<HTML>BTW, For down hill skiing, since it does need some special skill and also for safety, it's better to take some training before you go alone, if you are the beginer for down hill ski, take the course first, there are many ski club offer the training right now, such as Camp Fortune. On the other hand, the facility for down hill and cross country are different, for cross country, it's not expensive, it doesn't matter to buy your own stuffes, but for down hill, rent the facility first, especillay for the beginer, make sure you like this sport and also the ski for beginer and senior are different, so rent first and then buy your own ski and boot later.</HTML>