skiing alone

[skicrazed]

I assume that since many of you are as obsessed with skiing as I am, you ski on your own sometimes (or often). I'm curious how people feel about skiing alone vs. with others. I've been lucky this year to be able to work a short day on Mondays so that I could zip up to the mountains for a couple of hours of skiing. Depending on the day, this can either feel really fun, or a bit lonely. Here are things that can make it a great ski-alone day:

1) good weather and snow conditions
2) I'm skiing well
3) nice conversations with people on the ski lift
4) a great private lesson

With regards to #4, I once told my husband that in addition to building my ski skills, lessons provide some companionship when I'm skiing alone. He laughed and quipped, "I think hiring a gigolo might be cheaper." (I've had mostly male ski instructors).

I've only recently discovered skiing, and I don't have a ski buddy yet (one of the things many of you recommend to those of us who start skiing later in life). I'm working on two of my friends, though, and I think I might be making some headway!

 

[VickiK]

I like skiing alone for about 1/2 a day or less. I guess I don't like skiing alone! But all the things you mentioned would make my solo experience fun and worthwhile.

I was skiing with a buddy and when she went in to get some demo skis, I planned to do a lap until she came out. That was when I had one of those 'cute meet' experiences. I rode up the quad with two skiers, initiated the 'how you guys doing?' conversation. It proceeded like so:
Guy A: I live in Long Beach
Me: I live in Glendale but I work Long Beach
Guy A: Where do you work?
Me: At the Cal State U Chancellor's Office, near downtown
Guy A: F--k me
Me: Did you just say 'f--k me'?
Guy A: Well I work at the X building. It's practically across the street.
Guy A & Guy B dicker about how it's really not a big coincidence, as lots of people work in the area.
Me: I have a friend who works in that building. I don't know what floor he works on, he works for company H.
Guy A pauses and says: Who's your friend?
Me: Jim D
Guy A: You know Jim D? You're friends with Jim D? I work with Jim D.

I should've said 'f--k me' at that point but I was too blown away. LOL, maybe I should ski alone more often!

 

[abc]

LOL, maybe I should ski alone more often!

I'm a pretty out-going person. So I had a bunch of such encounter. Too many to count actually.

I have a couple of real friends whom I first met on the.... you guessed it, ski chair lift!

 

[Pequenita]

I like skiing alone for about 1/2 a day or less. I guess I don't like skiing alone! But all the things you mentioned would make my solo experience fun and worthwhile.

I was skiing with a buddy and when she went in to get some demo skis, I planned to do a lap until she came out. That was when I had one of those 'cute meet' experiences. I rode up the quad with two skiers, initiated the 'how you guys doing?' conversation. It proceeded like so:
Guy A: I live in Long Beach
Me: I live in Glendale but I work Long Beach
Guy A: Where do you work?
Me: At the Cal State U Chancellor's Office, near downtown
Guy A: F--k me
Me: Did you just say 'f--k me'?
Guy A: Well I work at the X building. It's practically across the street.
Guy A & Guy B dicker about how it's really not a big coincidence, as lots of people work in the area.
Me: I have a friend who works in that building. I don't know what floor he works on, he works for company H.
Guy A pauses and says: Who's your friend?
Me: Jim D
Guy A: You know Jim D? You're friends with Jim D? I work with Jim D.

I should've said 'f--k me' at that point but I was too blown away. LOL, maybe I should ski alone more often!

I was skiing alone 6 seasons ago and shared a lift with the same woman two consecutive times. The first ride up, I was sitting closer to two guys on the quad so I talked to them. The second time it was just us two. I asked her about her skis, then we got to talking about where we worked (this being outskirts of DC means you network every freaking place you are). She says where she works, and I blanch because it's my office ("office" used liberally, as there are 5 divisions within the office, 3 branches of ~8 people in each branch in each division), and I knew pretty much everyone in my age group. It turns out, she had just joined 2 weeks earlier, and I was leaving in 2 weeks.

We've since lost touch, but we hung out a bunch for a few years.

 

[diymom]

I have to say it depends on the day. Sometimes I like having company to help pass the time on the lift up. Sometimes I like to be able to pick my trails and break time without having to consult with anyone.

