Pebbles,
The Poconos Mountain Regions and the resort in Pennsylvania are a few of those spectacular places that you will someday have to check out. They have everything there from bed and breakfast, lodgings with heart-shaped jacuzzis, hiking trails, alpine skiing, breath-taking waterfalls, and a gazillion other point of interests and things to do that I do not have time to go into right now. But in a nutshell, it's a beautiful place to "decompress" and also a very popular site for honeymooners (very romantic). People rent cabins for the winter. You can set up your own condo I suppose if you have the $$$. However, I recommend you don't ski anytime soon because you'll certainly need those knee caps (and all those important connective tissues) intact for med. school and residency. I recommend in the meantime you take up snowboarding, bungy jumping, or sky diving..hehe just kidding!)
I had no idea you can get skis at those quotes (are you sure they aren't used?). Did you buy a pair and how long were they?
A good ski jacket can cost around $500, but people wear it on a daily basis now when the weather gets cold outside (it's becoming a fashion statement everywhere). Those high quality materials can last forever.
Be good now, c'ya later.
