We Ski Walkthrough Version 1.0 Copyright 2008 Sean Arentz ================================ Intro ================================ After having beaten We Ski into the ground, I wanted to check if I had missed anything, and was dismayed that the internet seemed to lack a comprehensive walkthrough. What the heck, Internet!? Hopefully this document will fill that gap and prove to be of some use to someone. Because We Ski is nonlinear, the main point of this walkthrough is to help you find all of the Star Points (used to unlock equipment) and all of the Photo Shoot locations. I also include a complete list of answers for the Question Kid, just in case your ego can't take missing one more trivia question. I know mine can't. :D ================================ The obligitory legal crap ================================ This here is my work, you should already know that, please treat it as such. Please don't use this document for financial gain without cutting me in, please don't yoink this here work, and if you do, have the decency to say where you got it, etc etc etc blah blah blah we all good? Good. ================================ SPOILER WARNING! ================================ Believe it or not, there is actually some stuff in We Ski which is worth discovering on your own. Part of the joy of the game is exploring with sparkling eyes the abundant and varied resort arranged before us. If you're just picking up the game for the first time, put this guide down, jump in, and get your feet wet. We'll be here when you get back. ================================ Index ================================ 1] General info A] Controls B] Tricks C] Game Modes D] Character and Gear E] Environment 2] Quests A] Orienteering B] Turn Challenge C] Trick Challenge D] Mogul Challenge E] Slalom F] Missing Person G] Perfect Stop H] Ski Rescue I] Lost Item J] Race K] Delivery 3] Ranking A] Rabbit B] Fox C] Deer D] Eagle E] Owl F] Elephant G] Snake H] Wolf I] Lion J] Shark K] Bear L] Camel M] Dolphin 4] Photo Locations A] Golden Flash B] Silver Flash C] Wildlife 5] Question Kid A] Locations B] Questions and Answers ================================ [1] General Info ================================ [1.A] Controls -------------------------------- We Ski is very self documenting, and the in-game tutorials do a great job of telling you everything you need to know. This section is included only as a quick reference. I don't have a balance board, so everything here is written for the Remote/Nunchaku combo. Standing- Use the control stick on the Nunchaku to face the direction you want to go. Skating- Swing both hands down to push forward with the ski poles. This is called skating. If the hill is too steep for skating, you'll sidestep up the hill instead. Snow Plow- Hold the 'C' button on the Nunchaku to go into Snow Plow mode. This will keep your speed down. You can turn by tilting both controllers left or right. Braking- Pull back on the Nunchaku's control stick to brake. Pulling a little brakes a little, pulling a lot brakes a lot. You can do this whether you're doing a snow plow or not. Paralell Turns- While sking, tilt both controllers left or right to turn. Crouching- Tuck the remote and nunchaku up under your arms to crouch. The game is only paying attention to the angle of the controller, not the position, so it's enough to just roll the controllers to the outside so that the bottoms of the controllers are facing eachother. The bottom of the remote is the side with the B button and the battery hatch, and the bottom of the nunchaku is the side opposite from the control stick. Crouching Turns- While crouching, lean left or right to turn (or tilt the controllers...) The game doesn't know if you're right handed or left handed, so if you tilt the controllers more than 90 degrees, it will think the remote's in the other hand, and you're turning the other way. This usually means you eat some wall. Wedeln- Hold the B button on the remote and the Z button on the nunchaku, and aim off the side of the screen. Both hands point the same direction. To do fast wedeln, quickly alternate between pointing left and pointing right. [1.B] Tricks -------------------------------- Ski grab (hold A and B on the remote, OR hold C and Z on the nunchaku) 360 (tap the nunchaku's control stick sideways 1 time) 720 (tap the nunchaku's control stick sideways 2 times) 1080 (tap the nunchaku's control stick sideways 3 times) Kosak (swing both hands down- the same motion as skating) Daffy (swing one hand down and the other hand up, and reverse direction) Spread Eagle (swing both hands outwards to the side) Twister (swing both hands to the side in the same direction) Front flip (swing the nunchaku down and simultaneously press up on the remote's d-pad) Back flip (swing the nunchaku down and simultaneously press down on the remote's d-pad) Side flip (swing the nunchaku down and simultaneously press left (or right) on the remote's d-pad) Rodeo (swing hands down as in Kosak, and simultaneously press up and right (or up and left) on the remote's d-pad) Corkscrew (same as Rodeo, but press down and right (or down and left) instead) Rodeo 1080 (same as Rodeo, but also press the C button on the nunchaku) [1.C] Game Modes -------------------------------- Notice that there are a few game modes- typically, you would play Freestyle. Freestyle- Almost all of the game is spent in Freestyle mode. With few exceptions, this is what you play. Album- This is all about the photo shoot locations you unlock in Freestyle- you can view the pictures you've taken, take new photos from locations you've unlocked, or view a slideshow of all your photos. From here, you