 

[NZfarmgirl]

A few years ago I had never really skied on my own and so I didn't get to go skiing much because DH was too busy then to get away and I had very few friends who skied. I got so frustrated one season when I had plenty of time and money saved up for skiing but no one would go. So I got brave and started driving myself the 2 hours to the mountains and then even braver driving up the unsealed rough icy mountain roads. It was just a case of not having done it before -once I realised I could manage on my own I found I loved it.
I talk to people on the lift, put in my head phones and ski to my fav music. I can go as fast as I like with no waiting for people at the bottom and no conversation at the top "Where would you like to go now?, I don't know where would you like to go? I don't mind I'll follow you, no no I'll follow you.... what time shall we have lunch? oh I don't know , are you hungry? no not really, but are you hungry? ummmm maybe 2 more runs ? ok ..how about 1 more I think I am hungry ....Which way should we go?"
I see my solo days as my my fun selfish days when I get in heaps of runs and eat in the car on the way down, no point stopping for lunch with no one to talk to.
Then when I'm with friends or family I can be more patient, and go with the flow without being frustrated.

When DH and I were skiing in the US we were spending 3 weeks in each others pockets while travelling, some days we really needed to split up and have a few hours skiing on our own making our own decisions.

 

[skicrazed]

I love these stories! NZfarmgirl, you're reminding me of some of the other things I enjoy about my solo trips. I can listen to the music I want to listen to in the car. I can leave when I want to (when I go to the mountains in the morning, I like to leave early, and I'm often dragging the rest of my family out of bed. Guilty pleasure: sometimes, on the way home from a solo trip I stop at McDonalds for a chocolate milkshake (my 10 year old son doesn't let us get fast food!).

 

[contesstant]

I like skiing alone for about 1/2 a day or less. I guess I don't like skiing alone! But all the things you mentioned would make my solo experience fun and worthwhile.

I was skiing with a buddy and when she went in to get some demo skis, I planned to do a lap until she came out. That was when I had one of those 'cute meet' experiences. I rode up the quad with two skiers, initiated the 'how you guys doing?' conversation. It proceeded like so:
Guy A: I live in Long Beach
Me: I live in Glendale but I work Long Beach
Guy A: Where do you work?
Me: At the Cal State U Chancellor's Office, near downtown
Guy A: F--k me
Me: Did you just say 'f--k me'?
Guy A: Well I work at the X building. It's practically across the street.
Guy A & Guy B dicker about how it's really not a big coincidence, as lots of people work in the area.
Me: I have a friend who works in that building. I don't know what floor he works on, he works for company H.
Guy A pauses and says: Who's your friend?
Me: Jim D
Guy A: You know Jim D? You're friends with Jim D? I work with Jim D.

I should've said 'f--k me' at that point but I was too blown away. LOL, maybe I should ski alone more often!

You didn't tell me about this--funny!!

I discovered this season that I like skiing alone sometimes and with people sometimes. I guess I just like skiing

 

[NewEnglandSkier]

I only ski alone--I've never skied with anyone else before unless it's an instructor in a lesson. None of my friends ski and I really don't mind. I like being able to go at whatever pace I want, choose the terrain I want to ski and decide when I break for lunch. There are times when I guess it might be fun to have someone to ski with, but mostly I only miss having other people around for apres ski, as that isn't really fun by yourself.

 

[gr8outdoors]

I don't really like skiing alone. Other than a few runs here and there, I have never done it often. It's more riding the lift with people I know versus people I don't know more than the actual skiing part. Although I met some very nice and friendly people on the gondola at Snowbasin this year! Some kids who had passes there, but I knew those kids were not off for the week, as other locals had mentioned that earlier in the day. They had a friend from NY out for the week and they skipped school that day to ski! Even though they were originally from NYC, they were so happy to talk to someone else from New York state!

 

[marymack]

I started skiing as an adult, as the only one in my family and close circle of friends who skis, I've certainly spent many hours alone on the hill.
A few observations:
-I get in a routine: I have my favorite trails that I hit first thing in the morning, I stop and get an (overpriced but delicious) breakfast sandwich around 10:30, then I head over to the easier trails and work on drills
-Yes, I totally agree about taking lessons for the purpose of 1) getting things you can work on on your own and 2) to break up the day and have some companionship for a bit
-I love being able to just do laps, no waiting at the top or bottom or middle of the trail, you can use the singles line for the lifts on busy days

This year I was in one of those "oh, I'm going to treat myself and take a lesson" lessons when my instructor and I were talking and I told him about how I was in college with a lot of free time to come skiing, but I usually skied by myself because I didn't have any close friends who skied. He suggested I become an instructor because "I would never ski alone again". I did and I agree... there is always at least one if not a whole bunch of instructors that want to go do some runs before the first line up of the day or in between lessons. However, I will say, when I first started it actually took me a little while to get used to! The stopping mid trail (we have a lot of older staff that like to take a break mid-run), the debate over where to go, the "oh I think I see ___ coming this way, lets wait for him/her". After a few weeks, I actually would find myself (especially after a particularly challenging lesson) sneaking off to go ski on my own to clear my head. So I have to say, while I have learned a lot by being able to ski with so many instructors on a regular basis and it is nice to finally have ski buddies that are ALWAYS ready to go skiing, there are still times when I just want to go and ski on my own.

