Now it's time to take a run down some of last night's fresh snow. It isn't a lot. You do realize that you won't be sinking up to your neck today, but even a little bit of fresh powder can make for a good time. Especially since you're heading down some of the more challenging terrain the mountain has to offer.

You do little skating over to the top of the trail you want to take.

As you push from one foot to the other, though you don't notice it, the image of the pair you worked to catch up to is starting to fade from your mind. Sure, skiing, snowboarding, and any other snow sports one could do on the mountain can be a social event, but not right now. Right now, it's all about the next run.

You make your way to the trailhead, which lays out a few runs before you. Though you could stop right here and think over which way would be the best to go, you decide almost immediately that you're just going straight from here and right down the north face of the mountain.

Well, maybe not straight down. Though that is the direction you have decided to take, one really shouldn't pass up a view like this. It's a wicked nice day out and the valley and other mountains across the region are all well within view. The world is laid out for you to enjoy.

As you marvel over the view, a smile starts to turn at the edge of your lips, the memory of the pair you left to head to this side of the mountain is gone, and you look down towards the trail you are about to tackle. Your smile only gets bigger as you take a breath and even bigger as you push off. 

One pole to the other, one foot to the other, your knees flexing with every turn as you start to feel your way through the snow more than seeing. It's a very centering moment as all thoughts drift away and the mind and body become one with the mountain, allowing you to navigate the terrain under your feet. 

It's almost silent, or perhaps that's just your perception of the run. Yes, the is some sound the comes from beneath your feet as you move through the snow, but it's a barely audible swish that you pay no attention to. There is also a slight wind sound coming across your ears. You're moving a good clip, not racer fast, but fast enough to get the blood pumping. Though there is no wind, so the sound remains slight and dependant on your own movement. If you were to stop, the sound would go away.

You aren't going to stop, though. You continue down the trail, enjoying every moment, every turn, and even that little bit of sound. You enjoy feeling the bounce in your knees and hips as you move down the mountain. You even enjoy the sight of the blurred trees on the side of the trail out of the corner of your eye. No, there is no reason to stop now.

Except, that the powers that be, luck, or just an act of whatever has decided that you are going to come to a stop.

Nothing will bring a person back to Earth from such a consciousness-raising moment like tumbling into the snow and down the trail they were just gliding down.

It wasn't a bad tumble. Though you don't stop right away, you do stop, which is lucky since you're on a steep part of the trail. It seems that it isn't so steep that you'll tumble all the way to the bottom. 

As you sit up, the thought of the old saying, "If you're not falling, then you're not trying." comes to mind, which puts that smile right back on your face. That and the thought of what you must look like with powder snow now covering your whole upper body, including your face.

You start to laugh out loud a bit as you wipe your face and begin to stand up to dust yourself off. You even look around and realize that you are still alone on this side of the mountain, so there were no witnesses, but you wouldn't have cared if there were.

"Embrace the biff," you say, just loud enough to notice.

You also realize something else. Though you have skied this trail several times before, it looks as if there is a little side trail that you never noticed. But then, it isn't the most obvious side trail. 

There are trees covering the trailhead, but as you look into the woods just past them, you can see an obvious trail. The trees open up too uniformly for that to be natural.

You wonder for a second how you've never noticed this little side trail before, but realized it's because you've probably never stopped right here before. It's likely nobody has, except for those that know this little trail is here. 

You decide to walk up to the trailhead to investigate a little bit more. You step past the set of trees covering the trailhead and confirm that this is cut and not natural. It's not very wide, but wide enough to get down. You also notice that this secret trail heads off away from the main trail and goes far enough where you can't tell where the end might be.

"Hmm...I wonder who put this here and where it goes?"

So, with that question in mind, you stand and think about it for a few minutes.

You could just say the heck with it and head off down the trail were on. Why waste time with something that could be nothing when you could be getting runs? Besides, you could always ask around when you get back to a lift.

You could also just head down the trail. It's a secret trail, so it could hide some secret things. It could also be a shortcut or a cut-through or something like that. In any case, it could make for an adventure you hadn't planned on.

You could also split the difference, sit down, get a bottle of water from your bag, and wait for someone else to come down the mountain. If it's a patroller, instructor, or any other employee, you could ask them or you would at least have someone else to ponder the trail with you.