can also send photos to the Wii Message Board so you can show them off. Ski Race- A quick way to get into a race, this mode allows you to race in regular Race, Slalom, or Mogul modes. Race and Slalom start the same as the events in Freestyle, but then repeat once at higher difficulty. For example, Race 15 is the same as Race 5 only harder. Registration- Create, change, or delete characters. This mode is somewhatredundant. Ski School- Very detailed instructions on the game's controls; this mode shows you everything from turning your head to performing wedeln, and a whole variety of air tricks. You must do at least some of Ski School or the Rescue mission won't appear in Freestyle (don't ask me why), and there is also a clothing set that can only be unlocked by 100% completion of Ski School, including all the Air Trick lessons. [1.D] Character & Gear -------------------------------- Start by choosing the face and body type of your character, and then get decked out with your favorite gear. You can use Mii's (from the Mii channel) or choose from the pre-made faces and hair styles. Don't worry too much about the choices you make. You can go back and change any of your character settings without losing the Star Points for your skier. Use Mii's- Choose one of the Mii's from the Mii channel. Your Mii will look slightly different to match the art style of We Ski. Personally, I feel more involved in the game if I use a Mii that looks like me. One time I tried using a Mii that looked like Dick Cheney, and it was a disaster. The only downside to using Mii's is that the hair styles and odd faces would interfere with the hats and goggles in game, so if you choose to use a Mii you won't be able to wear hats or goggles. Of course, if you're going to cover up your head, it doesn't matter what your character looks like, right? When you use a Mii, the game will get the body type and name from the Mii data. If you don't have a Mii that you want to use, or if you really want a hat, Mii's aren't the way to go. Don't use Mii's- The built in characters can be either male or female, and either young, teen, parent, or grandparent. Each option has 32 hairstyles, for a total of 256 possible head types. Beyond this, your head type cannot be customized- no changing the face structure or hair color (although sometimes a different age group will have the face/hair/color combo you're looking for). Some hair styles are shaped so that they interfere with hats or goggles- if this is the case, you'll get a warning when you choose your head. Enter the name you wish to be called and choose your body type. Ski Shop- This is where you pick your outfit. Express yourself with your choices and check back here from time to time- the game is all about unlocking new clothing and equipment, and sometimes you'll find something new that you like way better. Roger Ebert once told me, "Fashion is fashion... because it's what fashion dictates." Well I have no idea what that means, but I like to fly around the mountain wearing a knight's helmet, a black penguin costume, and using pink baseball bats as ski poles. Ski clothing and equipment is broken down by category. When you start out the game, only a portion of equipment is available. All items in the game can have their color changed. Once you select the item, use the '+' and '-' buttons on the remote to cycle through four color options. Gear (clothing)- Current Style (12), Retro Style (5), Down (5), T-shirts (5), Parkas (5), Racing Style (5), Cargo (4), Wild Style (5), and Special (9) Skis- Straight (12), Carving (12), Straight Long (4), Carving Short (4), and Special (19) Stocks (ski poles)- Straight (8), Competition (4), Slalom(4), Special (5) Gloves (16) Boots- Normal (12), Special (1) Hat- Cap (5), Special (12) Goggles- (4) Nearly all clothing is unlocked by collecting star points in the Freestyle game mode. There are two exceptions- the Ski Patrol outfit is only unlocked by completing the Ski Rescue mission. Also, the Ski School outfit can only be obtained by completing all Ski School lessons in the Ski School game mode (as opposed to freestyle). You must complete all the lessons, including all the tricks. [1.E] Environment -------------------------------- Happy Ski Resort can be visited at day or night, and the weather will vary from clear to whiteout, although if you have a new skier in your party it will always be daytime with clear weater. There are 13 official courses, and a few unnamed paths. To get around the mountain simply board one of the 9 lifts (by standing within the glowing area and pressing 'A'), and sit back, listen to some music and announcements, and enjoy the view. The snow sparkles just right. You should check it out. I personally like to do calculus homework while I'm on the lift. If you don't have any calculus to do, that's not a problem- you can press 'A' at any time to skip to the top of the lift. If even that's too slow, you can teleport to any node on the map by pressing the '+' button and choosing your destination. It's all up to you. Happy Ski Resort does not have an abominable snowman who chases you down, consumes you, and picks his teeth with his ski poles. That's in that other ski game. ================================ [2] Quests ================================ [2.A] Orienteering -------------------------------- Follow clues to reach 'control points'- this quest is a fun scavenger hunt that will lead you all over the mountain. By the time you complete all 10 control points, you should have seen just about every major part of the mountain. Talk to people with the 'compass' icon. (You can tell the 'compass' icon from the 'information' icon because 'info' goes up and down and 'compass' is slanted.) Here are the locations of all the control points: 1) At the base of the mountain, can be seen from the Happy Ski Resort building 2) Above Fox, there is an unnamed path to the right that connects over to Rabbit. Control point is on this path. 3) Located where Bear merges with Eagle, on the uphill side. He's possible to miss if you ski too quickly. 