Mark, I live in the east. Skiing on ice and crud is the norm. Unless there's fresh snow, all the cats do is track up the melt, which refreezes overnight., then breaks into pieces during the day. The locals call that skiing the death biscuits. When I come west to ski, it's like being in heaven. I only ski trees out west in the powder. I agree risks are less today, mostly due to better training and equipment. Helmets were unknown when I learned to ski. The parabolics offer so much better control than the straight boards you and I learned on.
wdl