Most Difficult, Least Difficult

One thing I enjoy about visiting different ski areas is seeing how the mountain management does things. Usually they observe the same practices, but sometimes you’ll see something different.

I’m used to seeing signs in Aspen/Snowmass that say “Easiest Way Down.” That makes sense; you don’t want a beginning snowboarder or skier to plunge down a steep blue if he is still working on the basics.

But when I was at Loon Mountain, New Hampshire, I saw something different. Some signs said “More difficult.” Some read “Most difficult way.”

Maybe it’s a way to boost the egos of intermediates? It doesn’t matter much, I suppose, and it serves a similar purpose to the “Easiest Way Down” signs. It helps beginners to know where to go, though unlike the case with Aspen, indirectly.