4) Above L4, uphill from the Sunnyside Cafe. If you follow the left wall out of Lion and down the unnamed path to Eagle, you'll find the control point past the windy ice tunnels before you get to the buildings above Eagle. 5) Ski down Fox to the huge tree in the middle of the course 6) Control point will be under the last jump on Dolphin. He's easy to overshoot, so don't get carried away. 7) Follow the unnamed path to the left out of Lion, and you should find him in the second ice tunnel. 8) Go to the peak of Lion, and instead of going down the hill, turn around. He'll be standing by the sign. 9) At the very end of Deer, just before you get to the cabins, look for a break in the snowbank on the right. You can march up to the control point. (although there's another way to get here)... 10) From the top of Elephant, ski towards the buildings and Lifts 5 and 6, but stay as far to the left as you can. Past the buildings, there is a dead tree that looks like something from a Tim Burton movie- it's unmistakable. You can get behind the tree and through a gap in the fence to find the control point. If you get to deer, you've gone too far. [2.B] Turn Challenge -------------------------------- Complete the requested turns in a specific amount of time. This is the most basic quest, but it's great as a training tool to figure out what the game counts as a turn. This is really handy when you're trying to max out your grade for courses like Camel and Lion, where you really have to pack the turns together for that elusive 'S+'. Here's where to find the turn challenges- 1) Rabbit- Snow Plow Turn 2) Snake- Paralell Turn 3) Eagle- Crouch Turn 4) Lion (She's at the base, not the top)- Wedeln [2.C] Trick Challenge -------------------------------- Always located at the entrance to Dolphin- perform the requested trick. 1) 720 (tap the nunchaku's control stick sideways) 2) Kosak (swing both hands down, the same motion as skating) 3) Daffy (swing one hand down and the other hand up, and reverse direction) 4) Spread Eagle (swing both hands outwards to the side) 5) Twister (swing both hands to the side in the same direction) 6) Front flip (swing the nunchaku down and simultaneously press up on the remote's d-pad) 7) Back flip (swing the nunchaku down and simultaneously press down on the remote's d-pad) 8) Side flip (swing the nunchaku down and simultaneously press left (or right) on the remote's d-pad) 9) Rodeo (swing hands down as in Kosak, and simultaneously press up and right (or up and left) on the remote's d-pad) 10) Corkscrew (same as Rodeo, but press down and right (or down and left) instead) [2.D] Mogul Challenge -------------------------------- Always located at the entrance to Camel- complete a run down the mogul side of Camel with a passing grade. Rembember that your grade for the run will be the lowest of your grades for any individual skill- if you do perfect turns but a lame air trick, you get a lame grade. See the section on perfecting Camel for more tips on this. 1) C 2) B 3) A 4) S 5) S+ [2.E] Slalom -------------------------------- Ski through the poles and cross the finish before the clock runs out. Missing a set of poles will cost you 5 seconds. Although it's tempting to crouch, the slalom is more about control- taking the time to make the turns will usually get you a better score overall. The slalom events are located as follows 1) Rabbit 2) Owl (he's hiding a short distance into the course, on the right just past the gate) 3) Deer 4) Shark 5) Bear 6) Wolf 7) Snake 8) Elephant 9) Owl (again, to the right just past the gate) 10) Bear [2.F] Missing Person -------------------------------- A negligent teacher has lost one of his students during a field trip, and he's going to be held responsible. You must find the person matching the picture during the allowed time. Don't bother memorizing the picture, it stays up during the mission. Although talking to the wrong person will cost you a couple seconds, it's sometimes faster than doing a 'to the boots' comparison. You can use the lift at the bottom of the hill, so if you're overwhelmed just pay attention to the left half of the course, and come back for the right half. The missing person's location varies from game to game, but they'll always stay in the same place when you retry the mission. If you have to give it a retry, be sure to cover new ground. 1) Rabbit- pretty easy 2) Fox- also easy 3) Deer- Deer is so narrow, it's just a matter of time. 4) Bear- It's important to control speed here. Sometimes the person will be on the far outside of the second turn, and it is -very- easy to blow by them without even seeing them. 5) Owl- there's too much ground to cover in one run, and there are a lot of dopplegangers. Don't worry- you can ride the lift during the mission to make another pass. There's plenty of time, so just be methodical. [2.G] Perfect Stop -------------------------------- Stop within the (somewhat huge) circle within the allowed time. Simply pull back on the control stick (on the nunchaku) to stop. The missions are located as follows 1) Rabbit 2) Elephant 3) Snake 4) Lion (he's at the base, not the top) 5) Bear [2.H] Ski Rescue ------------------------------- Talk to the Ski Patrol guy at the top of Owl. Rescue the skiers who have become lodged in the snow. The trick to this is that you must come to a complete stop in order to rescue someone... I know the clock looks menacing, but go slow enough to make sure you don't overshoot anyone. Having to sidestep up the hill takes on the order of 15 to 30 seconds, so be careful not to pass anyone by. You must rescue -all- the skiers. I don't know why, but you must do at least some stuff in Ski School or the rescue mission is unavailable. (Ski School is an alternative mode to Freestyle.) Completing the Rescue mission will unlock the Ski Patrol outfit. [2.I] Lost Item -------------------------------- Help an officious child by gathering all of her missing items. Pick up a required number of items in the allotted time; items will be scattered all over the course. 