First and foremost, a bad day of skiing is better than...
That being said, the local ABQ skisandia resort was test-run by me today. It was 1:15 faster drive than skisantafe, and a bit cheaper. While the specs on the resort (lifts, runs, acreage, elevation change) matches others, it has no personality and is almost complete ice.
After two runs, I was pretty mad. Mostly b.c of I knew how nice the other options were.
SO, rather than burn in frustration at the pitiful conditions, I turned my skis in and signed up for snowboard lessons. And while I fell more in 3 hours than I have in the previous 15 years of skiing, I had a good time, really challenged myself, and learned a little bit.
The lessons came with a free tongue piercing, which I thought was a nice touch.