News that the lake was postponing opening for an extra day was a devastating tidbit of information. 24 hours of anger, shock, depression and a last minute decision to head to Sunshine on Friday managed to tide us over for one more day. But once we sunk our boards into the knee-deep fluff, we were happy that the staggered opening days had delivered not one, but two epic openers.

Rumours of a significant rain event at the Lake had spread like a rotten creamer in a perfect cup of coffee. As it turned out, the rain formed a supportive crust over the infamous chunks of talus before being blanketed by what felt like 40 centimetres of fresh. Pitches that threaten to destroy a fresh board in the middle of winter graciously allowed us to sink turns deep enough to send the pow to our faces.

Most people associate Lake Louise's opening day with video-game style people dodging on the icy lower mountain. But looking back over the years, some of my best days have been in this first half of November. To shred clean top-to-bottom lines in Paradise Bowl on opening day is not entirely unheard of. That didn't happen this year, but the lines off Top of the World and Summit were enough to satisfy the most spoiled of powder junkies. It's nice to know that the whole backside is yet to be massacred by snow-thirsty shralpers.

The locals know that the back's usually twice as deep as the front. If you weren't there this weekend, take my word that once the back bowls get cracked, the stories will last for years to come. Whether you're ready for it or not, Winter has taken residence once again in the Rocky Mountains.