Best Mountain Smoke Shack winner Topher's Hut does a smoking business in April snow

April in Colorado: Record-breaking highs on Saturday, huge snow dumps on Sunday... with the results seen here, in an area in the trees of Mary Jane known as Topher's Run. Winter Park could be busy today, since I-70 will be closed at Empire -- and the resort is offering $59 lift tickets to anyone who has a season pass at another area and makes the drive over Berthoud Pass today. But that's not Winter Park's greatest draw...

The snow inspired plenty of people to play hooky yesterday, including this boarder who sent photos of Topher's Hut, the rebuilt smoker's hut that just won our Best Mountain Smoke Shack award in our 2011 Best of Denver edition.

Springtime in the Rockies.

More from our Calhoun: Wake-Up Call archive: "Beer debate spills out of committee and onto the floor of the Colorado legislature."