Plus, the importance of low-cost ski lessons, an inspiring trash pickup project, the re-opening of one of the world's great backpacking canyons, and lots more
I learned downhill skiing as a kid in the 70s, then did cross-country as a high school sport in the 80s (dating myself!), and my attitude about downhill is: it is fun but REALLY expensive and takes a lot of time and trouble before you actually get to ski (i.e, sure it's fun when you're doing it but getting to the top of the mountain with the right equipment is really a lot of work and time and money...) but cross-country is quiet and great exercise and has a lot of the same joys as hiking... you get to see the territory... Another problem with downhill is that it is super duper easy to really mess up your knees (notice the number of people on crutches around a ski resort)... and then there will be no hiking for months! ;-)
haha - all excellent points! I bought a five-pass for this season and am still determined to give downhill 'the old college try,' but everyone who describes cross-country to me makes it seem like it's much more my vibe.
For someone as outdoorsy and in shape as you I recommend cross-country skiing rather than downhill. Much cheaper and better for you.
This will be the year I try cross-country, definitely! I married into a family of skiers so I need to do something out there.
For now, thankfully, I was able to find decent used downhill gear at a secondhand store, but hello Sticker Shock City on the new stuff!
I learned downhill skiing as a kid in the 70s, then did cross-country as a high school sport in the 80s (dating myself!), and my attitude about downhill is: it is fun but REALLY expensive and takes a lot of time and trouble before you actually get to ski (i.e, sure it's fun when you're doing it but getting to the top of the mountain with the right equipment is really a lot of work and time and money...) but cross-country is quiet and great exercise and has a lot of the same joys as hiking... you get to see the territory... Another problem with downhill is that it is super duper easy to really mess up your knees (notice the number of people on crutches around a ski resort)... and then there will be no hiking for months! ;-)
haha - all excellent points! I bought a five-pass for this season and am still determined to give downhill 'the old college try,' but everyone who describes cross-country to me makes it seem like it's much more my vibe.