realskiers

How profound "figure out how to ski in varying conditions" and "focus on technique" turned out to be today!!
 
Just got back from a day trip. New skis werent ready so I ended up  having to demo what was available (K2 Photons).
 
Looking forward to 4-6" of new snow. First run (untracked moderate blue) had me licking my chops. Started good with light powder.
 
Then...mid run turned to wind swept with a slight crust over 6"...lower part, wind groomed 1" over hard pack. Worst part, I didnt recognize the transitions until too late. Result was two pretty sporty wrecks on the first run of the day. First one stung... second one smarted....and perhaps set the stage. 
 
Moved to another part of the hill out of the wind, sticking to mechanical groomed and worked on "technique" mostly just trying to find a feel for center. Got by but was still a bit out of sorts.
 
Sun came out and began to make the snow on other ungroomed tracked and heavy. After a time, I tried some of those but leg fatigue cut that short and drove me back to groomed. 
 
Couldn't even speculate about the demo ski's performance as mine was pretty much poo. Tough day, 0 confidence...never did really get it together.
 
Good dose of reality, corroborating your comments LP.