Anonymous wrote:Water skiing is superior to snow skiing in every metric.

Mountains and hills can vary. Snow can vary. Water is always flat. There are ramps but snow skiing still offers far more variety.

Anonymous wrote:Water skiing is superior to snow skiing in every metric.

I'm the skiing hating swimmer above. Ironically I did grow up water skiing because we were a boating family. I became a competitive swimmer because my mother was scared we'd drown if we fell out of the boat. I learned to swim and just kept training.

Where I grew up you didn't have to be rich to go water skiing - my father made racing boats in his garage. He made my first pair of water skis. Kids raced sailing boats on Saturday mornings, just like they play soccer around here. I imagine water skiing and sailing aren't working class hobbies around here.

I grew up skiing - my dad put me on skis when I was 5 years old and living in Anchorage. There was a small beginners slope at Elmendorf Air Force base and my mom used to take me and brother after school. My dad loved to ski, and as we moved around the world, he always prioritized a ski vacation. We skied every winter and when I was in middle school in upstate NY our school had a ski club. We skied every weekend. Like anything, practice makes you better and I got pretty good. I was really nerdy and was laughed at in gym class because I was really bad at any "normal" sports but skiing was one thing I could do better than almost all of my classmates. I love the adrenaline rush when you're flying down the mountain. I used to be able to ski the most challenging runs on any mountain. Skiing is challenging, is fantastic exercise and you're surrounded by beautiful scenery. With the proper clothing, you can be very comfortable. Yes, its expensive. Living in the DMV, you really can't do day trips. Unfortunately, I rarely ski anymore and when I do, I stick to the beginner and barely intermediate slopes. But I still love it. It brings back so many fond memories of skiing with my dad - he skied until he was 85 years old. Hopefully, I'll still be able to do a run at that age!

Water skiing is superior to snow skiing in every metric.

We took our kids to a ski resort out west, and they are begging to go back again. They said it’s one of their favorite memories. If you are good at it and have the right conditions, it’s fun. As an adult I find it cold and too expensive, but I will go for my kids.

Anonymous wrote:Its easy and free in the old country. It's like going for a walk in winter wonderland, but moving much faster plus the exercise.
The skis and equipment is 100 times better than when I was growing up.
Anyone can make circles in their small village or find trails. Nobody pays for it or travels to trails unless they want mountains.
Same with iceskating as man made rinks, ponds, rivers and lakes are everywhere.The roads are one big icefield.
Golf? Come on. I would have to look for it, drive there and pay.

This is how I feel about horseback riding. Where I grew up, it was convenient and cheap/free. People had backyard horses. It didn't have to be a big deal. Where we live now (DMV) it's not practical because of the travel time and cost.

Also, when I got older I quit riding because I started to focus on the danger. I've never liked skiing (I hate the cold) but I think it's pretty normal to enjoy a rush when you're young and resilient, and then decide as you age that it isn't worth the broken bones.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand it either. It's definitely an aspirational sport. People who do it either are rich or want to appear so. My husband grew up skiing and likes it so he made sure our two kids learned to ski. One likes it as much as DH does and the other one hangs out on the greens with me. If I never ski again its totally fine with me. I've mostly just put up with it to appease DH.

I agree that you are supposed to like it if you're wealthy enough. No one pressures you to like table tennis or open water swimming or hiking, but you are expected to like skiing. I've been to some of the best ski fields in the world and usually seek out the rec center and swimming pool because I really dislike skiing. I'm happier spending $10 to swim than hundreds to be cold, scared and bruised. The rest of my family seems to like skiing.

I'm the same. I've had lots of experiences at resorts that are considered the best, but I'd rather go for a challenging hike. I absolutely think the reason hiking doesn't have the same caché in wealthy circles is that it's so cheap. No granted, I've gone hiking in Switzerland and Peru and Scotland where I've stayed at amazing hotels and spent plenty of money. But since you can also just go hike the Billy Goat trail for free, it's not sufficiently exclusive for a lot of people.

It is funny at the high end resorts how many people don't ski, too. Lots of people there with families or colleagues who just do the lodge and aprés ski activities and never go out on the slopes, or might go for a half day once but that it (because they don't really like it!).

Like people who go on beach vacations and stay at the pool

You lost me at thinking golf is better than skiing. I really can't think of anything more boring than trying to hit a small ball into a hole. Ok maybe watching a baseball game.

Skiing is life!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand it either. It's definitely an aspirational sport. People who do it either are rich or want to appear so. My husband grew up skiing and likes it so he made sure our two kids learned to ski. One likes it as much as DH does and the other one hangs out on the greens with me. If I never ski again its totally fine with me. I've mostly just put up with it to appease DH.

I agree that you are supposed to like it if you're wealthy enough. No one pressures you to like table tennis or open water swimming or hiking, but you are expected to like skiing. I've been to some of the best ski fields in the world and usually seek out the rec center and swimming pool because I really dislike skiing. I'm happier spending $10 to swim than hundreds to be cold, scared and bruised. The rest of my family seems to like skiing.

I'm the same. I've had lots of experiences at resorts that are considered the best, but I'd rather go for a challenging hike. I absolutely think the reason hiking doesn't have the same caché in wealthy circles is that it's so cheap. No granted, I've gone hiking in Switzerland and Peru and Scotland where I've stayed at amazing hotels and spent plenty of money. But since you can also just go hike the Billy Goat trail for free, it's not sufficiently exclusive for a lot of people.

It is funny at the high end resorts how many people don't ski, too. Lots of people there with families or colleagues who just do the lodge and aprés ski activities and never go out on the slopes, or might go for a half day once but that it (because they don't really like it!).

Anonymous wrote:Its easy and free in the old country. It's like going for a walk in winter wonderland, but moving much faster plus the exercise.
The skis and equipment is 100 times better than when I was growing up.
Anyone can make circles in their small village or find trails. Nobody pays for it or travels to trails unless they want mountains.
Same with iceskating as man made rinks, ponds, rivers and lakes are everywhere.The roads are one big icefield.
Golf? Come on. I would have to look for it, drive there and pay.

Which country?

our winter beach vacations ended after skin cancer
so skiing (with sunscreen) has become a cherished family winter break trip

Back in my 30's I had co-workers who would talk about skiing and I too did not get it. I though they were crazy for heading west in the winter to places that were colder than here just to ski. I had done it a few times as a teen and had the same opinion as OP- why do people enjoy being out in the cold and the physical challenge of skiing? Hell no.

Then, too keep up with my kids who wanted to snowboard, I learned to ski as an adult in my early 40s. Now I love skiing, can't imagine not doing it and definitely hope do do it well into my 70s. I love the mental and physical challenge of improving my technique. It has also been pretty cool to show my kids that it's never to late to learn something new.

I learned locally and we take a trip out west every year and it is my favorite week of the year. There is nothing like flying down the mountains. I also love that it is a family activity we can do together.

If you have the right gear you don't even feel the cold and if you ski with good technique it is not as physically taxing.

Thanks for letting us know.

Skiing is a real adrenaline rush, but I quit after one relative died and another was permanently disabled while skiing. It's fun but not worth it to me--kinda like cocaine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do people go out to eat when you can have unsalted unsweetened cold oatmeal at home? Who can know these things

Why would someone living in Tokyo insist on flying to LA for tacos instead of just enjoying great sushi and ramen in Tokyo? That's a more apt comparison to people who spend 10s of thousands on ski trips a couple times a year.

said the lady who has no idea what it's like to ski the Italian Alps