Editor’s Note: Deciding how to experience a day on the hill can be as simple as skiing familiar terrain or as thrilling as seeking hidden stashes of untracked powder. What you do is based on who you are, where you ski, and what you want to accomplish. I have a friend content with skiing the same green run after run. She thoroughly enjoys it. Others like to get out early, iron the corduroy and go home. There are soooo many ways to enjoy the mountain. If you have an opinion on the subject, please send an email. It may be included in an upcoming issue.

For the first exploration of the subject, I asked SeniorsSkiing contributor Pat McCloskey for his opinion. Pat is a PSIA III instructor and has worked with blind skiers for more than three decades.

Let’s start with smaller areas like we have here in Western Pennsylvania and Western New York. Moving from slope to slope or trail to trail regularly can be an effective way to maximize the satisfaction out of a place with short vertical drop. For these areas, I’ll use a ski with a tighter turning radius to make as many turns as I can.

Different tactics come into play for larger resorts. The first one is to get there early to beat the crowds. This is true everywhere you ski. Usually, the best grooming is available in the morning; certainly, that’s when to find the best powder. If the slopes aren’t crowded, I’ll rip some big GS turns.

Tolerating limited poor conditions may help you find excellent skiing and zero lift lines. A few weeks ago, at Deer Valley, the lifts servicing black diamonds seemed less crowded. The reason? Entry to those slopes was pretty icy, causing people to avoid a second run. The rest of the terrain was in excellent condition. That was my green light to keep skiing there.

Skiing at lunchtime is another tactic when lift lines dramatically disappear. And there are fewer skiers on Sundays when people tend to leave early for home.

On a powder day, I notice that people hunt the fresh and avoid already tracked snow. Using wider powder skis let’s you enjoy both untracked and tracked.

When skiing with my wife, I check the area’s grooming report. I see where the most recent grooming has occurred, and we head there. She thanks me for the recon.