Originally Posted by
MightyThor
I'm like Bubba's mom - more outdoor activities! Although cost is not as much a limiting factor as time. I live in an outdoor paradise and could pick up pretty much any outdoor sport I wanted, so I try to limit it to a few that I really enjoy. I tried mountain biking last year and really enjoyed it, until I looked up the demo bike I was riding and found out it was $8000. So that plan went out the door.
I always said i'd never downhill ski since I didn't want to pay that kind of money to be in the mountains. After all, hiking/snowshoeing/etc is practically free! But my local mountain has such a great beginner (adult) program that I signed up this year. I thought that $200 was a great investment to see if I even would enjoy it. It included 5 days of lessons and lift tickets plus rentals. And once you 'graduate' you get a 12 day pass to use the rest of this season. What a deal! Turns out I really like it and am totally hooked. Oops. In fact, I'm taking today off of work to head up to the mountain and try some demo skis. It snowed 10" last night. So now another ~$1000 of ski gear, next year's season pass (another ~$1000 per season), and other costs.