The solution: progression parks — a sort of terrain park for dummies. Several large resorts including Keystone and Breckenridge in Colorado and Mammoth in California are adding the easy-does-it snowboarding areas with smaller versions of the pipes, rails and fun boxes boarders love to ride on. Some resorts such as Park City in Utah even are adding lessons in terrain-park use.

• Luxury boards: Now even your snowboard can have a designer flair. New this season from equipment maker Burton is the Burton Dominant, a board upholstered in — get this — a layer of brown leather ($380; (800) 881-3138; burton.com). Luxury purveyor Bogner is selling skis made of eco-sensitive, renewable bamboo ($3,000 a set; available in select ski stores). New this year in the United States is the Royal-Chamonix brand from Skis Lacroix in France. Visitors to Lacroix's Paris showroom can pick from a range of exotic woods and even have diamonds inlaid into the tops (the handmade Signature and Pearl models available in the United States cost $990 and $800, respectively; royalcha monix.com).

• Tree skiing: Big Sky in Montana and Stratton in Vermont are among the latest resorts to cut new "gladed" runs through the trees. Stratton is expanding its tree-skiing area by 30 percent this season with a trail hand-cut by 1976 Olympic medalist Bill Koch. It is unusual in that it has options for beginners, intermediates and experts.

Big Sky adds its 10th gladed run in five years in a prime, midmountain location. "It's an environmentally friendly way to add terrain," Dax Schieffer says, because the new runs didn't require removal of many living trees. "We're clearing up deadfall that would naturally be burned out."

Waterville Valley in New Hampshire is adding Wicked Venture Zones, which have "breakaway" poles that simulate the feeling of skiing between trees without the hazard (hit one and they bend out of your way). In addition, some of the resort's real gladed areas have been widened and groomed, making them more accessible.

• Wider skis: A decade ago, the typical ski was about 65 millimeters (2.5 inches) wide. The waist on this year's ultra-fats: more than 100 millimeters (3.9 inches). The new skis make it even easier for beginners to ski on powder. And expert skiers love them, too, although if you generally stick to groomed trails, you're better off with narrower models. They're also expensive: Volkl's new extra-wide Sanouk skis are $1,000, (800) 264-4579 or volkl.com; Fischer's Big Stix 10.6, $795, (800) 844-7810 or fischerskis.com; and Atomic's Big Daddy, $799, (800) 258-5020 or atomicsnow.com.

• Mountain Yoga: Ski areas are jumping on the yoga bandwagon and signing up yogis to be on call for visitors before or after their day on the slopes.

Among the most elaborate new options is at Snowbird in Utah, which begins a four-night Wild Mountain Yoga program that combines intensive yoga and skiing from trainers who are expert in both. Prices start at $1,285 a person, including lodging, meals, lift tickets and instruction; (800) 453-3000 or snowbird.com.

• New resort: Tamarack, in Idaho, 100 miles north of Boise near the town of Donnelly, opens Wednesday. It will offer 25 runs served by five lifts, including two high-speed detachable quads, and 2,800 feet of vertical descent.

• New technology: Steamboat Springs in northwestern Colorado is making it easier for family and friends to stay in touch on the slopes. Rental wrist radios will allow them to communicate with and track each other by logging in at one of six kiosks in key locations.

• New terrain: Jackson Hole in Wyoming has opened the Crags area, about 200 acres and 1,000 vertical feet of expert terrain above the popular Casper Lift area. Expert skiers will be able to reach the area by hiking 25 to 35 minutes.

• New base village: Kirkwood, Calif., has finished a new $50 million base village.

• Faster lifts: Utah's Alta resort has added a high-speed quad lift that will take skiers all the way to the top in one ride. Mammoth Mountain in California has upgraded a fixed-grip chair to a high-speed, allowing beginners expanded access to starter terrain. Big Sky in Montana has replaced the Southern Comfort fixed-grip with a high-speed, also providing better access for beginners.

• Faster access: Snowriders visiting Beaver Creek, Colo., no longer must ride a bus or drive through the exclusive gated community. The resort has added a high-speed lift that will allow snowriders to access the mountain instead.

• Multiresort tour: Ski Utah, the trade group that represents the state's resorts, is offering an expanded European-style tour of six resorts in one day. The guided tour follows backcountry routes to take snowriders to Deer Valley, Snowbird, Park City, Solitude, Brighton and Alta.