Tree skiing at local hills?

[billski]

I don't think you've really minimized the numbers of yahoos up north either. I would think you'd have a great proportion of vacation-only skiers who seek out those areas as vacation spots, only ski a few days a year, likely are on rental or archaic equipment, and feel they can ski better than they really can. I don't think it's a regional thing as far as the concentration of yahoos -vs- experienced skiers goes. So why are the glades then safer at "real" resorts versus local hills, then? Wouldn't there be a greater potential for injury at a mountain with more vert and is generally steeper?

And Greg is right.

So here we'll disagree. Local areas have tons of parents dropping off their precious yahoos to ski uncontrollably increase the numbers precipitously. Show-off behavior with your peers is huge.

Going north, you're most likely in the tutelage of parents or responsible adults, are spending a lot more money, and are more often on a multi-day "vacation". You're generally not skiing with your friends.

Northern areas are starting to map out some visible glades (barely passing for glades sometimes) close to the trail, lots of bailouts and seemingly maintained.

I learned to ski too late in life to be a Yahoo. I seemed to have a very bad habit of skiing in control from the very start. :-?