Winter is Near

Last night I awoke at 2am and couldn't get back to sleep. The entire time I was thinking about skiing, wondering what lines I was going to ski this coming season, pondering what the snow will be like (Please Ullr, let there be snow) and thinking about what gear I'm going to "need" to pick up.

Weather it's while asleep at night or day-dreaming while putting in your time for the man, I'm sure winter's proximity has been on most everyone's mind.

After awaking this morning I pondered my restless night. I started thinking about what signs signal to me that instead of being a distant memory winter is now an anticipated arrival. Here is a short list of the signs that tell me that shortly I'll be rolling out the red carpet welcoming Winter.

1. Fall colors - I first noticed some of the under brush changing hues a few weeks ago but as I was rock climbing last week in Little Cottonwood Canyon the reds and oranges of the scrub oak was a telling sign that summer's grasp is loosening.
2. Teasers - All of my favorite ski film companies start to pump out the ski porn. There are too many to point out but a couple of my favorite teasers so far this season are PNW from Theory3 and The Sublimation Experiment from KGB Productions . Check out Teaser Season at PowderMag.com for a full run down.
3. Powder Magazine - Despite magazines like Coulior (RIP), Freeskier, Skiing, Ski and Backcountry it's the arrival of the first issue of Powder Magazine and the subsequent cover-to-cover reading of it that surely signals to the brain "let the dreaming begin"
4. Frost - Although the upper peaks in Colorado and even the tips of the Wasatch have seen the first flakes of white, for me the first frost on the car windows are a sign. This morning I woke to frosted on my car. Fumbling to find the defrost button on the console, I heard the familiar "scrape" sound of the wipers skimming across the frosted windows in a vain attempt to avoid pulling out the window scraper.

What signals to you that winter will soon be here? What signs of winter's arrival resonate with you? Click the comments link in the upper right of this post and let me know.

Enjoy this teaser by Theory 3....(they should do a Utah film next year)