Snowman's Big Head

"Hey! Who's there? What's climbing on me? Is it an ice ant? A snow flea? Whatever it is, it's bugging me! I think I'll blow it away!"

- Snowman

Snowman's Big Head is the first mission of Snowman's Land in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS. The mission's objective is to climb to the top of the mountain in the center.

Layout
The player needs to make their way around the mountain, crossing the freezing pond and avoiding getting knocked into it by the sliding slopes. Once on the mountain and at the ice bridge, the player needs to wait for the penguin to get close enough for the player to safely stand next to it. The penguin will then slowly make its way across the bridge, but it moves fast, slowly, and even backwards. Mario must therefore pay attention to the penguin's movements in order to safely get across the bridge. It is also possible to jump onto the penguin's head. If the player steps onto the ice bridge itself, the mountain will begin blowing air, which will knock the player back down to the start and make them lose their cap. By using the penguin to safely cross the ice bridge, the player can climb to the top of the mountain and collect the Power Star.

In the DS remake, the penguin is slightly smaller, but it is still possible to jump and stay on the penguin's head. If the player cannot do that, they should instead stand on the side of the penguin (the opposite side in which the snowman blows). However, Luigi can backward-somersault over the ice bridge, Yoshi can flutter-jump over it, and Mario can triple-jump and then dive over it. Wario can use his metal ability and be fired from the cannon at the beginning of the level to walk through the wind.

Another way to collect the Star is to utilize the cannon. In Super Mario 64 DS, Hoot can also be used to collect the Star if another mission is selected.