How to optimize a three day ski trip?

[givethepigeye]

Speaking as someone with EXTENSIVE experience with low visibility, it can be exhausting both mentally and physically. As much as you want to charge, you just can't get your head in that space, your balance is tentative, and you use different muscles just correcting your constant missteps. I feel ten years younger when I can see where I'm going!

^ So much truth. Also feel like my ability to tolerate flat light has diminished as I have gotten older as well

 

[Paul Lutes]

Unless this happens to you routinely (seems like a perfect, one of a kind storm of grueling stress + new skis + bad vis), I wouldn't worry about it. But you absolutely need to give yourself sufficient recovery time from such travel, extra time for easing into new, multi-variable situations, and appropriate low key strategies for bad visibility (including not skiing). In other words, act your age, ya geezer!

 

[CalG]

Unless this happens to you routinely (seems like a perfect, one of a kind storm of grueling stress + new skis + bad vis), I wouldn't worry about it. But you absolutely need to give yourself sufficient recovery time from such travel, extra time for easing into new, multi-variable situations, and appropriate low key strategies for bad visibility (including not skiing). In other words, act your age, ya geezer!

Hey

All this talk about extra time to rest and adapt. There were only those three days ! ( My wife is a school teacher and this was not spring break, and I can't stand skiing in week end crowds. )
More important, it was snowing for all three.
There are NO FRIENDS on POWDER DAYS! not even one's self! ;-)

 

[givethepigeye]

@CalG - do you travel regularly coast to coast? It’s a grind that usually will catch up in a day or two even if upgraded. 2am PT is 5am ET. I take people with me all the time on work runs to West coast. Even though they “travel all the time”, albeit on the EC - I routinely hear “how do you do this, I’m spent”. Usually on day 2 or 3.

 

[raytseng]

if you're flying economy too, being forced to be stuck in that seated position with no blood flow which will pool some blood in your legs.If its international or more than 2 hours you may want to use compression socks and take conscious effort to walk around. If you have medical issues you should be aware of DVT as an issue. The socks didn' need to be medical stength, just sports socks available like underarmor, smartwool, etc.
ask john mcclaine in die hard.

This plus all the other factors mentioned probably meant you were not resting night1 or 2, skiing pushed you into the red on day one. so paying the price on skiday2, especially if there was no active recovery. Then your body probably kicked in and finally djusted and got a good nights rest night of skiday2 to passively recovered you back to yellow or green for skiday3..

 

[Sibhusky]

That is why when I lived on the East Coast I never took such short ski trips out west. I always needed three days to recover and acclimate. Truly, my knee jerk reaction when I saw the thread title was "Stay home." One week minimum. I might drive six hours for a long weekend trip, but that's it.

 

[Wilhelmson]

Unfortunately there are no short cuts in life. You need to do this at least five or six times a year. When it's going to snow a lot, just tell your wife "honey, I'm sorry but I can't paint the bathroom this weekend. I have to go to Montana for three days to train for our annual trip to Tahoe, I'm sure you understand. I will miss you."

If some of your training trips coincide with your inlaws visiting with their new annoying terrier it will further ease the oxygen and sleep deprivation.

 

[James]

If you're that tired, a chargey ski like a 187cm Bonafide, that you've never skied, is not the best choice. A 187 or 180! Soul 7 probably would have been easier and more fun. Thus less tiring.

You can also do more low angle powder. It's more relaxing and the sensations can be invigorating instead of enervating of the steeper stuff. But, you have to be ok with it and not think it's lame. The "No friends on a powder day" attitude while skiing alone likely thinks low angle powder is a waste.

Probably, and this is tough, esp on a powder day, you should have bailed on the first day. Rest, do some off snow stuff, get recharged. Yeah, you only had three days. But, you're the one with the complaint and according to Meatloaf, "Two out of Three Ain't Bad"

This year I had two days in Chamonix. I should have skipped the first, I was beat after 7 straight days skiing and the travel. I couldn't get a guide because I arrived too late. Instead, I went skiing anyway, in the freakin' rain and snow. Wet and cold at the same time of day, just changed with altitude. That's tiring without knowing it. Not a great day, it was ok, really only half skiing, but dealing with rentals and buses was a full day. The next day, I was really too burnt to ski, the guide couldn't reach me, so I bailed. Took a nap and got boot work done. It would've been much better to not ski the first day instead.