It is quite practical to ski in very cold weather. You don't really need to pick them up that much, if at all. You just don't get nearly much much glide. I wouldn't say they are any more work than snowshoes. These days there is a wide range of ski/boot combinations available. Everything from skinny racing gear, to telemark gear, to alpine touring gear. There are also various kinds of overboots that add warmth. There have been several Anchorage guys who have done some very serious winter trips in the Brooks Range on touring skis. Amundsen used skis on the first successfull expidition to the South Pole, and that has been repeated by other parties in recent years. I've met one of the members of the 1993 Antarctic Women’s Expedition, who skied to the South Pole.

Snow shoes are also a great tool, and as you note, they do have the advantage of working with almost any kind of boot. I mostly use skis, but I also have a couple of kinds of snowshoes. Snowshoes are nice and compact. That makes them handy in thick brushy terrain, or to carry as emergency gear on snowmobiles. I mostly use my snowshoes for SAR stuff, since they are less hassle to take on a helicopter.

Skis...snowshoes....whatever works for you is a good choice, in my opinion.