im just basing it off my friend, he bought a sled for 2 grand, its not amazing or anything, but we have used it in pretty damn deep snow with no problems. he hasnt had any big problems, most everything you can fix by yourself.
but how much does it cost to fill up a sled? it cant be that bad, and its got to get great gas mileage. and if you can afford gas to drive to a ski area, its usually the same amount of gas to get to a good bc area. plus a little for the sled and thats it.
obviously a sled is gonna cost a little extra. but if you can afford to ski, you can most likely afford a sled.