How long do you ski on average per day/average vertical?

[noncrazycanuck]

normal winter day at whistler at top before 9 and start skiing to valley around 2
usual is around 25k but i really don't keep track, when it's over 30k I usually feel it.
Suppose we could easily rack up vertical if we got off the bumps and skied groomers but plan is to avoid those until we have too.

 

[Paul Lutes]

1-3 hours.
See Senior Club thread.

 

[LegacyGT]

Skiing mostly in Southern VT at a resort with a lot of day trippers. Conditions and lift lines generally get worse through the day so the goal is always first chair and then it's 3-4 hours of skiing from there. With my increasing age and the proliferation of high-speed lifts, the days of 7-8 hour ski days are well behind me.

 

[Beartown]

it was interesting to go through the data. I averaged 23558 feet and 5.88 hours per day. Vertical varied from ~6000 (27 "mogul" runs at the local bump) to ~45000 (Steamboat on a sunshiney groomer day). I crank vert on days I'm alone, and when my legs are shot (cuz I ski more groomers then). If I'm hiking, just doing trees/bumps, or if there's pow, vert goes down. Good lift systems and short lines really add to the vert as well. Agree that Sun Valley is the ideal setup for stacking up vert (lapping Challenger ftw). Mammoth on a windy weekend day killed me (20 min lines with only 2-3 lifts open plus LA/SD crowds). Don't really ever ski with vertical in mind, but it's interesting to see.

 

[Bad Bob]

Not so long anymore. 6 hours with a 1/2 hour for lunch would be about right. When the legs start to go, so do I.
Have never kept track of vertical. Do about 4 runs per hour on my home bump of 2K vert, 40K a day would probably be close. No real hiking necessary or long traverses. Would suspect on a BIG hill that figure might go down, more stops to gawk and rest the legs.

 

[KingGrump]

All verticals are not created equal.

 

[Talisman]

I don't track vertical, but based on two days of "typical" Big Sky ski days with Snowbird Devotee who does track vertical; ~33,000+ feet and mainly bumps with the exception of connector trails.

 

[bbinder]

Oh, depends on the mountain and the snow. Anywhere from 3-5 hours excluding breaks and lunch. Over 20K would be a great day for me - I usually do 12-15K

 

[Sibhusky]

It depends on age, injuries, employment status, snow, mountain, lifts, terrain, companions, fitness, yada yada. For me, fitness (including injuries) and employment status are the biggies.

There's nothing like actual data to make you realize what "average" means as opposed to "median". I did a lot of gate-keeping back in my "most fit" time period, which lowers the average day by quite a bit. One of those years I hit 52,000 feet on a day. But you add that to a day you took the run home after the race and it all vanishes.

 

[UGASkiDawg]

Till my smile wears down

 

[PNWRod]

Typically first chair until 12:30 -1pm non stop then head back for work. I/we snack and hydrate on the lift. I tend to ski when there are no lift lines so it's ski down and on the lift back up. No idea on vertical, conditions dictate where, how far out, how many and how fast. I'm often in the side country, rarely on the groomer runs except to get to a chair. On groomer days, dust on crust, we regularly get 10 laps by 10 am in. That's 10k vertical but I wouldn't call that quality, we are just straight lining the corduroy.

 

[GregK]

All verticals are not created equal.

View attachment 72427 View attachment 72428

That’s the difference between skiing 60k plus vert a day on groomers vs 35k skiing steep bumps! I’d choose the steeps in the afternoon after hitting highway speeds on those groomers first thing in the morning. Perfect day! (Unless there is snow and it’s all steeps!)

When I looked back at my last 2 years, my usual 6.5-7 hour days were typically in the 42k-52k vert per day when at my local 550’-720’ hills and around the 32k-35k range when skiing back bowls with slow haul back lifts out West.

I had some partial ski days that brought down my “average per day” but still managed 1.2 mil vert last year in 41 days and 1.5 mil vert in 45 days this year. Determined to ski at least 50 days next year and be in between 1.8 to 2 mil in vert.

 

[P-Ute]

I use the Ski Tracks app:
-Average ski day this year is 4.5 hours. I am usually in line for first chair because the best runs are the early ones before the crowds arrive
-Average ski vertical is 25K/day. Low is 5K, high is 43K.

There is a lot of variability from day to day due to factors such as groomer vs bumps, powder vs bluebird days, mid-season vs early/late season days; good vs poor visibility; skiing alone vs with others and how sore my knees feel.

Some days I do chase a number or just ski a day to add to the total (read that as an exercise day), but even if I am just pursuing a number being at a ski resort is a wonderful place to spend the day!

 

[Bill Miles]

Sun Valley vertical muncher. Is there an easier mountain to smash out vertical?

If you like fast, steepish groomer cruising, there is nothing better for racking up vertical (out of the 46 mountains I have skied.

 

[CalG]

Just a perspective from the working class.

Skis hit the snow at 7:10 am +/-, Back to the base garage 16:30- 17:00

20,000 vert/day give of take. Four days per week, all season ....

I can get in a lot of runs between 7:10 and a 9:00 opening. Someone needs to check ;-)

 

[Don in Morrison]

I rarely get in more than 5 hours on a ski day, and I'm too busy having fun to worry about how many vertical feet I've covered.

 

[Bruuuce]

I probably average around 4 hours/day. I agree that I focus on quality rather than quantity, especially since I live less than 3 miles from the gondola. I can go any time the conditions are good, but don't feel the need to go wire to wire except on the epic days. I'm often surprised by the vertical (on both the high and low end) since that isn't a goal. Ski tracker for me is now more about knowing when to stop at the IKON office for my next $20 voucher for days skied.

 

[robertc3]

We typically average about 7 hours at the hill, but we take a couple of longish breaks when the kids stop for lunch and then after their training is over. Probably about 5 hours of actual skiing, 5.5 on a good day. When it is just a free ski day it can be more intense with shorter breaks, but generally we ski to be together as a family, so we are not worried about vertical. I only occasionally use a tracker to see how fast I was going and I think I am done with that after seeing our 11 year old touch 70 MPH. It was either wrong or very scary. Either way, probably not something I should be watching.

 

[4ster]

5 to 6 hours, 25k to 35k per day. Usually go non-stop first 3 or 4 hours, usually need to stop & shake the legs for a few seconds toward the end, lunch is on the lift. The runs at my home area average 2400’ vertical each.

Like @KingGrump says, there are different kinds of vertical, my day usually consists of all types.

 

[David]

Here in the midwest I ski about 7 hours, 75-80 runs to get 15 k vert. Now I'm sad...