It’s 2025: Do you know where your ski day dreams and goals stand?

I’m not a huge fan of New Year’s resolutions (though I do respect the folks taking up all my gym
space for the first three weeks of January; they mean well). I do ponder Dry January, though I
do it more like a “scattered showers January.”  Resolution time? Eh, not so much.

But I do like a chance to think through some fun goals. The New Year is a change to discover –
or rediscover – fun goals and dreams you have. Big, small, and some place in between, ski
goals can and should be about much more than “working harder to commit to the fall line.”

Ski season goals should be about new discoveries, special moments, tastes of adventure and
most of all, fun. Here’s a draft list for you to pick and choose from, adopt in total or toss aside to
create your own. Checking off even a few of these will make your 2025 season the best ever –
until 2026 that is.

Ski someplace new: It’s nice to have our classic go-to spots. We know the trails, the patterns
and the little secrets of those spots. But new is great too. You need not book an overseas flight
to do this (although that, too, is a nice goal). Rather, pick a close-by spot that you’ve never
considered and head there. Tiny but mighty Blue Hills Ski Area just outside of Boston is an
option. So, too, is Whaleback in New Hampshire, an on-the-way north spot right off the highway.
Sure, you have season passes, but go outside the box and ski a cool little place you’ve never
considered before. You’ll love it.

A skier enjoys a run atVermont’s Mad River Glen as a single chair lift goes by. (Jeb Wallace-Brodeur/Ski Vermont)

Ski someplace old: Go back to that spot you’ve just not gotten back to in a while. For me, this
winter it’s Sugarloaf, Maine, one of the biggest skiing and loveliest peaks in the east that for
some reason, I’ve just been able to get back to. Pick that spot you had that long ago epic day
and head back to create another one.

Ride the single chair: Reading about ski history is cool. What’s even cooler is jumping right
into it. Do that in a singular way via a ski day at Vermont’s Mad River Glen, one of the nation’s
only coop ski area. Mad River is steeped in history, and that centers around its single chair. Put
into operation in 1948 (don’t worry, it was retrofitted to modern standards in 2007), this is one of
only two single chairs operating. It’s cool, fun and Instagram worthy. Plus, the whole area is like
a living museum of skiing.

Be a ski racer: I’m not suggesting you launch yourself down an icy downhill track; that’s not
safe. But racing – true racing – is available to almost every level skier via programs like the
Mountain Dew Challenge and NASTAR.

Just outside of Boston, Wachusett Ski Area in Princeton has been a NASTAR location for more
than 30 years. NASTAR is easy and fun: just show up, pay a small fee and take two timed runs.
You race against the clock and are awarded a place based on a time adjusted via a course
pacesetter time. In other words: even a low intermediate skier can score a gold on a good day.
Racing is also a great way to focus on effective turning, but don’t do it for that reason: do it
because it’s fun to do and even more fun to brag about – or laugh about – at Apres.

NASTAR is offered nationally, with locations listed on their website. You could even upgrade
this one by racing at as many spots as you can this year. Glory awaits.

Jonathan Baldwin skis beneath the single chair at Mad River Glen. (Jeb Wallace-Brodeur/Ski Vermont)

Go European right here at home: Skiing in Europe is magnificent, of course, and that’s about
more than the snow and the scenery. There’s a part of European skiing we Americans don’t
tend to embrace: the cheese, the wine and the absolute glory of an extended ski day meal.

At least one time this season, rather than scarfing down those base lodge chicken fingers or the
crumbly granola bar in your pocket, head to a posh on-mountain spot and lean into that
European practice of long and delicious dining.

I like to ski until about 2 p.m. on a long lunch day and then head for that meal and make my run after it the last of the day.

We’ve got plenty of great spots. The Nest at Saddleback, with its creative fare and wildly cool
James Bond-esque setting, stands out. So does Killington’s K1 Lodge, where you can savor
amazing bites as the chairlifts soar past the huge windows. The Mountain Room at Sunday
River fills the bill, too. Just about every ski area has some kind of special spot for this.

Jay Peak’s Miso Hungry fits the bill in a more rustic way. Ski up to this converted tram car and
order incredible ramen and other delights made with true Japanese technique and local
Vermont products.

Sit outside – no matter the weather – at the giant fire pit next to Miso Hungry and slurp away.
It’s as sublimely slopeside perfect as any cheese plate I’ve savored out there in the ski world.

A skier takes in the scenery from a single chair lift at Mad River Glen. (Jeb Wallace-Brodeur/Ski Vermont)