Mt. Snow might have the best selection of novice terrain of any ski area in Vermont. It's got a terrific teaching arena in near the base area completely out of the flow of other skier traffic and serviced by count 'em three lifts ranging from 500 to 2,100 feet. As you master the shorty (the Mixing Bowl double), you graduate up in length, still staying pretty much out of the main skier flow. A separate base lodge here the Sundance lodge pretty much devoted to novice skiers and kids (though, like Carinthia, only open on weekends and holidays). This was the way learning to ski was meant to happen: starting easy, progressing gradually through longer, more challenging terrain, not intimidated by better skiers.

It doesn't end there. Once you've mastered the Sundance teaching arena, you can move over toward the Carinthia area, where longer, though not much steeper, terrain awaits. The Fairway double chair also services almost exclusively novice and lower-intermediate skiing, so that the only time better skiers ride it is for transportation back to the main mountain. And once you've mastered Fairway, take a ride to the Carinthia summit and try either Long John or Deer Run, two easy meanders through the woods.

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Actually, you can ski either Long John or Deer Run from the summit, but if you're still working up your skiing confidence, I'd recommend against it. There are a lot more skiers and a lot more trail intersections that make the summit confusing. Making a wrong turn onto something you don't want to be on is easy. So if you're looking for something more challenging, I'd suggest working your way all the way over to the other side of the mountain the best way is to take the Switchback traverse that leads from the top of the Fairway double to Snowdance. Yes, it's a blue-rated run and a bit steeper, but it's so wide that you can easily traverse out of trouble.