it depends what you consider mainstream, while many americans cannot afford to go snowboarding, many people also consider it mainstream, at least in the aspect that everyone knows what it is, i think that when people are talking about freeskiing going mainstream, they are talking about it reaching the current popularity level of snowboarding. it is clear that the prohibitive costs mean that freeskiing isn't going to be america's next "national passtime" but that doesn't mean it can't be somewhat mainstream. also tickets to pretty much all major league sporting events cost a similar amount as a day pass, proving that if the interest is there, americans are willing to spend large amounts of money that may not come easy in order to enjoy themselves.