Let's get this Party Started!

The snow guns at Vail Mountain's Golden Peak fired up Saturday morning for the first time this season, creating excitement on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter over the upcoming winter season. Vail Mountain Chief Operating Officer Chris Jarnot posted this Twitter message, along with a photo of Golden Peak, around 10 a.m.: “Little snowmaking going on this morning at Golden Peak. As Mr. Fillion says, ‘Let the games begin!'” The Golden Peak snowmaking fires up ahead of the rest of Vail's snowmaking because Golden Peak is training ground for the U.S. Ski Team, Ski and Snowboard Club Vail, as well as ski teams and clubs from around the world. Depending on when the Golden Peak slopes are ready, that's when the teams start training. It typically happens around the last week of October or first week of November. Jarnot said the snowmaking crew had the automated Golden Peak snowmaking system “prepped and ready to go, just waiting for the right temperatures to turn it on,” in an email to the Vail Daily Saturday. In the meantime, the snowmaking at Golden Peak will have to be enough of a teaser for winter for local snow sports enthusiasts. Even the sight of the snow guns blasting seemed to be enough to prove winter is near.