Reading through this thread it reminds me of a friend, especially the comments urging you to ski the terrain you want to. For the purpose of the story, we’ll call my friend Jane.
Jane is an intermediate skier, she started skiing just a few years ago. Jane has some technique to refine, and many skills to still learn, but her enthusiasm for the sport keeps pushing her forward. Jane’s boyfriend and friends love to ski in the trees. They try to get off groomers as much as possible. Unless a very easy, mellow tree run, Jane takes the groomer down and meets us at the bottom. That was until last year, when Jane got “dipped”.
By definition, “dipped” is a term we coined for pushing your boundaries, getting out of your comfort zone and coming out better for it.
The term started when Jane got dipped. We were at Jay Peak with 8 feet of fresh snow (that is not an exaggeration, Jay got 8 feet in two weeks last March). Naturally most of the people we were with wanted to hit a little side-country. “The Dip” at Jay is part of that side country. Maybe it was FOMO, maybe it was the irresistible fluffy white snow, or just something deep inside of Jane that made her want to come along. The snow deeper than she had ever been in, the trees were tighter, and there was no bail out. She struggled. A lot. I was convinced she and her boyfriend would not be a couple much longer. Boy was I wrong.
The following weekend, back at the home mountain, Jane decided to try some trees, then some more trees, then more. Her confidence went up 10 fold, she realized she’s not the skier she thought she was. She so much better than that.
Take this story however you want to. It could be a tale of a foolish girl that overterrained herself. Or it can be an inspiration to test your boundaries and come out on the other side with a lesson of where those boundaries really reside.
@SallyCat However you decide to move forward, it’s up to you, and I wish you the best in figuring that out. Maybe get a fat bike, and pick up winter biking? I mean, you can’t let all those warm clothes you’ve acquired for skiing go to waste.