Free Market Mambo posted:

Diff'rent skis for diff'rent needs. On windblown snow/ice fields a pair of skinny skis will make life nice, and in powdery woods, something a bit wider and shorter will let you get around. There's huge variation in ski design of indigenous peoples for this very reason.

Last night for exercise I went around a local ski track in a waxless mountain cross country set-up with plastic boots and was disheartened by how slowly I moved compared to other skiiers, but in ungroomed snow or varying conditions, I would have had a big advantage.