It’s that time of year.

Two weeks ago it looked grim and now we are buried in snow.

I’ve talked to friends in Utah and New Mex and they are all saying the same thing: Yes, skiing is good, yes, we thank the benevolence of Skadi the Norse Snow Goddess and before work crack a Red Bull ‘cuz it is Dawn Patrol time.

For some it is a decision between Little or Big Cottonwood, a tour up The Pass or Santa Fe’s Ski Basin. For us it is Marble, Aspen Mountain or Tiehack.

The deal is the same, meet in the dark. Skin in the dark. Catch sunrise on top and ski down in subtle light or dancing gray flakes.

I have an entire set of friends that I adore who I basically only see during the winter months. Our group has been skinning every Wednesday for 15 years.

We are getting old in the tooth, but deceptively efficient on the uphill.

Fat skis, Nordies, dogs, we don’t care.

Just don’t be late. Come early, skins on and remember “vee leave at siiix.”

See you out there.

Penn Newhard left his Wall Street job as a municipal bond trader in 1989 to relocate to Colorado. Eight years later, he founded Backbone Media, where he is still a partner. He lives in a log cabin with his wife Kirsten and their four children. Penn recently wrote about the magic that becomes infused in the hearts and minds of those who take up skiing.