Over the last few weeks I’ve (with the help of my wife and friends) been putting the finishing touches to our wood stack for the winter. A $26 permit from the Forest Service allows you to collect up to 5 cords of wood, more than enough for a winter. The whole process reminded me a bit of my younger days, when some mates and I would collect wood for the family hut (cabin) back in New Zealand. Except then it had to be done with a two man saw, and we used a metal wedge and a mallet to split the wood – no chainsaw or hydraulic splitter back then!

So now I can look at the wood pile with satisfaction knowing that we will be warm this winter. Unfortunately there might not be much use for the wood this week with temperatures in the mid-sixties. With just over a week to official opening day, Mother Nature is not really playing ball. It’s early days yet of course so no need for panic about a lack of snow. But it will be good to put all that wood to good use after a day of skiing once the snow does come.