Just two days ahead of setting a new record for the latest "first snowfall of the season" in Denver, we woke up to a white backyard this morning.

Snow is serious business here. An editorial—an editorial, not just an op-ed piece—in yesterday's Denver Post gave us something else to worry about other than the global financial crisis, the Iraq war, and whether there will be any jobs for newly minted JDs when Patrick graduates next month. The headline read "Little snow, quick lifts create chaos on slopes," adding the ominous subhead: "With resorts opening earlier and thousands of skiers urged to use one or two runs, dangerous situations are likely to result."

Although, as the editorial further observed, "Dude, we totally don't want to look like wussies," it was a relief to see real—as opposed to machine-made—white stuff sticking to the Front Range even after it vanished from our yard. Moving from the gentle slopes of the northern Lower Peninsula to skiing the Rockies is going to be challenging enough without having to worry about getting run over by a cast of thousands.