After living in sunny Santa Barbara for three years, it’s cool to see a true winter/spring transition this year. I’ve spent the last week in the northeast (Philly and Boston) and the weather has been going back and forth between rain and shine, yet slowly but surely the buds have been forming on the trees and the grass has become noticeably greener.

I was in Denver and Aspen last week, and I spent one day without my shirt on in the park and another racing a snowstorm down the mountain. My day on the slopes at Snowmass last Sunday pretty much sums up the Colorado spring: It was snowing at the top of the mountain and sunny – quite pleasant – at the bottom. This week, it’s been snowing like crazy again.

This post was originally supposed to be all about how winter is over and done with, but guess what? A few Colorado resorts are going to reopen this weekend thanks to the fresh snow, including Copper Mountain, which I skied for the first time just last month. My visit was sandwiched between two events that I would have definitely liked to see – an Eenie Weenie Bikini contest and the largest Easter Egg hunt in Colorado — but I was only able to ski for a few hours due to an incoming storm that threatened the roads. It was a great mountain from what I saw, though, with plenty of tree skiing and a nice layout that keeps the beginner and expert trails separated.

There were two or three days that I thought would be my last on the slopes, including that day at Copper, but the snow kept coming. In total, I was able to ski a large variety of terrain this season: Five mountains in Colorado, nine in Salt Lake City, and three in Quebec. It marked the first time I had ever skied in Colorado, finally getting a feel for the iconic towns of Aspen and Vail, skiing six mountains in one day in Salt Lake City, and getting first looks at several others. And hey — I only crashed into one tree!

That all said, I think I’m truly done with the slopes this year. It was a good winter for the writing, too. I wrote ski stories on all of the above towns, with a few more to surface at the beginning of next year. I made my debut with OntheSnow.com, giving advice to those traveling with ski gear and picking out the top rental places in regions across the country. A 36-hours in Quebec City feature ran this week as my final piece of the season.

Until next year, adios to the slopes (I think).