I love skiing and snowmobiling in the winter. I'm 18, and while I never had one as a kid, my uncle always had a few. I didnt ride any at all last winter, crapppy snow, but the winter before that he taught me how to ride. Fun is what they are!! He rides Polaris, nothing new, but they run. He has an '88 500 (his), an early '90s 250(13 yr old), and an early 90's 440 (16 yr old). I rode his old 500, and let me tell you, it took all I was worth to steer the dang thing!! Heather's (my 16 yr old cuz) 440 was down for the time with a broken ski, but I rode the 250 around the yard for wuite some time. BTW he had a little track set up with whoops (bout 2ft deep) and a couple bigger jumps (3-4 ft). That little thing was soo much fun. The only thing small about it was really the motor. But I ran the track with the 5000 and the most you could go was about 40 mph. That little 250 skipped the whoops and landed the jumps fine!! I was impressed all the way. It was very light, but I personally would have needed something bigger. Now on the other hand, my friend Aryn's bf had one. He was a Ski-Doo 700 or something crazy like that. Well, she took it out to ride with a couple of other friends, who have similar sleds, and ended up rolling it on a hill, from grabbing too much throttle, her leg got pinned underneath one of the ski's. She is extremely lucky that she wasnt alone, and that she didnt break her leg. She's about 5' and 100lbs soaking wet. She had a bruise on her shin with some kind of fluid in it for quite a while, at least a month i know. But if you have ever seen a snow-cross race (which is all the rage in upstate ny when motocross is done) you will see that the mid-size snowmobiles are plenty for most anybody, and the new suspension and technology on those things are amazing!! Its a great thing to try and if you love riding dirtbikes and four wheelers then you'll love riding snowmobiles. Give it a try, you'll love it!! I was actaully planning on going to the adriondacks for college, before I moved to PA, and getting one. Money is the biggest thing that holds me back. If you got some $, go have some fun!!