I understand where you're coming from. I grew up in Iowa skiing on "200 ft. mountains" too. In junior high, it seemed like EVERYONE was big into skiing or (even more so) snowboarding. tons of kids seemed to be getting really good really fast. I remember thinking, "wow, I'm really far behind" because I was just trying my first 360's when I was in 8th grade in 2003. "I'll never catch up to these kids." so many of my peers seemed like they were much better and had been into the sport for longer.
as the years passed, through high school, those kids started dropping like flies. Other sports or commitments came up, and they stopped skiing or snowboarding on the regular. years later still, in college, I'd see even fewer of my old friends and classmates on the hill. moving away for college stopped even a lot of the "core" kids from participating in the sport they once loved.
looking back as I graduated college, life events put a permanent end to the passion for some. an unexpected kid, a job with NASA; people's priorities change.
after college, I moved west and never looked back. Funny though, I've recently reconnected with a classmate from junior high, and we shred Keystone together all the time, just like the old days.
