Question: Frequent skiers, how do you do it?

[segacs]

I'm just curious: I know a lot of Divas on here get 40, 50, even 60+ days on skis per season.

Assuming the average ski season is 4 months long, that's maybe 30 weekend days at the outside. And that's assuming that I were to ski both days every weekend, no days off for bad weather or a social life or any other things in life. More realistically, I can manage about 10 days per season... maybe 12-15 if I get a few weekdays in over Christmas or squeeze a ski trip in there, too.

So, frequent skier Divas, how do you do it?

...Do you have a job that involves working on the ski hill or at a resort (lift operator / mountain guide / instructor / etc.?)

...Are you retired / non-working / self-employed / seasonally employed / otherwise able to ski a lot during the week?

...Do you get lots of holidays / use all your holiday time to ski?

...Something else?

Spill your secrets, frequent Divas!

 

[Serafina]

I'm a college professor, and while I work 60 hour weeks, except for the time I'm actually in front of the class or holding office hours, they're the 60 hours I want them to be. Which means they are not Mondays and Fridays when the lifts are running, and whatever day I can squeeze in between them.

 

[abc]

Assuming the average ski season is 4 months long

I think that assumption is way off!

Even in the northeast, I can stretch it to nearly 5 in about 1/2 of the years. In the west, it's more like 6 or 7 month season!

That said, I don't qualify as a "frequent" skier. I don't ski 50 or 60 days. The most I managed was a little over 40 and it's only 1 year, never repeated (nor intend to repeat). Most years, I do anything between 20-30.

...Do you have a job that involves working on the ski hill or at a resort (lift operator / mountain guide / instructor / etc.?)
...Are you retired / non-working / self-employed / seasonally employed / otherwise able to ski a lot during the week?
...Do you get lots of holidays / use all your holiday time to ski?

None of the above!

I take 1 week off in the winter. That translate to 8-9 days of skiing (Sat-Sun). Then maybe a long weekend which nets me another 4-5 days. Throw in a few weekends, easily achievable to 20+

If I don't "waste" any of my skiing days on xc skiing, I would get to 30 almost every year!

The key is that long season! Really, the years I have high number are all years when I go out west in April/May! (which leaves a lot of weekends during Dec-March in the northeast)

 

[Jilly]

I try for every weekend. Did the time between Christmas and New Years. Did a CSIA clinic for 3 days and stayed an extra. So it adds up to 15 days so far this year.

Last year I did take a week in March...3 days and a weekend for Whistler....tallied up 45 days. I work full time, but I own the joint! And I don't usually get time off in the summer.

 

[segacs]

I think that assumption is way off!

Even in the northeast, I can stretch it to nearly 5 in about 1/2 of the years. In the west, it's more like 6 month season!

Granted, if you live in a snowbelt or ski at altitude, that number could be off. I'm basing it on the typical ski season here, which would start somewhere in early to mid December with WROD skiing, and often extends to early to mid April if we're lucky.

 

[Jilly]

Oh and a season pass. My Scot heritage - squeeze as much as I can out of it!!

 

[Skier31]

I ski every weekend from opening day to closing day plus a week at Christmas and another week trip somewhere in between plus I squeeze a few week days in the middle.

 

[abc]

I'm basing it on the typical ski season here, which would start somewhere in early to mid December with WROD skiing, and often extends to early to mid April if we're lucky.

I always managed to ski some days in April (my birth month). In rare cases, May!

And that's for the east. But since I usually take a winter vacation to the west, I actually gets partial benefit of the snowbelt.

Granted, if you live in a snowbelt or ski at altitude, that number could be off.

I don't LIVE there. But that doesn't stop me from travelling there!

This year, I went out west in December. So my season has a good early start. (I've already got 14 days -- I'm not even counting the 5 days I'm teaching, 14 days of free skiing, to my heart's content) And I have plans to head out west again in mid-April to slay some soft spring bumps.

 

[ski diva]

Last year I skied 79 days, almost all of them weekdays. My record is 82 a couple years ago, which isn't bad in New England.

I guess you could say I'm retired, though it's more like I dropped out of the workforce when my husband and I closed our ad agency after his first book was published in 2007. We moved to Vermont from Pennsylvania, and in the winter skiing is pretty much what I do. Today marked day 33 for me, so not bad!

 

[Moonrocket]

Well, the year I really skied a lot I had one class and finishing touches on my thesis for grad school and a great job grading papers. I skied four days a week for basically the whole season Oct- April. (Had to earn that ski-U degree after all).

I have a lot this season 1 in cot for fun, a pre Thanksgiving weekend and 5 days at Thanksgiving. Then a bunch at Christmas and MLK weekend and we're at 15. Not sure if I will double it though as I like Nordic skiing too.

 

[mustski]

I am a teacher, I ski every weekend - sat for sure and some sun. I ski Christmas, MLK, presidents' weekend, spring break, and I've been known to "ditch" 5 days and get an extra 7 days in. I ski WRODs and I willingly ski spring conditions in May. All in all, that adds up to 40 + days even for a SoCal diva. Even with our drought conditions, I have skied 14 days (correction: 1/2 days) this season.

 

[marzNC]

My ski days keep increasing. From <10 for years, then 10-15 with my daughter. We went to our little home mountain the week before Christmas, plus the Jan, Feb holiday long weekends, and as many other weekends as possible in the short Mid-A season. Working mostly around her school schedule since I'm retired. She did miss a school day here and there for both VA and Alta ski trips. Took full advantage of 4-day weekends and her 1-week spring break in April.

I also take at least one trip out west with adult friends. The length of time is increasing as I end up with fewer day-to-day responsibilities like car pool for school. Also helps a lot that I have ski buddies interested in joining me. Thanks partially to SkiDiva.

