A vast majority of women stuck at the intermediate level who say 'I don't like to go fast' or 'I only like to ski blues and easy blacks' actually have the skills to both ski faster and try steeper terrain. However, their usually too-short and too-soft women's intermediate skis hardly inspire confidence at either, so they're stuck there because of their equipment, not because of their abilities.
This fits me totally. Two years ago I was on slalom skis that chattered wildly when I was trying to keep up with "the boyz," who were blasting their way down hard snow slopes in the east. I did it, but kept wondering if it was my technique that caused the chattering, or their skis were chattering too but they just didn't care. I really was skiing with barely a grip at very high speeds, and just assumed I didn't know how to handle it properly. I suspect anyone else experiencing the same would have chosen not to follow these guys. I was on Volkl "Pink Stars" at 154 in length. The turn radius was 12.5 meters.
Then I bought some used Atomics, R-11s, with titanium inside, 160 in length, and a turn radius of 16 meters. "The boyz" said I'd never be able to bend those skis and advised me not to buy them. Did it anyway. Well. Once on these skis, I could keep up with the guys and there was no chatter any more. I felt like I was in total control.
This change certainly wasn't due to any sudden increase in my skills. The skis, with a turn radius of 16, were made to make large turns while blasting down at mach speed. The Volkls at 12.5 were made to keep doing fast little turns, which is the slow way down. When I did those big turns, those slalom skis just couldn't handle the hard snow underfoot. I've come to the conclusion that turn radius is a very important but mostly hidden factor in a ski's performance, and wish shop salespersons would explain it as they talk with buyers.
Also, the titanium (instead of foam) provided more "dampness" when the snow was really hard, so there's another reason the skis didn't chatter. And the length too probably contributed to their performance. So a change in skis certainly can make a very big difference.
By the way, I was on these Atomics last week in 6" of real snow on top of groomed hard stuff. I was doing very short fast turns, zippering my way down the trails, and they were carving! I was bending those shovels a lot, and could feel it. I could not do that last year. So my conclusion -- new skis and lead to new skills, too!