1) Rabbit 2) Fox 3) Eagle 4) Snake 5) Owl 6) Deer 7) Dolphin 8) Bear 9) Lion (at the base, not the top) 10) Bigfoot [2.J] Race -------------------------------- As you try to beat your opponent to the finish line, you must contemplate which is worse- his ego or his outfit? Tough call! Races start at the following courses, but may finish further downhill. Race #9 covers the whole mountain. 1) Rabbit 2) Eagle 3) Elephant 4) Deer 5) Owl 6) Camel 7) Snake 8) Shark 9) Lion 10) Bear RACING TIPS- Crouch. Stay crouched whenever possible. It pays off. Stay in the 'Fall Line'. If you were to set down a beach ball wherever you're standing, the fall line is where the ball would roll next. Riding the fall line is basically "opening the throttle", and it lets you convert as much potential energy into kinetic energy as fast as possible. More kinetic energy = more fast = more better. Maintain your speed. Doing things like standing up or turning will dissipate energy. Of course, you have to turn, but try to exit the turn with as much energy as possible, especially before long flat stretches. Taking the inside of a turn cuts distance and effectively shortens the track. If all else fails, cheat to win. It's the last and best resort. :D [2.K] Delivery -------------------------------- Hey you there! Help the restaurant owner by delivering food and other supplies to people all around the mountain. Deliveries always start from one of two spots; all the odd numbered deliveries start at Pepper Grill (located between the entrances of Wolf and Shark), and all the even numbered deliveries start at Sunnyside (located just above the start of Eagle). The restaurant owner will always suggest a route, but other routes are usually possible (and sometimes better). Watching the hint will let you see the delivery point, and that makes it easier to spot during the run. 1) Pepper- Follow Snake. Delivery is amongst the buildings at the bottom of Snake. (Or, you could ride Lift 7 to Bear.) 2) Sunnyside- Delivery point is near the big tree on Fox. Skate over to the top of Elephant, and ride Elephant to Fox. 3) Pepper- Delivery to the snow plow near Lift 2. Take L7 to Bear. 4) Sunnyside- Take the delivery to the cottage partway down Wolf. Ride Rabbit to the bottom of the hill, then take Lift 1 to Wolf (Or ride Eagle to Lift 8, then race down the smooth lefthand side of Camel to Wolf) 5) Pepper- Delivery on Deer. Take Sharkskin to Lift 3, switch to Lift 6, and proceed down Deer. (It's a close shave, but it's also possible to take Lift 7 to the unnamed path that connects Lion and Eaglesight, and then past the tops of Elephant and Owl to the gate of Deer. This is a sensation somewhat like flying out of an exploding death star.) 6) Sunnyside- Ride down Eagle to Lift 8, and then take Camel to Dolphin. (Remember to use the smooth chute to the left instead of going over the moguls.) 7) Pepper- Delivery is on the path between Elephant and Rabbit. Take Lift 7, then go down the unnamed path to the left that connects Lion to Eagle. Proceed past Eagle, and ski down Elephant. At the end of Elephant, take the pathway to the right (instead of going down Fox), and you'll find the delivery point before you get to Rabbit. (Or, take Shark to the bottom of the hill, and board Lift 3. You can skate from Lift 3 to the delivery point. Or even cooler, take Lift 7, and ski down Bear. Keep your momentum, and you'll be able to push yourself up the unnamed path to make the delivery from the other side.) As an interesting note, We Ski is rated "E" warns of an alcohol reference. After this mission, the girl mentions that she would like some red wine. That's enough for the ESRB, who, apparently, is always on duty. 8) Sunnyside- Take Eagle down to Lift 8, and take Lift 8 to Camel. The delivery will be on the smooth chute down the left side of Camel, not the part with the moguls. 9) Pepper- Delivery is next to the bottom of Lift 6 partway down Owl. Take Shark to Lift 3, transfer to Lift 6, and go down Owl to the delivery point. (Or just take Shark to Lift 3, and skate around Lift 6 do the delivery point which is like 20 feet away...) 10) Sunnyside- Delivery is at the peak of Lion. Ride Eagle down to Lift 8, then transfer to Lift 9. Don't go down Lion. Turn around and skate behind the lift to the observatory with the bell. ================================ [3] Ranking ================================ Nearly half of your star points will come from getting a good rank on each course. You'll be graded on a certain set of criteria for each course, and the rank for your overall run will be the lowest rank of any individual criteria. In other words, if I'm graded on Time, Speed, and Turns, and I fly down the hill in a crouch without turning, my grades will be- Time S+, Speed S+, Turns D, and my overall grade for the run will be D. To get an S+, your run has