I just had the best day of my season so far. The light was flat, almost nothing was open at the mountain and there was barely an inch of new snow if you were to give it a really generous measurement. Okay, so it sounds like a pretty meager day up at the hill. But I had an absolute blast. It even surpassed my previous best day of the season when I hiked up before the lifts were turning only to ski down — while completely gripped, mind you — through a mixture of wind-buffed snow and bone-devouring rocks.

It’s December, and winter has yet to really get cranking in Utah. Visions of last season’s monster, La Nina snowfall have barely faded from the minds of many a freeheeler around these parts. But does that stop us from getting out? Of course it doesn’t. The itch builds up all summer, and at the first sign of snowfall people all over the country are chomping at the bit to get after it. We get out of bed early, ignore our responsibilities and hike up our local ski hills only to ski down on the thin veil of snow covering what is mostly grass and rocks. By all rational accounts, it is just about the worst skiing any of us will do all season. But when we get to the bottom after the horror show that is dropping a knee while skipping across stone, dirt and plants, the smiles on our faces rival any expression of stoke that we will emanate all year. Winter returns and we rejoice; we are at peace once more.

The months pass, powder days are had, peaks are climbed, tricks are hucked and something peculiar begins to happen to a lot of skiers. Skiing seems to lose its spark to a lot of people. Many don’t express any lamentation about the melting of the snow. There are, of course, understandable reasons for this: the weather gets warmer, the snow turns to corn and some of our transient ski-town friends begin to filter out. But I don’t want to hear skiers say they are “over it” and reach for their mountain bikes just yet. I have some news for you who lack springtime motivation: ski season isn’t over yet.

Springtime can often be the best part of the season. Here are at a few objective reasons why its awesome and you should keep the ski-stoke high. You are likely in shape and skiing strong; it’s the time to get out and push yourself to try the things you have been wanting to all year. If it’s your thing, the terrain parks get nice and soft, so there is no better time to try that double flip you’ve been claiming you are going to do all season. Snow stability is usually as good as it is ever going to be, so it’s time to get after it and shred the big peaks you have been dreaming about. And — perhaps most importantly — is a hell-of-a-lot of fun. The mountains have the deepest snowpack, and it’s usually either dumping or warm and sunny — for once, skiing in a tall tee and hoodie isn’t wildly impractical.

Remember that feeling you had at the beginning of the season. When skiing across rocks or jibbing a piece of PVC pipe was the most fun thing you could imagine doing. Think what the you in the Fall would say to the you in the Spring when you act like its not worth your time to go ski a few jib laps at the resort or take a nice sunny hike in your favorite backcountry area. Let’s be honest, the best skiing doesn’t come right after Halloween; be patient and keep the stoke high. Don’t let that early season flame burn out. Keep it going and rip up the slopes in this spring. You owe it to your off- season self not to waste a single day you could be out having fun on skis.

-JT Robinson