Skiing again....and I love it.

I'm back after a brief holiday hiatus, which included a 3 day skiing forray in Vermont (Stratton, to be exact). I haven't skied in ~5 years, but I was happily surprised to discover that I haven't lost "da skilz". Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly an "expert"...I've skied the occasional triple diamond trail and a few "out of bounds" trails in Colorado, but this was done in a very "non-aggressive manner" (i.e. I pizza'd quite a bit of this trails, and left the french fries at home). However, when I hit the slopes this past week, I felt great...my turns were sharp, my legs didn't burn...it was a blast! It made me wonder why I haven't skiied in so long! Anyway, while I was up there, I had a few thoughts:

1. I love my non-elliptical, circa 94', straight skiis (Fischer Spectras...yes, old and crappy, but I love them) and my crappy KoFlach boots (yes, I've never heard of them before either). They are 195's, and it appears that NO ONE skiis anything larger than 170 these days due to the shaped-ski craze. My brother's rentals were at least 8-10 inches shorter. It's actually pretty cool, cause now I have no problem finding my skiis after lunch...just head for the longest pair on the rack. And my boots have NEVER hurt my feet...why change, right?
   
2. NEVER go skiing on a weekend which coincides with school winter vacation. Holy crowded zoo, Batman! I knew it was going to be like this because the main purpose was to get away for the New Years, but criminy, was it packed!!!
3. Snowboarding...ug, I feel old. Forgive the sub-list, but here are a few casual observations:
• Is it impossible to stop without falling down? And why do they feel the need to fall down in the middle of the trail and wait for their buddies? Everytime you go down a trail, there's a pack of boaders' waiting in the middle. I ALWAYS try to stop on the side.
• The youngsters really seem to love it. It seems that anyone between 13 and 25 years of age snowboard these days.
  
• Is facial hair a requirement for snowboarding over the age of 18? Every guy snowboarder has a soul patch or a goatee or doesn't shave at all. What's the deal?
• Yes, sweet trick...that was a great "rail grind"...now try doing it on skiis, Mr. "SlipKnot is the greatest band ever!".
  
4. Skiing is really f'in expensive, huh? The gear, the clothing, the tickets...yikes! No wonder so many people consider it an elitist sport.
   

Anyway, I had a blast, and I'm really looking forward to going again.