to be flawless and well rounded. From worst to best, here are all the grades- D C B A S S+ Maybe 'S' stands for Superior? One way or another, it's how they kick it in Japan. Every rank above D counts for a star point, so going from D to S+ can earn you 5 points in one run! The game keeps track of your your all-time best run, so you only need to make a perfect run once. Here are all the possible criteria: Time- Like saying, "You took 90 seconds", this is your 'stopwatch' time for the run. You're allowed a certain amount of time to complete the course, and if you take too long you get graded down on time. It is possible to finish with bad time but good speed: fly to the bottom of the hill and then take a nap like Aesop's Hare. Speed- Like saying, "Your top speed was 50 mph", this is your 'spedometer' value for the run. If you use the brakes too much, it can affect your speed score, even if you reach a good top speed later. It is possible to get a good time but a bad speed: proceed smoothly and moderately to the finish like Aesop's Tortoise. Turning- How many turns did you do? Courses have a certain quota of turns that must be completed, and doing too few will affect your Turning score. Wedeln is a great way to add a lot of turns very quickly. Balance- How many times did you crash? If you fall down or need to regain your balance, that will impact your balance score. On strict courses, even bumping into something so that you lift up a ski can impact your balance. You can also lose balance by slamming into the ground too hard after a jump, like during your first run down Lion. Stay off of the walls and maintain control for a good balance score. And keep alert. By being on the hill, you're under constant idiot attack from the hailstorm of bad skiers peppering the slopes. Do they even try to steer? Eventually, you can learn to predict where the other skiers are about to swerve, and keep yourself clear. Those who are about to ski, we salute you. Tricks- You know those jumps with the red arrows painted on them? Use them. Courses with these jumps expect you to do a certain amount of air tricks, either by quantity or by quality. The more time you spend in the air, the more tricks you should do. This guide has a brief summary of tricks under the 'controls' section, or you can visit the ski school to learn more. Note that you can only do tricks on the 'red arrow' jumps- if you catch air on a regular hill, it doesn't let you into 'trick mode'. I think this is so that you don't wipe out every time you do the 'kosak' motion trying to skate somewhere. Not all courses grade on all criteria. Here's what you have to worry about, and some tips for each course: [3.A] Rabbit -------------------------------- Time, Speed, Turning, Balance, Tricks Rabbit is the most basic course, meant as practice for beginners. The requirements aren't very strict here, so you should be able to earn your S+ as long as you remember to take the jump and do some tricks. The jump on Rabbit is to the far left side. Rabbit will take you to the bottom of the hill. [3.B] Fox -------------------------------- Time, Speed, Turning, Balance Fox is very simple, and is known for the large tree in the middle. This course should be pretty easy, and as long as you avoid the other skiers and that huge tree (Yikes!) you should do fine. If you do find yourself about to eat some pine, remember to make a wish. Fox will take you to the bottom of the hill. [3.C] Deer -------------------------------- Time, Speed, Turning, Balance, Tricks A long forest course down the back side of the mountain. They call Deer a beginner course, but I don't believe them. Getting a perfect score here requires a nice smoky Colombian blend of turning and crouching, and there's also a jump on the last part of the hill that you must use for your Tricks score. More importantly, the idiot attack here is worse than anywhere else on the resort. These people have no sense of self preservation, so look out. It's a long run, and a lot can go wrong. If you had the mountain to yourself it would be much easier. Deer is long enough to get you all the way to the bottom of the hill. [3.D] Eagle -------------------------------- Time, Speed, Turning, Balance, Tricks Eagle is easily recognized because it's the only hill to have slalom poles set as a permanent feature, in addition to two jumps. To get your S+ here, forget the slalom and just do your turns and jumps. Eagle merges with Bear about halfway through, and feeds into Rabbit. The slope of the course flattens out near Lift 8 and makes it seem like the run is over, but you're actually not done until you get to Rabbit. Don't get sloppy! [3.E] Owl -------------------------------- Time, Speed, Turning, Balance, Tricks Personally, this is my favorite hill. It's a wide course sprinkled with trees, and it's steep enough to get some decent speed going. The first jump can get you -huge- air. It's located about 1/3 of the way down the hill on the far left wall. The second jump is a smaller one smack in the middle of a clearing in the center of the course. If you catch the first jump, you'll land pretty close to the second. Owl opens into Elephant on the right side near Lift 6, and if you cross over you won't earn a grade for the run. From Owl you can ski to the bottom of the hill. It also feeds into the Lift 6 area, where you can also reach Fox and the unnamed path to Rabbit. [3.F] Elephant -------------------------------- Time, Speed, Turning, Balance, Tricks A good intermediate course, with a few 'island' obstacles and gradual turns. There is a jump located near the 3rd island, just to the right of the post for the ski lift. If