Unless you want to warm-up on intermediate cruisers, avoid the gondola and head for the Glacier Express quad chairlift. The Men's Downhill trail, named after  the World Cup race hosted here every November, will get your blood (and adrenaline) flowing. It's also the same route used for the World Cup ladies' downhill. Then take the Top of the World 6-pack and drop into the Back Bowls. On a powder day, locals do laps by heading to the Paradise triple chair--the only lift serving the backside--then dropping on the front side to the Summit Platter. Look for fun stuff in the trees on Upshoots, Overshoot, and Shoot Out on your way to the platter. The Summit Platter is a Poma lift that on windswept or icy days can become an expert challenge all by itself. The Platter used to be a T-bar until the folks at Lake Louise decided the steep grade demanded concentration, not conversation.

From the top of the platter, head to Boomerang Bowl and don't skip Brown Shirt, far out off Hector Ridge. The resort's steepest chutes, The Ultimate Steeps, are also off this lift and should only be attempted by experienced skiers and riders (those who aren't will likely be scared off by the drop from the top). Helmets are recommended.

Mineshaft and its neighbors under Eagle Ridge, accessed off the Paradise Chair, are also a huge challenge, with cornice-capped chutes.

For bumps, try the single-black diamonds under the Ptarmigan Chair.

From the top of the Larch Chair, some powder hounds hike the 8,900-foot summit to leave tracks down Elevator Shaft, between two rock outcroppings. The chute is within the ski area boundaries. Try Rock Garden in the Larch area, a hidden playground of loops, swoops, moguls and Cadillac-sized rocks. There's great tree skiing on Lookout Chutes and Tower 12.

On the Front Face, don't miss Meadowlark and Wapta, reached by the Eagle Chair; or Homerun and Gully, reached from Top of the World. The Front Face has a good web of intermediate trails served by Olympic, Glacier and Friendly Giant.

Lore holds that intermediates shouldn't take the Summit surface lift. Believe it. Although there are greens, blues and blacks down from every lift, riding this platter lift is a long, steep, white knuckle experience, even for veterans. Instead, ride from the front side base to the backside blue-friendly Larch area heaven via the new Grizzzly Express gondola. Ski the Larch chair runs from skier's left or right.

There are also some great Front Face drops down Skyline to Sunset Terrace and then back to the lifts. Either the Olympic chair or Glacier Express quad will get you to the Top of the World chair where you can cruise back down the front face or hop over to the back side bowls and the Larch area. Boomerang is a fun cruiser that seems to go on forever. If the weather is socked in, however, skip Boomerang since the flat light and/or fog make visibillty dicey.

The Larch Area has the best intermediate skiing, accessed by a high-speed quad. Wolverine, Larch and Bobcat are all long cruisers. Lynx has a black-diamond moniker, but can be handled by most adventurous intermediates. There are also some trees you can dip in and out of here.

Those with a little experience can ride the Friendly Giant or Glacier quad chairs and head down Wiwaxy, a 2.5-mile cruiser. Next step is Eagle Chair to try Deer Run and Eagle Meadows.

If you're getting pretty confident and would like to try the Back Bowls, ride the Eagle Chair and take Pika down the back. You also can descend from the Top of the World chair on Saddleback, a cat track that can be a bit intimidating, especially if the snow's iffy. Definitely don't try Saddleback on a low-visibility day.There are no trees to guide you, and you must negotiate a couple of narrow spots. Beginners have a couple of nice runs in the Larch Area, Marmot and Lookout.

First-timers enrolled in lessons will start on the Sunny T-Bar, which serves an excellent beginner area separated from the rest of the runs so there's no danger from zooming skiers or riders.