For skiing, do ask 小鱼民. Maybe he can take you skiing with them. Also there's 老姜 in northern Michigan who knows about skiing, but I don't know his proper ID here at wenxuecity.
If your friend want to see snow, go north and enjoy. :) When I was living in Los Angeles, one winter I flew to Quebec just to see snow. To see snow is different from to live with snow 5 months of the year.