you hit it full speed, you will catch some serious air. Elephant ends in the Lift 6 area, where you can go left to the bottom half of Owl, forward down Fox, or if you go right you can take the unnamed path to Rabbit. [3.G] Snake -------------------------------- Time, Speed, Turning, Balance Snake is a simple course of intermediate difficulty, featuring moderate slopes and a few very steep turns. If you try to crouch through the turns without braking, you will eat delicious wall. If you pay attention to doing enough turns, you should be able to get your S+ here pretty easily. Snake feeds into Rabbit. [3.H] Wolf -------------------------------- Time, Speed, Turning, Balance A pretty and natural course with fresh powder snow like in a Calvin and Hobbes landscape. If you take your time to get your turns in, you should be able to get an S+ no problem. Near the final turns on this course, you can talk to Pork and Pony who have something tricky to tell you. Wolf merges with Dolphin, and ends at the bottom of the hill. [3.I] Lion -------------------------------- Time, Speed, Turning, Balance, Tricks Lion's pretty tough. There's a lot going on here, and between the ledges, the moguls, and the overall steep slope it will take a lot of skill and focus to get down the hill with a perfect score. To get the turns, you'll need to do wedeln pretty much the entire time. Don't forget that you can brake while doing wedeln. Making your wedeln form as clean as possible lets you go quickly over the moguls, which you'll need for time and speed. The trick needs to be something like a Rodeo 1080. I suggest starting slowly enough that you can get all the turns in, and keeping your turn score high, gradually go faster and faster until you achieve a good enough speed. (See 'Camel' for more tips on moguls.) From Lion, you can ski to the left past the windy ice tunnels to Eagle, forward to Bear, or right to Camel. [3.J] Shark -------------------------------- Time, Speed, Balance, Tricks Found on the shady side of the mountain, Shark stays frozen over with ice. Fortunately, you're not expected to perform any turns. To get your perfect score, you must hit the ramp on the left side of the course, and perform a series of high level tricks. To get the speed fast enough you have to stay crouched nearly the entire time and make a minimum of turns. Shark is very wide, so staying to the inside of turns will help cut the distance and get your speed scores. Shark goes directly to the bottom of the hill. [3.K] Bear -------------------------------- Time, Speed, Balance Bear is extremely steep, so find out how fast your skis can go before bursting into flames! You're not graded on turns here, so just concentrate on keeping as much kinetic energy as possible. Staying crouched is important, but because Bear is pretty wide it really helps to take the inside of the turns. Bear merges with Eagle, and feeds into Rabbit. [3.L] Camel -------------------------------- Time, Speed, Turning, Balance, Tricks There are two sides to camel, separated by a wall. On the left is a straight chute down the hill, which is handy if you're in a hurry. However, to get a good score, you'll have to take the moguls and the jumps on the right. This course is built on the fundamental skill of wedeln, so make sure your wedeln is as solid as possible. The faster you can do wedeln, the faster you can do moguls. What you want to see is your body go in a straight line while your legs do all of the swerving and shock absorbing. You want to go between the bumps, not over them. If you pick a bad path down the moguls, if your wedeln is too shallow, or if you're going too fast, you'll quickly lose balance. Do the 'Turn Challenge' on wedeln to make sure all your turns are steep enough to count towards your turn quota. After each mogul patch is a jump, and you'll have to do an expert trick on every jump to get a good enough score. During the jump, you'll pick up some speed... If you need, you can steer in midair to help bleed off a little of that speed before the next mogul patch, or give it just a touch of break before the next mogul patch. At the bottom of Camel, you can ski into Snake, Shark, Wolf, or Dolphin. [3.M] Dolphin -------------------------------- Balance, Tricks The 'Air Tricks' course. It's all about jumping here. You won't be graded on speed, time, or turning, so just concentrate on landing all of your tricks and avoiding the other skiers. Dolphin merges with Wolf, and ends at the bottom of the hill. [3.N] Bigfoot -------------------------------- Time, Speed, Turning, Balance If you haven't found this course on your own yet, yes there is a hidden course. I really think you should try to find it on your own; the Orienteering mission will help. No? Okay. Start from the top of Elephant. There will be buildings nearby. Start skating towards Deer and Owl, but stay as far left as possible. Just past the buildings there will be a dead tree that reminds you of Halloween- you'll know it when you see it. There's also a subtle little Yeti Crossing sign. Behind the tree, there's a break in the fence. That's the entrance to Bigfoot. Screw Lion, bigfoot is the hardest course in the game. It's narrow and icy, like my first girlfriend. To get a perfect run, you'll have to concentrate on different things at different times. I'll break it down by section. Entrance- This is the narrow snowy part right at the beginning. You can use a little wedeln here to get your turn count up and keep your speed down. The path will open up a bit right at the top of the frozen river. Use the brakes to keep yourself off of the walls, and line up for the river. Frozen River 