Got to get home and ski. One of my most-favorite things to do. My kids are now 20 and 17. We only get to ski once, maybe twice a year because there are no ski areas close to home. We go back to my home area to ski, a 12-hour drive. This is the first year I noticed the kids ski without thinking about skiing. They were thinking about turning and reading the snow without knowing they were doing it. That is when you know you've got it down. Glad to see it finally happen for them.
Video links to come once I get them on You Tube.

Not much skiing going on around here this winter. I guess the downhill resorts are making snow, but I don't downhill, cross country only.
We've had green grass and no standing snow for all but a few days this winter.
I travel through Minnesota and Wisconsin and a few other midwest states quite a bit, and I haven't seen much snow there either.

I have skied (did I spell skied right?) only once. It was on Mt. St. Charles just outside of Las Vegas. We had gone to Vegas the week between Christmas and New Years; we rented a car and drove to the top of St. Charles. There is a ski resort there and there was good snow. It is in the top five of the most fun things I have ever done in my life. This was at least twenty years ago, I have not tried it again since, to tell you the truth, the Mountain was quite intimidating. There was no beginners slope only the black flag slope was open that day. Even so, after 30 minutes on the bunny slope I thought I was Jean Claude Kilea and went to the top to try to ski down. It took me 3 hours to get down the side of that mountain. I plowed my way down as I never could get the hang of it. finally down to the bottom, I was exhausted and embarrased, but it was still a blast and very very fun. I gonna have try it again soon while I still have a little athletisism left in me.

Last year was the first time I skied with my kids, and was able to enjoy the run. I didn't have to worry if they could make it down the hill and not get hurt, or fall so many time they'd get frustrated. It was one of those "this makes it all worth while" moments. Now it's mostly see you at the bottom, as the vanish down the diamond, while cruse the greens.

I enjoy skiing down hill but this year has been fairly snowless in southern New England. They can make snow but they can't make winter and I enjoy moving through the winter landscape (snow-scape). To find a real winter wonderland I'd have to drive 4-5 hours (8-10 RT) to northern Vermont. I'm unwilling to drive that much when I'm equally content to ride the bike. I have a season pass at a resort that is not seeing much use. I'm hoping for one good snow storm before the season ends.

This is the worst ski season in the NE I can remember. Glad I was able to get to Whistler for a week. Even broke down and bought new skis and boots this year. That probably jinxed things.

I'm still on my Dynastar 63s. Best ski I have ever been on. Newer skis are good but nothing turns like this ski. There is virtually no limit to it's ability to carve and hold an edge on anything. The newer ones I've been on are easier to initiate a turn but lose their hold when pushed hard. But it takes a lot of energy to ski the 63 and it's not the best in fluff . But the only time I see real fluff is out west and even then it's not always available. When out west I will rent/demo skis for the day's conditions. I don't take the 63s out west nor pay to take them on a plane. Plenty of good skis to rent nowadays.

One of my regrets was not getting my kids into skiing. It just never happened that we took any ski vacations. I used to love it but totally gave it up when kids started happening. I'm actually leaving in 1 week to go skiing (Deer Valley, Park City, Utah) with some neighbor guys. Will be my first time on skis in 25 years. I hear they are now wide and short. Any tips for the new skis?

Tips: Trust a local shop to give you what you need. New skis are, in a word....AWESOME! Anything you use will feel great. Try some demo skis. There are so many different shapes and trends right now that it's very hard to give a recommendation on any but suffice it to say anything you use will feel great in comparison to 25 years ago.
It will be like going from a first generation aluminum bike to a modern carbon bike and maybe more of a difference. Maybe like going from a Huffy to a Cannondale Super Six. That big of a difference. I used to ski 205cm skis and am now on 165-170cm skis and feel like I have more ski under me.
Turn initiation is off the chart with these and the hold on hard snow/ice is out of this world. Conditions will be the deciding factor on the ski however. Allow a knowledgeable ski shop put you what they think you need. It's a LOT like trusting a good bike shop. But beware the high-volume rental places and seasonal high school/ college staffers that know little/nothing

+1
The overall length of parabolic skis is shorter, but the edge length is similar to what you used to use. It makes it easier to iniatate a turn, but when the ski flexes, you still have plenty of edge to carve with. Don't ask for a size that you have used before, you'll think the ski they give you is too short, it isn't.
I've taken up xc sking the past few years, it's great to not have to go up on the lift, or deal with other people, etc. And it's a great compliment to cycling. But you need winter, which we haven't had.

Yup. They will look dreadfully short. Don't let that bother you. Maybe the only drawback to them is going straight. You will feel(at first) them wanting to go back and forth(side to side) instead of going straight. That will be disconcerting at first. That sensation will go away pretty quickly.
After you get used to them try this: Keep them about a foot apart, maybe a bit more(actually you can go a lot more), and turn with both skis edges(one edge per ski). You will be amazed at the turning once you get used to doing that. It used to be you carved with one ski and now you can do it with both.
My skis are a bit of a throw back. The middle of my skis are only 63mm(extremely narrow) and outlawed for racing. Now they are like 75-90 on most skis. They seem to be getting wider and wider and wider lately. But that isn't a bad thing.

Here in Boyne Country the skiing is great! Though with little natural snow overall they have been cranking it out every night and have a great base for a good long season well into the warm weather.....whenever that gets here.

One of my skiing internet friends from northern Vermont, last week shaved his beard off as a sacrifice to the snow gods and, by golly, it seems to have worked. Last week northern New England had a nice snow dump and this week the snow fall is in southern New England. My stuff is packed up, skis are waxed and I'm hitting the road to the ski area before the sun id up. I'm actually sort of giddy.

For those who are clueless about skiing.

Here is a link to an explanation of skiing terms.

https://teamcoco.com/video/kevin-nealon-racist-slopes

Ski sizes - tire sizes both can generate a lot of buzz.

At least on ski lift rides you don't need to pedal up-hill and you get to tell/hear a lot of lies.

Funny stuff. Be careful on those slopes.
I always wanted to put a sign on the restrooms at ski slopes that says: "Prepare to unload".