I now live in the Black Hills of SoDak going to school out here and became an instructor...we are officially part of the Rockies sector so we get clinicians from CO, MT, WY,WA, and other places...they told me that they are always amazed at how well midwest skiers ski....they can't believe the quality of our low-end instructors and it just tickles them to death....we decided that the reasoning is that we don't have all of the fun stuff to play on, so all we have are drills and perfecting our form, technique, and turns....So guys and gals...maybe it's not so bad to start in the mid-west...