 Poster: A snowHead
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None of this matters except to those looking for others they might want to ski with. Even then it's actual behaviour rather than imagined ideal that will influence whether there is a good fit or not. I can see I might not be a good fit with people who made it clear their priorities were fitting in a significant number of hut stops but equally I'd pretty soon drop myself from any group that was in pursuit of joyless data metrics.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I love data so when I retired in December 2008 I started logging ski data each day from ski tracks. I am not trying to beat any records of speed, distance etc just want to see what I have done. Mrmogulski and I were still international freestyle ski judges then so some days on snow we did very little skiing but still recorded numbers. We only record the skiing downhill not the uplift.
So since December 2008 I have done 377 days, 14780 km downhill and 2568833m of vertical. Works out at an average of 39.2 km/day and 6813m/day vertical including some very shorts days judging. There was a 2 years period during covid with no skiing from birthday bashes 2020 to 2022.
Max vertical in a day is 15435m when skiing on my own as I was helping with childcare and hubby back in UK. I just raced round 3 valleys on my own all day and did 75.47 km with max speed of 85 kph.
Max distance in a day is the 2 of us together again in 3V is 86.5km.
Last season and this we are based in 3V still doing some childcare for our family who work there so we have season passes. This means we don't go out first lift to last lift. As we are there for 2 or 3 weeks at a time we do not ski every day and usually take our rest days when weather is bad. When we go out depends on conditions, if there is powder we go straight out but if cold and icy it may be 10am. We never visit restaurants and just have a 20 minute sandwich lunch in a picnic area. We come in once it starts to freeze again.
We will be heading out there again soon and the lighter days mean more ski time!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| even in groups they can just say meet at x chair and everyone knows how to get their without needing to stop and check maps |
That!
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Also probably know where and when the potential bottlenecks are and how to avoid them.
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That too.
More significantly, in places I know well, I don’t have to slow down when the terrain changes. I know what to expect and can just continue on at appropriate speed.
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| Dave of the Marmottes wrote: |
| Even then it's actual behaviour rather than imagined ideal that will influence whether there is a good fit or not. I can see I might not be a good fit with people who made it clear their priorities were fitting in a significant number of hut stops but equally I'd pretty soon drop myself from any group that was in pursuit of joyless data metrics. |
Yeah, even if you find someone who likes to be on the slopes for the sake amount of time, there can be a big difference in skiing style.
Like others say, it depends massively on how I feel and what conditions are. Increasingly I'm finding myself calling quits if I'm a bit tired or I'm just not having fun. I've also noticed that I'm sometimes calling a day of I realise that I'm getting a bit carried away with my skiing.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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From my ski tracks data, a “normal” day for me with good weather (I ski 1-2 weeks a year) is 20-30 miles of skiing (piste distance, not including lifts) and 5-7000m vertical. That usually takes about 7 hours, including a break for lunch and usually another stop too. But that itself is a pretty wide range! And very much depends on fitness, confidence on steep runs, and whether I’m skiing with one person or a group where we inevitably stop more to keep track of each other.
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I don't get the skiing alone thing, to me skiing is a social activity whether that's me and my wife or plus various family members or with friends, the fun for me is having a social on the lift, a bit of Mickey taking when somebody falls, gets lost or whatever, and I love stopping on the side to look at the scenery, and at other skiers , if I had to ski on my own I don't think I would bother if I'm honest. I know as we go for a number of weeks I don't feel the need to go crazy or show everyone else on the mountain how good , or
not I am, obviously others feel differently which is
fine, .
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@robs1, do you ever wonder if your money would be better spent just going for a walk?  Skiing seems an expensive way to just be social.
I've done a few trips skiing on my own and it's definitely a different experience but still equally valid. Being able to enjoy a mountain sunset while cruising down a piste is just as spectacular even with no one to share it with. You also have the benefit of being able to just do your own thing, take any turn you want and stop when you feel like it.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@robs1, not sure many do or want to ski solo. More that if you do you get more km's in.
That said, I don't mind doing anything alone, I've done quite a bit of solo travelling, happy to go the pub or to a gig alone and so on.
Main reason for not skiing alone for me is safety, especially for odd piste obv. Oh, and the fact I have a wife and kids
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For as long as I’m having fun, which last Thursday was a single run. Fog and 3” of glue hiding ice underneath? You can have it. Live to ski another day—tomorrow. Glad I’m fortunate enough to be able to do the smart thing for a change rather than trying to get my average cost per run back down into the atmosphere.