1- This is the narrow zig zag before the river becomes really steep. For this part, just concentrate on staying off of the walls. Use the brakes to keep your speed under control, but don't come to a complete stop or your grade for speed will suffer. Notice that there are patches of snow covering the ice- you get better grip in the snow, so use this to your advantage. Once you hit a wall you'll ricochet like a pinball, and your balance score gets totally shot. This part's really tricky. Don't get frustrated. Frozen River 2- Once the river gets really steep, you should be able to see the arch leading into the basin. During this entire steep stretch, you shouldn't touch the brakes at all. Depending on your position, it's almost a straight shot all the way through to the arch- at worst just a little swerve- and you may be able to crouch on your way through. Basin- Past the arch is the big snowy basin with all the trees. Navigating the trees at high speed is for jedis only. Instead, go around the rim to the left, using wedeln to fill up your turn quota. You'll build up a ton of speed through this part, and that's okay. Just line yourself up to fly through the cave. Cave- It's so beautiful in here! There's a fork inside the cave- if you go left, you'll go through a dinosaur fossil; turn right and you'll go through the ice stalagmites past the Yeti's living room. Those stalagmites and stalactites are solid. Hit one with your head to see some stalag-rights and stalag-lefts! What I'm trying to say here is that the safest way through the cave is to go left through the fossil. You can stay crouched for most of the cave, but you'll need to stand up to make the turn into the fossil's mouth. Just try to stay off of the walls. Getting this one perfect will take some practice. I suggest going slowly enough to keep a perfect balance score, and then gradually go faster until your time gets better as well. If you can make it through the river OK, you should have a good run. Stay relaxed, and keep everything nice and smooth. Inchy squinchy! ================================ [4] Photo locations ================================ There are three things that unlock photo shoot locations- having your picture taken by one of the Flash brothers, finding a wildlife animal, or completing the full series of one of the quests. The Flash brothers have 5 locations each which are different during night or day (for a total of 20 spots), and there are 5 animals to find. All of the quests are detailed above. Once you have done all of a person's quests, you get a commemorative photo location with that person. [4.A] "Golden Flash" Stanley -------------------------------- During the day, Golden Flash will be in one of these 5 locations- 1) Near the entrance to Fox 2) Partway down Eagle, on the left (by the red and blue slalom flags) 3) Partway down Dolphin 4) Partway down Lion, on the right side 5) Partway down Bigfoot Canyon (on the left by the fossil) At night, you can find him in these places- 1) Partway down Rabbit, near the Yeti sculpture 2) Partway down Owl 3) Partway down Wolf, near the torches 4) Near the end of Bear (it's easier to find him if you go slowly) 5) Near the end of Snake [4.B] "Silver Flash" Stanley -------------------------------- Same deal as Golden Flash. Day- 1) At the base of the hill near the bottom of Lift 3 2) Partway down Wolf, standing near the guard rail on the left 3) Uphill from the top of Eagle Sight, below the windy tunnels 4) At the top of Rabbit 5) Near the first obstacle in Elephant Night- 1) At the top of Rabbit 2) Near the entrance of Fox 3) Partway down Deer, near the torches 4) Near the bottom of Lift 1 5) Inside Bigfoot Canyon near the dinosaur [4.C] Wildlife -------------------------------- Get the animal photographs by talking to the Wildlife Guy and then talking to the animal. If you don't speak to the guy, the animals won't appear. This is similar to Orienteering, and you can take as long as you like between talking to the Nature Specialist and finding the animal. Here are the places that The Guy will appear in order, and the locations of the respective animals- 1) Near the entrance of Elephant. The foxes will be partway down Wolf near the cabins on the left. Take your time and watch for a gap in the lefthand snow bank. 2) Near the entrance of Camel. The deer will be on the Deer course (go figure). They're located past the big tree and the snowplows, near the cabins on the right. 3) Near the bottom of Lift 3, at the base of the hill. The monkeys will be above Lion- instead of skiing down the hill, go to the observation point to your left (The place with the shiny bell... Go ahead and ring it... No one will EVER know...) 4) Near the bottom of Lift 7. The bear will be uphill from Pepper Grill, which at the top of Eaglesight. From the bottom of Lion, head to your left down the path that leads to Eagle and Elephant. Once you pass the windy ice tunnels, but before you get to Eaglesight, the bear will be on the far left. 5) A short way down Rabbit. The Yeti is in Bigfoot Canyon, down the right branch of the cave near the ice stalactites. ================================ [5] Question Kid: ================================ The Question Kid is full of mystery. Why is his head so big? Does he just have a really poofy afro, or is his head swolen from so much knowlege? He appears randomly in one of 10 locations across the mountain, and seems to change location whenever you complete any quest. You get 1 Star Point each for the first ten questions you answer correctly; any answers after that are just for fun. You won't see repeats of questions you've answered correctly unless you change skiers or you have made it through the full list of 65 questions. Please note, the questions below may be somewhat paraphrased, but the answers are exact. I double checked. >.