All was well overnight in the lead up to dawn.  The storm came in soft and quiet with a few inches of snow by morning.  At 5am we had 11mph wind gusts on top of Mirkwood.  At 6am they suddenly ramped up to 52mph.  By the time the lifts were supposed to open at 9am the gusts had climbed up to 71mph.  Not the kind of weather that is conducive for safely running aerial ski lifts.  As much as it pained us to close the mountain on a peak Spring Break visitation day (and what would be an amazing powder day), it was the only call to make.  The storm kept up for most of the day as the team shoveled and plowed the drifting snow.  We plan to open tomorrow at the normal time with lots of untracked powder.  Unleash the hounds.