'Tis the season. Pre-ski season. It's a phenomenon in many a ski town. It's about this time of year that snow junkies start jonzing for shorter, colder days and mountain top dustings. The skis come out of the closet and hit the tuning table. www.MountainWeather.com starts to get a lot more traffic from those hoping that they'll see a storm cloud or two in the five-day forecast.

Of course, it's a little premature. It is only August after all. According to the seasonal calendar, we're still sitting squarely in summer. But a few things start to happen this time of year that get those of us who love to ski thinking winter a bit sooner than we might otherwise.  

The first is the arrival of Skiing Magazine's annual Gear Guide, which showed up in mail boxes last week. Skiing has traditionally been the first of the ski rags to emerge from the summer slumber with a gentle reminder that November is just around the corner. And wouldn't you know it, at least three Jackson locals grace the inside pages, including professional skiers and gear testers, Charlotte Moats and Jeff Annetts and ski photographer Chris Figenshau. It's hard to walk by any flat surface, from the grungy top of a ski bum coffee table to a professional workspace desk, without seeing the black cover and screaming neon green lettering that reads, "GEAR GUIDE."

Soon, Powder and SKI magazines will follow suit with their innaugural 08/09 issues. But before they do, Labor Day ski sales and swaps will be happening on every corner and in every ski shop from here to Who-ville. Those who are more skiwear savy than myself (I tend to stick to basic all black) will start researching the new attire trends. Is it a mono-chrome year? Or is an all-orange outfit so 2004? Is neon in? And how do we feel about one-pieces this season?

After the skis have been tuned and the ski clothes purchased and the ski magazines are littering floors and tables and night stands, it's time for ski movie premiers. If you grew up skiing, then you've probably been to at least one of these. You know, those classic ski films that feature the iconic say-so of Warren Miller as he voices over the likes of Glen Plake and Scott Schmidt doing back scratchers in their neon North Face one-pieces. And if you get your pre-season fix from these films, then you're probably a frequenter of productions from Matchstick, Level 1, Nimbus Independent, Poor Boyz, Rage Films and Jackson's local ski film production house, Teton Gravity Research.

Of course, it's all down hill from there. Once you've been teased with big screen powder shots, there's no turning back. It's time to train with squats and lunges and hikes up the nearest hill with skis or a snowboard strapped to your pack. Okay, maybe not. But with the arrival of that glorious Gear Guide last week, we did see the start of the pre-season madness. Get out the wax and check out the pre-season trailors. Lunges and squats are optional.