It was another opening day in Summit County as Keystone fired up their lifts on November 4 for the 2011/2012 season. With the recent snow storms that rolled through the area we were gleaming as we walked up to the gondola to catch a ride to the top. Mass amounts of snowboarders and skiers piled into the line as they cut the proverbial ribbon to set off what will be another epic season of snow (we hope).

The leading gondola was wrapped in large portraits of Max and Edna Dercum, the founders of Keystone and Arapahoe Basin. Max passed away this fall, Edna in 2008, and the gondola serves as a tribute to the duo that dedicated themselves to the sport, and to Summit County.

Once you hit the top of the mountain you were given two options. You could hit the park that sported over 25 features to get your jib on or shred T2B (top-to-bottom) hot laps. We opted to take a run to warm up the legs then head into the park to see all the mayhem unfold. Some pros made it up to the hill including Quiksilver rider Eric Willet, Sims rider Seth Hill and Rome rider Nickie Weiss to name a few.

You wouldn't have guessed it was opening day as kids were sending it like it was the middle of the season and they were training for the next Dew Tour stop. All or nothing I guess.

It was another great opening day and with the Ranger lift running it gave everyone easy access to just lap the park with their friends. The 25+ feature setup was a huge hit as it offered so many options for all riders to throw down, whether it was day one or not.

Here's to another killer season!