When I wrote that I would attempt to rekindle some lost passion for skiing by exploring new locations, it was written with deliberate intention. Not some whimsical spur of the moment New Year’s resolution, so easy imagined yet more easily neglected.

Following through takes effort and often involves disconcerting action in direct contrast with normal habits. It involves deliberate and mindful mental recalibration. Creating a moment in which we allow ourselves to engage in something different and novel. And allowing ourselves to enjoy it for what it is rather than fighting against it, resistant to changing hard ingrained habits. It’s easier to make excuses than take the ride.

Mount Snow is was the furthest distance from home and most southern destination on my list. Driving south to ski is normally reserved exclusively for Magic Mountain powder days. Yet I found my car pointed south down I-91 on dry pavement and passing by the normal Magic exit. List aside, I had no other plans today and Mount Snow was one of the few ski areas not on holiday black out for vouchers. Reports of good bumps and warm spring-skiing-like weather solidified my decision.

Initial impressions of Mount Show fulfilled my preconceptions perfectly: sprawling condos, massive over flow parking lots, condo bound buses, significant quantity of people, and a huge flat main face of mountain serviced by a pair of high speed quads. Despite my early arrival and predicted “light” holiday weekend traffic due to New Year’s Day, the base area was swarming with bodies. Designed for efficiency and traffic, the base area funneled me through its frenzy as I got ticketed, bag checked, and booted up.

This was all expected though not quite to the actual degree. Then the unexpected started happening. And aside from my first conveyor belt loading experience (on a high speed quad no less, what is the point?), the unexpected was overwhelming positive. After blasting a quick warm up run down lifeline (complete with mini-seeded bumps), I returned to the summit and dropped into Sunbrook where I found a marvelous bump trail complete with its own double chair. But the real delights began after I stashed a mid-layer at the summit lodge and found the North Face.

The North Face is the antithesis of everything unseen from the other side of the ridge. No base area craziness, no high speed lifts, no conveyor belts, no wide trails lacking character. Just a pair of fixed grip triples servicing a marvelous trail pod of steeper trails generally half as wide as anything on the Main Face with turns and character. This trail pod is only one thousand vertical feet and serves up some fine terrain despite the diminutive statistic.

Bumps on Fallen Timbers were soft and mellow with plenty of quality lines interspersed with occasional flatter sections. Plummet was a steeper affair with widely spaced irregular bumps up top that gave way to more consistent lines and more reasonably sized bumps down low. But my heart was won by Ripcord which lulls the skier into a false sense of security before dropping off one of the steepest pitches offered by an in bounds trail in the east. I can not think of any other in bounds trail in New England that creates the visual of a Lip on approach prior to plunging away. Invariably, an audience of passing sliders forms at the bottom of the run to watch skiers and riders either bounce or tumble down the bumps.

While Ripcord did not require it, I delighted in launching jump turns off the bumps and catching as much air as possible while the trail fell away below my feet. My first time yielded my favorite line of the day which I was unable to replicate despite multiple tries. An Ambassador who watched my first run exclaimed “you made that look easy!” To which I could only reply, in my coy yet egotistical style, that “it was easy!” It’s the style that is difficult and takes the extra effort. But it also adds extra enjoyment.

After lunch at the summit lodge, I continued to hammer Ripcord but never had a repeat of that first exquisite run. My legs are not yet accustomed to bumps and jump turns this season. After a dozen days, my stamina is still lagging behind my desires. Many Ripcord runs later, I decided to call it a day due to fatigue.

My visit to Mount Snow was well timed. Crown control was excellent due to the New Year’s Day effect. My longest wait was no more than two or three minutes and I generally skied right up to the gate more times than not. The warm weather allowed for soft bumps. And my vouchers were blacked out at every other mountain that I might have cared to visit. Unfortunately, not all of Mount Snow’s trails were open including many trails and trees in the North Face area. But I was able to take a solid measure of the mountain and won’t feel cheated if I never return. Which will probably be the case.