Solo Skiing

[SuZieCoyote]

Though I always enjoy skiing with my friends, my most fulfilling ski moments are spent skiing alone. I know this isn't the safest thing (especially in light of some recent fatalities where people were alone).... I don't ski tightly treed areas by myself and, if I do ski in trees, it is on runs that are regularly, if infrequently used, and there is good spacing. I'm not into high-speed solo skiing, either. But, I do tackle expert terrain on my own and prefer the less-traveled spots so that I can be alone as much as possible. I should say that I only solo ski at resorts, and I never go into the back country alone. This is something I never did until last year. I only started because I wanted to ski more frequently than my friends. Once I got hooked, though, I began to crave the experience. Now I need to be solo at least 25% of the time or I get "antsy."

Are there other Divas who enjloy solo skiing? And if so, what is the pull for you?

I am not self-destructive; I just enjoy the quiet and solitude.

 

[veggielasagna]

Yep, solo skier most of the time. Usually the only time I ski w/ someone is on a weekend, if Mr. VL and I go or for Diva Day!

I go the same places I would normally, don't change up my routine. For better or worse I think I'm a bit more "daring" when I ski alone. I am more apt to push my limits terrain wise. That being said, my home mtn. has many marked well used glades and steeps. Rarely do I go into the woods without seeing at least one other in there. The most challenging open runs are all pretty visible from a lift, the bottom of the trail or both.

Anyways, I don't mind skiing solo at all, but I've always been one to do my own thing. When I ski alone I don't have to worry about keeping up or waiting or giving directions or coordinating a meetup or lunch etc....I guess it's just easier

-veggielasagna

 

[missyd]

Skiing solo its what I always do! Its ok if my non skier BF comes up for lunch and some time together. But I prefer skiing alone. I can ski weher I want, when I want and do not have to wait for the others. Sounds egoistic but with todays ticket and fuel prices I want to ski the maxiumum in one day.

 

[marge]

I ski solo when I get the chance. I'm not a risky skier (don't really like trees unless the kiddos are with me) and I find I can really just relax and enjoy when I'm by myself.

 

[little one]

love to ski solo ... eliminates all the pressure ... keeping up, waiting, talking, yada yada yada ... for me skiing is about floating, sliding, enjoying winter, blood pumping ... save the social stuff for later ... or not!

 

[whitewater girl]

I almost always ski solo - when I first started skiing it was because I simply couldn't keep up with anyone else I knew who skied, but I've gotten so I simply love the freedom of it...

...x-country (as close as one gets to backcountry in this area) I do with friends...

 

[2ski2moro]

I prefer skiing with someone, but I would rather go solo than stay home.

Lately, I have been skiing with someone who knows the mountain better than I do and it is a joy to just follow her and explore. I'm timid on new territory, but having a leader makes it much better.

 

[cwmscm]

I love to ski solo but even more I like skiing with people who know the mountain even if they aren't necessarily my friends.

 

[altagirl]

The funny thing is that I tend to explore a lot more when I'm skiing solo. When I ski with my husband and friends they like doing the same things over and over and over again. When I'm alone, I tend to go check out new things because I don't have other people pressuring me to do the same "favorite" runs all the time.

Honestly, I just don't worry about it other than to avoid trees that look like they would have tree wells. And the only time I've actually fallen in a tree well, I was WITH my husband and friends, who totally did not see me, couldn't hear me screaming for help, and didn't end up helping me at all, even though they were so close by I could hear them discussing a porcupine in a nearby tree and talking about how I must have skied down to the base already. I ended up having to struggle free on my own. I guess my feeling is that the safest thing is keeping my distance from those types of trees and skiing within my ability. We also bought whistles to put on our jacket after that - I didn't realize until then that no one can hear you yelling under the snow.

 

[VTskiDiva]

I enjoy skiing solo as well. Dont get me wrong skiing with friends and family is great too. Its nice to not have to discuss where you want to go, you just get off the lift and go wherever you feel like going. You dont have to worry about keeping up with or waiting on anyone. It is a very peaceful feeling too. I have some of the best "zen" moments skiing alone.

 

[dloveski]

I ski alone alot (in-bounds), with whistle and cell phone, I explore, I practice form on new terrain, stop in the trees for those peaceful serene moments and just take it in.

That said, I also love skiing with others of all abilities---except on powder days, where I would rather ski alone than with someone committed to groomers.

 

[pinto]

I like both, but on those days I don't have much time, I definitely prefer solo. I have plenty of days where I get the kids to school, drive up to the mountains, ski hard for 2 or 3 hours, and go home to start carpool/homework/dinner duty. If I have to wait for someone, I might be cranky. Unless it's just a lazy, sunny day, then it isn't so bad.

 

[SuZieCoyote]

I ski alone alot (in-bounds), with whistle and cell phone....

Duh, a whistle! Of course. Thank you for that one. Why can't I think of these things? I have the cell, but a whistle makes a lot of sense, since the cell doesn't always work in the hills. My friend went down a tree well last year, and at 20 feet away, I couldn't see or hear her (and she is nearly six feet tall!) Luckily someone from above saw and came to the rescue. She said she could have managed to get out by herself, but that it would have taken a while.

