cross-country skiing is not that bad.

Ride in the middle of the run to avoid the trees! Falling on hard pack is an excellent way to jolt yourself awake ;) In any event, carving at high speed keeps your body pretty close to the snow.

Was high speed carving a couple of years ago. Blew a turn and rag dolled. Broke 2 vertebrae in my neck and two in my back. Fractured the back of my skull. Speed + impact can get intense.

What I like about snowboarding is it feels fast, even when you're going not-that-fast (at least in my case). I once had a friend video me coming down the hill, and when I watched the video, I thought: wow, I thought I was going much faster than that!

Ouch! Personally I try to keep speeds to the 40s now. Worst thing I ever did was start using those run tracking apps which conveniently also give you your speed. Got in a competition with a friend on the other coast and was regularly hitting 55+ on runs that a wipe out could easily end in the trees. What stopped me was when a late teen girl did just that and died going at far slower speeds.

(sorry the late reply, been away)

Both are far more forgiving than skateboarding, even given the speeds you're sometimes wiping out at.

You just sort of bounce down the slope, and it hardly even scuffs up your snow gear.

Wipe out at a quick on a skateboard - the pavement has no give, and you're not all bundled up because it's summer. You're getting road rash, minimum, maybe some more serious damage to bones, head, etc.

Rollerblades, not quite as bad. They aren't constantly trying to run away from you. Similar failure mode though.