What constitutes a ski day?

[ski diva]

Is it one run? Two? Do you just have to show up at the hill?

For me, it has to be at least four runs. It's pretty arbitrary, I know, but there it is.

How about you?

 

[MissySki]

I’m pretty easy, if I put skis on and skied that day, it’s a ski day!

It could be at a resort, it could be backcountry, it could be cross country, it could be in my front yard, it could be inside a mall in New Jersey.

The vast majority of my downhill days are around 6 hours on snow, but there are exceptions and out of resort activities are variable.

 

[shadoj]

Maybe 3 for me? I don't think I've ever had a "ski day" with that few runs, though. However, I'd count it for fewer if there's rehab / skill progress / overcoming fear / "Acts of God" involved! Never-evers and beginners get credit for even just one run! Or riding the lift! Or walking across the parking lot in ski boots!

 

[NewEnglandSkier]

No special amount of runs for me. Like @MissySki I count it as a ski day if I skied at all that day. XC or alpine. But I don't live super close to a ski area that I go to, so I usually ski a minimum of 2 hours on any given day in early season and then 5+ as the season goes on.

 

[Jenny]

Being as how our runs are short I’ve always gone more by time. Used to be six hours was a day, and three was a half day - although that was also arbitrary based on lift hours. Now, however, a day is more like @MissySki says.

 

[Susan L]

My normal day is 3 hours of skiing so if I made an effort to get dressed and put on skis and get a few runs in, it is a ski “day” in my book.

 

[Jilly]

I clicked in and rode a lift, or XC I suppose...

 

[Iwannaski]

I think it’s a ski day if I am out for more than an hour. Because at that point, it’s one of two situations. I packed it in because I started struggling, which means I was saving my body from risk and avoiding bad habits OR I found flow and didn’t stop/only stopped when the people got annoying and not entertaining. Here in the Midwest we cannot get away from the people if they are there. LOL.

The days where I’ve been out, done 5 runs and gone in (2 days this season, when my IT band was not doing well) I have not counted.

 

[floatingyardsale]

If I'm trying to get a 50 day pin, any day with a lift counts. If I'm judging whether it's worth it, six runs or bust.

 

[snoWYmonkey]

On non work days I sometimes only ski a few runs, because I am often skiing with a dear friend for whom that is a "ski day". I am a firm believer that it is up to the skier to determine what a ski day is.

If it is heavy spring pow, then it may only be one run, but ooooooooh how divine that one run can be. I am also lucky that one run could be a 4K vertical foot drop of a run. Though, I have also skied one green short run and called it a day before.

In my personal preference book the skiing time should at least equal the prep and travel time.

 

[Pequenita]

Six runs if I’m on a resort season pass. In the backcountry, two left turns and two right turns. Lol

 

[lisamamot]

If I put myself in the car, drive to the mountain, click in and go up the mountain (lift or skinning), it is a ski day. If I stop after a nominal amount of time, there is a good reason; they all count in my book!

 

[marzNC]

At Massanutten, I count a "ski day" if I go out for even an hour. A run takes about 7 min to ride the lift and 2-3 min to ski down on the blue and black trails. Doing anything else got too complicated.

When I'm out not in the southeast, I rarely ski less than 3 hours, so counting days is pretty straight forward. A short day usually means doing some driving before or after skiing.

For my own records, I split the total between East and West.

 

[racetiger]

When I go through all the trouble of getting boots and skis on even for just an hour I call it a ski day. I don't count by runs because they're so short here.

 

[elemmac]

Pretty simple flow chart I use...

Did you have skis on your feet today? ---->
NO ----> Not a ski day.
YES ----> Continue to next question.

Did you ski (the act of sliding over snow with skis on your feet)? ---->
NO ----> Not a ski day.
YES ----> Its a ski day.

 

[Abbi]

If I get on the lift and slide down from someplace, it is a ski day! A pretty disappointing one, but still a ski day.

 

[MissySki]

Pretty simple flow chart I use...

Did you have skis on your feet today? ---->
NO ----> Not a ski day.
YES ----> Continue to next question.

Did you ski (the act of sliding over snow with skis on your feet)? ---->
NO ----> Not a ski day.
YES ----> Its a ski day.

Yes!!

 

[brooksnow]

Pretty simple flow chart I use...

Did you have skis on your feet today? ---->
NO ----> Not a ski day.
YES ----> Continue to next question.

Did you ski (the act of sliding over snow with skis on your feet)? ---->
NO ----> Not a ski day.
YES ----> Its a ski day.

This is my criteria too.

I can't insist on only counting days I ride a lift because I often spend days teaching little kids without ever being on a lift. Hanging on to the back of a 12 seat sled behind a snowmobile (aka Moose Caboose) is way more tiring and faster than a lift ride.

Last week I spent a day on the hill that even I couldn't count as a snowboard day because I never strapped in. I got plenty of steps in as I walked down the hill with a bitty kid. The next day I strapped in for one run before he asked me to walk with him. That counted as a day.

Count as of today: 59 on skis, 18 riding, many days both, 63 days total.

 

[SquidWeaselYay]

I count even one run. If we quit after one run, it is usually because that run gave us a run for our money. If we made it down something that gnarly, I'm going to say it counts.

 

[kiki]

Pretty simple flow chart I use...

Did you have skis on your feet today? ---->
NO ----> Not a ski day.
YES ----> Continue to next question.

Did you ski (the act of sliding over snow with skis on your feet)? ---->
NO ----> Not a ski day.
YES ----> Its a ski day.

I use this methodology for counting day…it takes 1-3 hours to drive to the ski hill and an hour of stretching plus time to pack the car before that, so if I make it to the ski hill and get on the snow in skis, that counts.