Pearson: Nothing beats the start of a new year

Another postcard day at Bretton Woods, a gem of the Mount Washington Valley (Omni Mount Washington Resort)

Are you ready for another ski season? I know I am. I can feel it.

What are your goals for the year?

Are you hoping to get on skis or a board for the first time? Maybe you’ve been skiing for a few years and are considering taking a lesson to help show you what it takes to be a better skier, especially on a surface that isn’t corduroy. Do it.

Do you have a set number of days you want to be out on snow — 10, 25, 50, even 100? Make it a realistic number and go for it.

Maybe your goal is to ski somewhere new. Stretch your dollar further in Canada, see what the Rockies or Alps are like or maybe somewhere on your multi-mountain pass that you would never think to go to if it wasn’t grouped together. You don’t know what you’re missing until you try it.

The same can be said for that trail at your home mountain that you always find a reason to skip despite going up to the edge. Maybe it looks a little skied off, or the light is flat. Get after it sooner rather than later.

As for mine? I don’t know yet. I certainly want to be on snow as much I can, but I want them to be quality days and not simply going over to the mountain simply to check the box. I do know I want to see as many places this region (and beyond) has to offer.

But after seeing the first snowfall, the snowmaking tests and Ski Ward being the first mountain in the country to open for a second year in a row, it’s time to think about what we want to get out of the sport for the next six months — and what we are willing to put into it.

Being outside and inhaling that first Arctic blast of cold air always will wake you up. It’s a rush.

Skiing can get you away from the hustle and bustle of life for a couple hours, or a weekend away from work, or a chance to clear the head. Snow country can be a place to seal deals or chase the kids down the mountain and enjoy the company of family and friends. It’s what you make of it.

Most definitely pull your kid from school for a powder day or a long weekend now and then.

Something to keep in mind as we return to the ski areas: We’re all there to enjoy ourselves. Music selected by the lifties, good. Music working its way through the lift line, up the chair and down the trails by some rando, bad. That phone call? It can wait until you can find a spot on the side of the trail by yourself.

That table in the lodge is not a private cabana or a place to put boot bags. Slide in, even more so if you aren’t skiing. The easier it is to find seats, the less congested it is in the lodge and the faster we’re back on the hill.

Despite coming from different places in our lives, we came to the same mountain, on the same day to do the same thing, whether on one plank or two. We all want to enjoy the mountain and what it has to offer. Let’s be mindful of that. A little self-awareness goes a long way.

Take a minute to take in the view at the top, get first chair and look back at your arcs knifing through corduroy and enjoy cutting through the trees.

We have big plans for this winter, so let’s go have fun and make it the best run, day, weekend, vacation, season ever.

(Keith Pearson is the editor of the New England Ski Journal. He can be reached at [email protected])