Thanks everyone for sharing. I resonate with the freedom of not having to discuss/argue over which run to take or when/where to have lunch (after skiing is the time to eat, if you ask me - one of those small snickers on the lift is all I need if I get hungry). Also, I like going to the single's line which enables me to get more runs in a shorter amount of time. I find that I ski very hard and that four hours is sufficient to fill the need.

Last year I shared a lift ride with another solo skier. It was an old and slow double (Chair 6 at Breck), just us. Snow fell gently and we sat in silence, enjoying the beauty, during the long ride up to the Peak 8 back bowls. Near the top, I leaned over and said, "You know, this could be like drinking, when you start doing it alone, perhaps there's a problem...." We both cracked up, got off the lift and went our separate ways. Was a great day.

 

[drjoyous]

I have very little experience with solo skiing, but know that if I were to spend time doing it, I would learn to love it.
My "problem" is that my husband is absolutely the best skibuddy for me: we always goodnaturedly challenge each other to new experiences/terrain, but have each other for moral support and the "yikes" feeling. We have exactly the same rhythm and desires, so it clicks wonderfully. Hence, my very few visits alone.

I will say that when I have skied alone, I've surprised myself: I thought I would be more timid but noooooo, I found that I would look for the hardest terrain, etc. I suspect it was overcompensating ("I'm alone, and I'l be damned if I come home and report some wussy experience!"). I have found that when I'm alone, the snowboarders (more than the skiers) keep an eye out for other "solos"--it's like in the slackcountry, everyone wants to make sure we all get done in one piece. That's given me a lot of comfort, esp when I'm not at all sure of the line to take that won't lead to, I dunno, like a 60 foot cliff???

 

[DobeMom]

I mostly ski and snowboard solo. When I'm by myself, I usually work on drills and practice specific techniques. I can focus on myself and what I need to do. While I do enjoy the social aspect of skiing with others, I tend to goof around more and just hang out.

 

[dloveski]

Last year I shared a lift ride with another solo skier. It was an old and slow double (Chair 6 at Breck), just us. Snow fell gently and we sat in silence, enjoying the beauty, during the long ride up to the Peak 8 back bowls. Near the top, I leaned over and said, "You know, this could be like drinking, when you start doing it alone, perhaps there's a problem...." We both cracked up, got off the lift and went our separate ways. Was a great day.

:ROTF::ROTF::ROTF::ROTF::ROTF::ROTF:

 

[laine]

I love solo skiing. I ski with friends at lot more often, but when I get the chance, I take off on my own. I find it kind of freeing. And I like talking to random people on the chairlifts....

-laine

 

[floridakeysskibum]

well considering that I am traveling solo to tahoe for the week of the summit, I guess you could say that I like to ski solo as well. Though I do enjoy the company on the lift and meeting part way down the run to catch my breath (not used to altitude-I live at sea level), I follow suit with others in that I really do work on my skills when skiing alone. I can't wait to meet other divas soon, and ski ski ski

 

[abc]

Though I always enjoy skiing with my friends, my most fulfilling ski moments are spent skiing alone. I know this isn't the safest thing (especially in light of some recent fatalities where people were alone)....

While I enjoy skiing with friends, "safety" has nothing to do with it!

I don't even know where that whole concept of "herd safety" comes from! There's also saying that one shouldn't hike alone, or bike alone, etc... Heck, I do all of those alone for the past 20 years!

I enjoy skiing alone as much as skiing with others. They're just different. Not one "better" than the other. When I'm ski/hike/bike alone, I'm more aware of my surroundings because I'm not enveloped in conversations. So in a sense, I think I'm SAFER alone than with others! No false sense of safety in number here. When I lost my arguement with a tree at A-Basin, my "group" just skied on without me...

 

[num]

I'm another who always skis solo. I've met up with the odd Diva or Bear, but not often (only when I've been on the home turf of one, I haven't known of any who are regulars at my home hill). I only really know skiers through ski forums and skiing, and I haven't found anyone at my hill who regularly skis around the same times as me. I don't keep a strict schedule, but my skiing is pretty much a few weeknights per week for a couple hours after work. 49 times out of 50, if I have a ski buddy, it's actually my instructor while I'm in a lesson.

While I've really enjoyed the times I've skied with others, skiing alone is the skiing I know and fell in love with

Being alone doesn't affect my choice of terrain, as I don't really have much in the way of terrain to choose from anyway. I ski a hill with 180' vertical as my regular hill, and the "big" hill I take occasional trips to is 400'.

I frequently ski with my SO hanging out in the lodge. He's not a skier, but he brings his netbook and works on coding projects while I work on attempting to fly and we catch each other up on our wins and losses over dinner afterwards. I have reception on the hill, so I keep my cell on me whenever I ski, and if he's present, I have the ability to call if something of the "I've fallen and I can't get up" variety happens. I also have the hill's number stored.

Whenever I ski, I keep my season pass, my ID, and a slip of paper that says "in case of emergency, contact _______ at (___)________." in my pants pocket.