 

[snow addict]

Every weekend from the end of November to end of April, 3 straight weeks over Christmas/New Year + the following week, 1-2 weeks at Easter, 3-5 long weekends - basically most time off that I can take I spend in the mountains. Having 6 weeks of annual leave helps. I rent a place for the season so that helps too as packing is minimal, usually I just hop on a train straight after work on Friday. One season when I decided I don't want to be tied to one place I only skied 20 or so days - packing and dragging my kit is not something I like to do often. I go up regardless of the conditions. If it's too cold I just take lot of pit stops but enjoy almost empty slopes, if it's a white out - the same, slopes will be deserted. I have a season pass so don't feel guilty if I quit after 2 hours. The main thing is to be up there. Will be my 27th day on Friday - I did take couple "spa days" when I was there for a long stretch. My pass is paid off, so now all my skiing will be free.

 

[jellyflake]

Caravan in the Alps, flights booked for most weekends from mid November to end of April + one to three longer holidays. I winter my car is at the airport in Munich where I can pick it up when I jump off the plane, it then is a 2 hours drive to the caravan.

A bit like snow addict: tied to one place with the season pass and the accomodation but that set up allowed me between 50 and 80 days per winter over the past years - although I live 800 km away from the mountains.
I usually go even if the conditions are not good, it then might happen that I do a lot of coffee breaks or go back home after a few hours. Haha, when I think about it then I hardly see "not good" conditions. Maybe "challenging" would be a better word, and most days that have been challenging in the beginning turn out to be really GOOD days in the end.

I work full time but typically use most of my leave days in winter. Not this year as my DH's knee is not good so we will do a longer summer holiday instead :-/
That knee also cuts my ski days down to a minimum this year, I fear I will not do more than 40-50 or so if at all :(

So over time I now have "summer friends" and "winter friends". In different regions/countries. So life does not become boring ;)
And I have got the luxury to working from home 1-3 days a week - this saves me some time that I'd spend on the road and it allows me to do some laundry.

 

[snow addict]

Caravan in the Alps, flights booked for most weekends from mid November to end of April + one to three longer holidays. I winter my car is at the airport in Munich where I can pick it up when I jump off the plane, it then is a 2 hours drive to the caravan.

A bit like snow addict: tied to one place with the season pass and the accomodation but that set up allowed me between 50 and 80 days per winter over the past years - although I live 800 km away from the mountains.
I usually go even if the conditions are not good, it then might happen that I do a lot of coffee breaks or go back home after a few hours. Haha, when I think about it then I hardly see "not good" conditions. Maybe "challenging" would be a better word, and most days that have been challenging in the beginning turn out to be really GOOD days in the end.

I work full time but typically use most of my leave days in winter. Not this year as my DH's knee is not good so we will do a longer summer holiday instead :-/
That knee also cuts my ski days down to a minimum this year, I fear I will not do more than 40-50 or so if at all :(

So over time I now have "summer friends" and "winter friends". In different regions/countries. So life does not become boring ;)
And I have got the luxury to working from home 1-3 days a week - this saves me some time that I'd spend on the road and it allows me to do some laundry.

So true on "summer" and "winter" friends. There are people I don't see all season. For me skiing weekends are non-negotiable. Maybe I am selfish as some of my friends don't ski and they keep inviting me to their events etc., but I can live with that.

 

[frenchgirl]

I work at the local mountain as a ski tuning tech so I ski about 40 days a per season. My season is actually 4 months long. I have met lots of people and it is rare that I ski alone now.

 

[SkiBam]

When I was still working, I always said my retirement goal was to be a ski bum. Since then, I've averaged close to 50 days a season - and another 20 or more cross-country. I think getting my CSIA level 1 (yikes, that was almost 10 years ago!) the the following year my level 2 led to me spending even more time on the slopes. Season's pass of course and at least one trip out west every year. Only thing keeping my ski-day count down this year was kids visiting over Christmas (oh yeah, blacked-out pass then too) and the intense cold. Could someone turn a little heat on please!!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

In addition to a very long season regionally (mid-Nov to early May, typically), geography is a big factor also. I live 1+- hour from 3 large ski resorts, 20-30 minutes from 3 smaller ones. That proximity certainly increased the initial appeal of the job which DH took here, which involved Major uprooting of a 3-generation family - and leaving behind our previous location of 25 years.

As was mentioned above, being a season pass holder means that skiing for a few hours is fine; there’s no urgency to ski “bell to bell.” That really was the most I could manage at any one time in the first 2 years, during which I was responsible for my mom’s care.

DH is fortunate to have a lot of vacation time, at least half of which is earmarked for random weekday skiing (seldom blocks of it). And I freely admit to not having a particularly tidy house most of the winter. But his wanting to ski every day he has off means I have to assume more of the heavy work around here. Winters can be....tiring.... So while I heave a sigh every mid-May, it’s a mixed one: ski season is over once again - but the mad rushing is also over for awhile.

We tend to average 40 days a season, but only because we let a lot of other stuff “go.” We are largely do-it-yourself types, so some things must happen: snow removal being one of them (wish we had that problem here this winter...): from driveway, walkways, house perimeter, roof perimeter, etc. Plus we also burn wood for heat, which is something of a large task - but that work load is primarily in the fall.

 

[Jilly]

It sounds to me like all of us are dedicated. We love this sport! We have season passes, dirty houses, cars/trucks that make driving easy, make concessions to friends and family and live it. While DH was alive, I never regretted any day we went skiing. And still don't.

I have friends that don't ski. The usual question is "how can you afford it?" Well we don't do a lot of dinners out, don't belong to the golf club or yacht club, don't take trips south or cruises - we ski!

 

[jellyflake]

And I freely admit to not having a particularly tidy house most of the winter.

Good to hear I am not the only one...