Know before you go. On almost any mountain, beginner runs are clearly marked with a GREEN CIRCLE, intermediate runs with a BLUE SQUARE, and advanced runs with a BLACK DIAMOND. Don't head up a lift on a run that is too advanced for you to handle. You will only get yourself or others into a bad situation.
Take yourself out. Take yourself out before taking out someone else. If you know you are heading right towards the five-year-old doing "pizza pie/French fries" at high speeds and you can't turn in time, you should hit the ground before you hit her.
Keep your cool on the chairlift. Should you fall off the chairlift (and you probably will), move. Be sure to scoot or crawl out of the way as quickly as you can so that the person behind you doesn't fall over you (and the chairlift operator doesn't stop it, letting everybody see what a spaz you are).
Don't have tea parties. That means you shouldn't take a break with a group of friends in the middle of a run. Wait until you get to the bottom or into the lodge. If you are helping someone or need to stop for an important reason, move off to the side.
Don't sideslip a line. Sideslipping a line means you go down on your edge and scoot yourself carefully down the run, which wastes all that good powder for a more advanced boarder. If you find yourself in a situation where this is the only way you are going to get down the mountain, stay over to the side. (Don't worry about this on the beginner runs as this is the way you will learn to board, but you shouldn't head up to a more advanced run if the only way you can get down is on one edge.)
Listen up. Wearing earphones while boarding is like wearing them while driving (which is illegal, by the way). If you can't hear someone coming down behind you yelling at you to stay to the right, you could have a big accident on your hands. Leave your iPod at home or keep the volume low enough that you can hear others.
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