diff --git a/src/past/translation/__init__.py b/src/past/translation/__init__.py
index 7b21d9f5..6ea94536 100644
--- a/src/past/translation/__init__.py
+++ b/src/past/translation/__init__.py
@@ -402,9 +402,9 @@ def load_module(self, fullname):
                         code = compile(source, self.pathname, 'exec')
 
                         dirname = os.path.dirname(cachename)
-                        if not os.path.exists(dirname):
-                            os.makedirs(dirname)
                         try:
+                            if not os.path.exists(dirname):
+                                os.makedirs(dirname)
                             with open(cachename, 'wb') as f:
                                 data = marshal.dumps(code)
                                 f.write(data)