Gusty winds made for frigid temperatures Thursday morning at Aspen Mountain, creating strange, firm textures out of the new inch or two of snow on the mountain.
The weather kept Rick Crandall and his wife off the slopes until about 11 a.m., even though he said an early-bird start is their usual approach.
“It is a great discipline to get up in the morning. We always get up at 8:45, except for today because the wind was howling,” Crandall said. “You get some exercise on the mountain, you get some smiles on your face, and everybody else on the mountain has smiles on their face. What better way to wake up?”
Crandall, who lives in Starwood in Aspen, said the early rise also helps them beat the crowds.
“We get a whole bunch of runs in before Vail even wakes up,” he joked.