 

[VickiK]

McDonald's drive-through and eat in the car, listening to an audio book, leaving as early as you want..yep little solo pleasures.

 

[marzNC]

As an intermediate, I never minded skiing alone. But much preferred being with friends for a ski trip to have company after done with skiing for the day. Better on the budget as well. Now that I am interested in skiing harder runs on bigger mountains, being able to ski with friends of the same or slightly better ability makes for a more fun time. I still appreciate having some time to ski alone though. I often do that at Massanutten.

 

[marymack]

But much preferred being with friends for a ski trip to have company after done with skiing for the day.

I have to agree with this. Most of my skiing is within an hour drive (2 seasons ago I was 10 minutes from the mountain). I feel very differently about skiing alone when at a mountain that I am unfamiliar with or that I plan to ski at all day. Then I much prefer to have someone with me. I think if skiing involved going on an overnight trip I'd probably do it much less because who wants to hang out in a hotel room by themselves?

 

[itri]

I prefer skiing with friends, just for the sake of having company on the lift, but sometimes it's nice to be on your own and just ski whatever you want to ski without worrying about what other people want to do. I went through a period this season where I was getting a little frustrated because right when the conditions had finally gotten good enough to get off the groomers and ski the bumps and trees, I was primarily skiing with people who only wanted to ski groomers. I would try to hit bumps on the side or a run that split off and met down at the bottom, but what I really wanted to do was go hit a different section of the mountain! I'm not the type to ditch people, but it was nice when I finally got a day to myself and went where I wanted to, stopped for breaks when I wanted to, etc.

 

[Olesya Chornoguz]

I skied alone maybe 70% of the season, because i haven't found a ski buddy and my DH is not as obsessed with skiing as I am. DH skied with me a handful of times and he got sick a few times over the winter and I didn't. I even took a 3 day solo ski trip over Thanksgiving, which was great, except the apres ski part, which was nonexistent like everybody was saying above. I really enjoy skiing alone for the most part, can ski at my own pace, ski the runs that I want and indulge in some Starbucks breakfast and fast food lunch at the lodge. There are 3 ski resorts that are within 1.5 hour drive near my area, so not too bad of a drive. With that said, having company is great for apres and I would love to have ski buddy of my level or slightly higher for rides on the lift and being able to chat about skiing and ski equipment.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I only ski alone occasionally. It's fun choosing exactly what I want to do and when, but I limit my tree skiing when I don't have a partner, and tree skiing is my favorite thing to do, lately.

If I didn't have the lesson pass and the friends I've made through that, I think I'd ski alone more often. Fortunately, I have a pretty good crew of ski buddies who share roughly the same ability and tastes ... actually, now that I think about it, I think I'm on the lower end of skill compared to all my ski buddies, but fortunately they don't seem to mind =)

 

[Olesya Chornoguz]

He suggested I become an instructor because "I would never ski alone again". I did and I agree... there is always at least one if not a whole bunch of instructors that want to go do some runs before the first line up of the day or in between lessons. However, I will say, when I first started it actually took me a little while to get used to! The stopping mid trail (we have a lot of older staff that like to take a break mid-run), the debate over where to go, the "oh I think I see ___ coming this way, lets wait for him/her". After a few weeks, I actually would find myself (especially after a particularly challenging lesson) sneaking off to go ski on my own to clear my head. So I have to say, while I have learned a lot by being able to ski with so many instructors on a regular basis and it is nice to finally have ski buddies that are ALWAYS ready to go skiing, there are still times when I just want to go and ski on my own.

I was thinking to take instructor training for this same reason next season. I'm not 100% sure I want to teach though, we'll see.

 

[sperks]

I often ski alone and enjoy as others have said being able to decide where to go when to stop etc
Skiing alone at a mountain you know is fine as you know it like the back of your hand but I find you are less "adventurous " when skiing alone as always in the back of my head is what if something happens having said that the injuries I have sustained have been when skiing with others not caused by them.
Living in Australia our season is very short like wise short vertically
Skiing is my passion and so I happily travel overseas solo to pursue this.
But to get the most of where I'm going I ski with the mountain hosts that are prevalent in a lot of the Canadian resorts great way to meet with some locals
Enrol in a lesson or a group programme like a women's week so as to really have the full knowledge and benefits and getting the most out of an unknown mountain

 

[Kaidee]

I've never skiied alone, I have two sisters and a brother and we always have skied together. Although this season I think I will be doing more solo skiing