< Because the Question Kid appears randomly, I suggest answering a question every time you see him as you're going about your business. If you need to find him in a hurry, I suggest warping around the mountain by using the '+' button. With the exception of only 2 locations, QK can always be seen when you warp to the right location. If you don't have line of sight directly, you will be able to spot him right after you warp while the camera is swooping into place. The questions below are alphabetized by answer. This is more useful than it sounds. ^__^ [5.A] Locations -------------------------------- 1) Dolphin- just past the entrance, near the first lamp post on the left 2) Wolf- standing at the entrance under the gateway 3) Rabbit- standing at the right-hand post of the gateway 4) Eaglesight- standing near the fence by Pepper Grill, uphill from Eagle 5) Deer- hiding behind the manager of Deer 6) Owl- just inside the entrance of Owl, on the right 7) Elephant- Really closer to Owl, standing by the top of Lift 6 8) Base- at the base of the mountain near that one guy in the mascot outfit Cannot be seen during warp: 9) Lion- Above Lion near the observatory bell 10) Bigfoot- on the left fork in the cave, near the dinosaur skeleton ================================ [5.B] All 65 Questions ================================ How many degrees is Absolute Zero in Farenheit? -459.67 What percentage of Earth's water is in the form of snow or ice? 2 percent According to the rules of snowball fights, how many people are on each team? 7 What is the sum of all the lift numbers? 45 For how many years has the manager of Camel been skiing moguls? 55 years What is the total length of all named courses? 42970 ft How many people visit the Happy Ski Resort every year? 3 Million Which quality does not belong to owls? A Nose as good as a dog's Which of the following is not a winter sport? Alpine slide Which rabbit in Japan is in danger of extinction? Amami Rabbit Shark Bay is in which country? Australia Which doesn't belong in the Ursidae classification? Badger You want to have a snowball fight but the snow won't pack into a ball Because the snow has low humidity Which is not adjacent to Ophiuchus? Capricorn What is the scientific classifaction of foxes? Carnivora Vulpes Which animal is not used in a course name? Cat Aurora was the goddess of what? Dawn Where is the annual World Santa Claus congress held? Denmark What is the name of the phenomenon where sunlight makes ice crystals sparkle? Diamond Dust In which event do skiers produce the most speed? Downhill The Manager of Sharksin has a problem with what? Dry Skin Which of the following is the name of a hotel at Happy Ski Resort? East Tower Hotel In ski terminology, what do you call the direction a ball would roll? Fall Line A camel's hump contains what? Fat When it's February in Austria, what month is it in Australia? February After leaving Lift 1, which area cannot be reached without using another lift? Fox Way Where was the first Winter Olympics held? France Which freezes easier, fresh or salt water? Fresh water Which of the following does not fall from the sky? Frost Which is not the name of a restaurant at the Happy Ski Resort? Fujiyama Pflugbogen, stem, and wedeln are all words from what language? German Which country had the most gold medals during the 2006 Turin Olympics? Germany What is the name of this ski resort? Happy Ski Resort What do you call a temporary house made of ice? Igloo What happens when 1 liter of water turns to ice? Its volume becomes more than 1 liter Which soup is from Japan? Miso Which mountain is the smallest? Mont Blanc The manager of Lion likes to spend his time off doing what? Mountain climbing Which of the following previous Winter Olympics host cities is farthest south? Nagano Which event gives the champion the title 'king of ski'? Nordic Combined Which is not one of the photographer's nicknames? Pearl Flash Which animals hibernate? Polar Bears Which is not used in ski boots? Polyolefin Which type of animal has antlers on both males and females? Reindeer Which country does not have an eagle on their flag? Republic of Equador Of the great kings of England, who was called Lionheart? Richard I What is the name of the lodge behind Lift 2? Russian Blue Which geometric pattern can never be seen in in a snowflake? Septagon Which of the following is not a type of freestyle skiing? Ski jump Which lines of latitude can expect to see snow? Snowfall can occour on the equator as well Water is liquid, ice is solid, but what's snow? Solid Which has land mass? South pole Saint Bernards are from which country? Switzerland From which reason does Bear Claw get its name? The rocks at the entrance of the course Why are there bent poles? They are easy to hold while crouching Which of the following is not a quality of elephants? They can fly using their ears as wings Which is heavier- 100 lbs of rain or 100 lbs of snow? They weigh the same The Manager of Rabbit wants what? To buy a summer house in Dubai Which dolphin lives in the Amazon River? Tucuxi Dolphin What do you call areas of low precipitation where permafrost thrives? Tundra Where will the 2010 Winter olympics be held? Vancouver (Canada) Which of the following is applied to skiis to improve manuverability? Wax What is the name of the ski shop at Happy Ski Resort? White Snow What's it called when you can't see due to snowstorm or fog? Whiteout Which is not the child of Leto and a twin god? Zeus