaled, and the realization sinks in that it is about time to start bringing out the equipment and planning weekends around weather systems. Resorts in Colorado received up to 13 inches of snow in this last storm, and it is officially time to get stoked.

Winter is coming. And so are the powder days.