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Yeah, but lets be real, no urban skier just "started hitting urban." Most of those guys skied at mountains for years, and I think at least a few went to ski academies, which certainly isn't cheap.
IMO, the answer is both yes and no. One important factor is location. Location matters a lot. If you live in the midwest or someplace like it, it is cheaper to ski. That's due to the fact that small mountains charge less, and usually located to towns, so you don't necessarily need to commute very far. However if you live someplace like Denver where, (to my knowledge anyway) you pretty much have to drive a good ways to get into the mountains and buy expensive passes, its going to cost more.
Another thing that's interesting about skiing, is that it seems to get "cheaper" as you do it more. Take for example hockey. Hockey is cheap to play with your buds on the local pond, b/c all you need is a pair of skates and a stick. If you want to play in a league, its going to cost a lot. However, if you want to ski for a day, your looking at $50 for rentals, and least $50 for a pass, just for one day of skiing. Now, if you are a college student skiing at least 2 days a week plus winter and spring breaks, you buy whatever equipment you need, and then a membership pass. You're spending a lot more than the joey who is going 5 times a year and renting each time, but once the initial investment is made at the beginning of the year, you can ski day after day without really spending all that on a per day basis. (That initial cost might be spread out over 60 days, making it not in comparison to some other winter sports.)
For example, people who don't ski will gawk at the fact that it costs $50 for a lift ticket at my local hill, plus equipment costs. However, my family gets a family membership, which works out to about $350 a person. Factoring in about, a rough $500 in gear costs per year, It's costing about $850 a year right now. Divided by the 45 (ish) days I most likely get (I don't really keep track) That's only $34 for each day of skiing, which is pretty reasonable for a recreational activity. (People can easily spend that much at the bar each weekend.) However I live in Ontario, and my local hill is a 10-15 minute drive away from my house. If you lived in Denver, you would have to factor in commuting costs, and higher ticket costs, making it more of a "rich sport." Not to mention the fact that if you are driving long distances to a hill, you need to make a day or weekend trip out of it, where in the midwest you can go for a half day after school, or night skiing after work, making it less of a time investment.
This has turned into a long and random rant, I have no idea if any of it makes any sense.