@robs1, For many of us, there are phases of our lives where if we didn’t ski alone, we wouldn’t ski at all. I choose to ski, and if there is any sadness at the lack of buddies that day, I just call it exercise.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Layne wrote: |
@Je suis un Skieur, not sure why that would be tbh.
I don't think my vert is dictated by my fitness. I don't stop that often and I don't stop because of tiredness specifically.....
....Not sure why a seasonaire would ski more - I thought because they have more days on the mountain they would be less inclined to do a fuller days? |
It's all the things you said yourself plus the comments from @boarder2020 and @abc.
If you've never been a seasonaire it's difficult to explain the difference that skiing 4/5/6 days a week every week for 14-20 weeks makes to your skiing. The fitness is part of it but I'd say average speed is a huge factor too. Not just on the hill through increased stamina, technique and confidence but the way you learn to navigate queues, take off and put your skis on at gondolas, do all faffing on a lift and never during ski time etc etc. I see and feel the proof every year because I usually ski early and late season. If I go out with seasonaires in December I'm usually one of the quickest skiers, if I go out with the same people in April I have to concentrate to keep up.
Whether seasonaires ski more probably depends on whether they're a working seasonaire or a ski bum seasonaire. A ski bum can pick and choose their days and timings but a worker can't. In my first season I could only ski 3 days a week between about 11am to 3.30pm and 1.5 days all day so I skied every single minute I could.
My second season was as a ski host/transfer driver so I skied 6 full days a week - five guiding at group punter speed with lunch and one first lift/last lift free ski day. I loved hosting but the one day a week where I could ski where I wanted to and at my usual pace was always welcome.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Scooter in Seattle wrote: |
| @robs1, For many of us, there are phases of our lives where if we didn’t ski alone, we wouldn’t ski at all. |
Indeed.
Lots of people live alone too. Just because you're happy in your own company doesn't make you a social freak.
I view skiing on my own as indulging in my hobby. I'd rather pursue my hobby alone than not at all.
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| Je suis un Skieur wrote: |
| Lots of people live alone too. Just because I’m happy in my own company doesn't make me a social freak. |
FIFY. 
On the other hand, I do know quite a few people who can’t stand being alone for an hour. So they wouldn’t be happy skiing alone.
Each of their own.
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You know it makes sense.
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I don't get the skiing alone thing..if I had to ski on my own I don't think I would bother if I'm honest
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I suspect that's quite a normal opinion. Personally I love riding alone - it's the ultimate freedom. For resort riding increased vertical is simply a nice biproduct rather than a goal.
For touring it's a bit different. The vertical becomes more significant to me. If I go out with someone on their holiday I might get a single 800m descent over a day, Vs 2x800m on my own.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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We used to be a first lift till 4-4.30pm skiers, albeit punctuated with a good lunch. Now we have a dog back at base to consider, about half our days tend to end back in St M at lunchtime, or, if we do eat on the mountain, we head straight home afterwards. Off piste/touring days with a guide are the exception. Self guided powder days lapping our favourite spots usually end up shorter anyway as our thighs protest too much!
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Poster: A snowHead
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First lift to about 1/2 hour before the lifts shut is what I find myself doing. If I'm on my own I will ski to an early lunch at 12 noon and later in the season might have a quick beer at 3:30 before skiing to 5pm. With groups I will go with the flow but don't like lunches much more than 3/4 hour and start getting fidgety.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@johnE, but it's cool when you have just a few of your mates with you.
Three is just right, group of six can quickly spoil the solitude 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Someone posted on FB that they skied 23k vertical / ~140km distance in 8 hours of virtually non-stop skiing repeating the same pistes with fast chairlifts.
Skiing out of Morillon.
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| Layne wrote: |
Someone posted on FB that they skied 23k vertical / ~140km distance in 8 hours of virtually non-stop skiing repeating the same pistes with fast chairlifts.
Skiing out of Morillon. |
I saw that too. Someone posted a day in the Ski Circus yesterday. I wondered if they'd seen the thread on here and it prompted them to post.
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I still find it amazing tbh giving that I've never got up to half that vert.
Not that I have a desire to.
I put on Ski Tracks out of interest, I don't judge my days skiing on it.
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FAQ
Preferably indoors, with something to drink or eat. 
