Wow 16k+ steps on the side of a mountain?!? That is legit!
We used to go skiing in the Quebec mountains which are not huge, but definitely big enough to be challenging to ski. When I moved to the west part of this province, I did the same thing and switched to snowboarding because the runs were too short and boring. Sure made for some fantastic wipeouts with that strange edge.
Hope today is a little less perilously but equally as fun.