(COLORADO SPRINGS) — As the sun rose over southern Colorado Thursday morning, March 14, many woke up to see a fresh blanket of snow, with even more flakes coming down. For some this meant jumping out of bed to start shoveling, for others it was a surprise to not have school in-person.

“I love the snow,” Ralph Avalos said. “I came from Chicago, so I know what snow is all about and I’ve been on the road since 6:30 this morning and it’s still going and just, that’s the way it is in Colorado.”

Throughout southern Colorado, many people started their morning with a shovel in hand to clear out the snow.

When it came to tackling the snowy task, Avalos was well-equipped. In his truck he had both a shovel and a snow-blowing machine to help get the job done.

“It’s just when it’s wet and heavy, it gets kind of heavy,” Avalos said. “But I got my tools here, my Snow Warrior machine, but I’m okay. Other than that, it’s all part of life in the state of Colorado.”

Meet the “snow warrior” in southern Colorado who was able to use both some arm power and technology to clear snow in driveways.

As the snow continued to pile up, Avalos couldn’t deny that it required some arm power to tackle the task.

“If it is so heavy and wet, you have to use the shovel, the little machine just won’t cut it,” said Avalos.

In another Colorado Springs neighborhood filled with snow, two brothers took on the challenge of clearing their uphill driveway. They did not have any electric machines to help them out, instead using their upper body strength to get the job done.

“Seeing all the snow, I didn’t believe it at first, so I feel like I get an early start on it to start shoveling,” said Jacob Franklin.

These two brothers were torn about shoveling snow, one thought it was not that bad and similar to a workout, while the other thought it was pretty heavy.

His brother, Corey Cantrell, admitted to sleeping in but then rallied to join Franklin in shoveling out their driveway. While there was a late start, together they were able to get the job done.

“But as a homeowner to our sloped driveway, I just like to keep it clear,” Cantrell said. “It does get difficult to get in here with the slope, so we just try to stay ahead of it and that helps everything.”

While many spent the day outdoors clearing sidewalks and driveways, some younger ones without in-person classes took advantage of the snowy day in a different way. Eight-year-old Elsie Callahan was surprised to find out she would not have to go into school on Thursday, instead getting straight to work so she could enjoy the flurries.

“I was like, ‘oh, another day of school’ and then I realized, ‘oh, yes’ because I realized it was an at-home instruction day, and then when I came downstairs, I started working on some of my papers,” said Callahan.

In one Colorado Springs neighborhood, many of the children bundled up like Callahan and went to sled down the nearby hill.

Covered in multiple layers, with a big smile on her face, Callahan was ready to show off her sledding skills and how high she could soar going down the neighborhood hill.

“It was actually like, really fun because I like kept falling and sliding on my butt on accident and stuff like that,” said Callahan.

For those who did spend the day outdoors, it was one for the books with a whole lot of snowfall.