You can't just ski everyday!

[Guy in Shorts]

“You can’t just ski everyday” was the advice our financial advisor gave my wife when told him that she was retiring four ski seasons ago at 54. Last week she exceeded the 100 day season total for her seventh year in a row proving him wrong. We have heard this similar comment even from some of our friends that ski. Typically they would say “I don’t know how you guys can ski every day and not get bored”. Comments like this have always struck me as silly because skiing is the ultimate cure for boredom. Any day that I am lucky enough to ride the gondola up to the top of the world gives my inner being an intense feeling of satisfaction. After 40 years of making turns on snow I have never found a single one to be boring. Rapidly approaching pulling the retirement trigger myself with the steadfast resolve of planning to ski every day possible for the rest of my life.


Here’s the question – Could you or would you chose to ski everyday after retiring? The answer to this has been clear in my head for years as we have already embraced living the active mountain lifestyle.

 

[KingGrump]

Here’s the question – Could you or would you chose to ski everyday after retiring?

Is that a rhetorical question?

 

[nemesis256]

When the conditions suck, yes I would get bored. Otherwise hell no. I'm going to get 60+ days this season, and that's with a full time job. Some of those "days" are a 30 min skin up and 5 min ski down, but I still consider it a ski day.

 

[mdf]

It's interesting that you two are doing the same thing very differently -- GIS mostly at one place, but the Grumps with a big chunk of time at a different place each year.

 

[jimmy]

Is that a rhetorical question?

I would if I could.

 

[KingGrump]

It's interesting that you two are doing the same thing very differently -- GIS mostly at one place, but the Grumps with a big chunk of time at a different place each year.

I have a good travel agent.

 

[mdf]

I have a good travel agent.

How big a commission do you pay?

 

[KingGrump]

How big a commission do you pay?

If you have to ask.
Yes, I'm that good.

 

[4ster]

I don't even ski half of the year & it seems to be almost enough .
I do try to live an "active mountain lifestyle" all year, unless I'm at the beach or desert.

 

[Started at 53]

I played golf everyday from the age of 10 to 27 (age 10-16 spent in Ohio, hit balls in a net all winter, ages 17-27 based in Florida so never missed a day period), never missed a day unless I was on an airplane all day. Never got bored, never wished I was doing something different. So yeah I think you can ski everyday.

I am a bit more relaxed nowadays, we plan to ski Monday through Fridays going forward unless a weekend day’s conditions demands skiing.

100+ days a season is awesome!

 

[Fuller]

I skied 44 out of my 45 available days this year. It was a really good year at Whitefish so I didn't even start getting bored. New skis, new terrain, mastering the occasional less than ideal conditions, the days that weren't so special I spent doing drills. As long as I am trying to improve I'm engaged and interested, my health and physical fitness really isn't taxed by lift served skiing very much. My road bike takes a lot more out of me than skiing ever does. So yeah, I could ski everyday, watch me!

 

[Jack skis]

Starting in 1989 we skied six or seen days a week every season through 2016-2017 (with the exception of the year my knee died). The first years were at Big Sky and then starting in 2000-2001 at Crested Butte. We did ski a few other areas during the season (for races), but the most of the days were at our "home" area. I don't remember getting bored with the area, but that's just me -- and my wife who was with me all the way. We'd reached an age when we couldn't get the jobs we'd done for years, so we decided we'd go skiing. Worked at the ski school at Big Sky, wife was an instructor, I was the janitor. That lasted a few years and then we just skied. We were lucky we had the resources to enjoy the life we wanted. Circumstances ended the ski years Nov 14, 2017, so no skiing this season. If I can get back to it next season I will for sure. Hard to say if that's going to be possible. Not everyone can do something to that deep a level, we could. Beat just fading away.

 

[Guy in Shorts]

Is that a rhetorical question?

Not the intent, just more of a practical application or case study in the feasibility of pulling off what many skiers dream of happening. Love your plan of picking a new home mountain each season. One of my friends skis Killington thru Christmas then heads West for 3 months with his MAX pass returning to the Beast for the last couple of months of spring fun. I have been happily hanging my hat here while I finish up my working years. Here at Killington there are 25 folks that were scanned at least 100 Days for the first five years of the "100 Club" and I pretty much know each one and their story. The pool of skiers that actually do live the daily skiing dream is quite small. Showing up every day requires commitment, stamina, planning, desire and staying healthy. Two different snowboarding buddies of mine are both 67 with one barely able to complete two runs before his is too tired and the other racked up nearly 4 million vertical feet last year. The pitfalls are real as I have watched so many hit the wall allowing the skiing dream to fade.

 

[Kbat117]

It's my dream to be able to do that. But as a highschooler, that's not possible if I want to continue pursuing college and scholarships. But I managed 49 days this season today with at least 2 more left this season and still have a 3.95 GPA . A largE proportion of those were nightskiinig after school at a tiny hill 10 minutes from my house.

 

[MountainMonster]

Here’s the question – Could you or would you chose to ski everyday after retiring? The answer to this has been clear in my head for years as we have already embraced living the active mountain lifest

Short annswer, YES
retired early to ski, 2011,
major heart attack June 2015,
2015 - 2016 season...162 days on snow, against Dr. advice
Skiing Monday -Friday most weeks still , (against Dr's advice )
Skiing boring ? never..........

 

[Posaune]

I retired 10 years ago at 54 to ski and make music, so it's not just skiing but I'm still getting a bit over 50 days per season. I don't have unlimited funds to be able to pick a different place each season, and it would make music a difficult thing to do since I need my peeps around me to do it. I like the way I have it set up.

 

[chilehed]

Could you or would you chose to ski everyday after retiring?

It's the second most fun thing I know of... both every day for sure. No doubt.

 

[Wasatchman]

“You can’t just ski everyday” was the advice our financial advisor gave my wife when told him that she was retiring four ski seasons ago at 54. Last week she exceeded the 100 day season total for her seventh year in a row proving him wrong. We have heard this similar comment even from some of our friends that ski. Typically they would say “I don’t know how you guys can ski every day and not get bored”. Comments like this have always struck me as silly because skiing is the ultimate cure for boredom. Any day that I am lucky enough to ride the gondola up to the top of the world gives my inner being an intense feeling of satisfaction. After 40 years of making turns on snow I have never found a single one to be boring. Rapidly approaching pulling the retirement trigger myself with the steadfast resolve of planning to ski every day possible for the rest of my life.


Here’s the question – Could you or would you chose to ski everyday after retiring? The answer to this has been clear in my head for years as we have already embraced living the active mountain lifestyle.

Seriously? We're all trying to be civil on here but this post rubs me the wrong way. I feel like you're basically starting out by saying you're going to be living the ski dream, and then you answer your own question. What are you really getting out of this other than making many people jealous on a forum of avid skiers?

And while we're on topic, while in ski retirement, should I purchase a ski-in, ski-out chalet, or stay daily at the Four Seasons for easier access to daily spa treatments to soothe sore muscles from "living the active mountain lifestyle."

Feel free to call me out for being too thin skinned, but c'mon man!

 

[Bill Talbot]

"Could you or would you chose to ski everyday after retiring?"

I wouldn't want to. There are just to many great things to do and see out there. I have many other interests outside of skiing.
20-25 day per season is perfect for me and honestly if I skied much more than that it would be less of a special day for me.
Variety IS the spice of my life

 

[fatbob]

When I've done seasons I've put together 30 day streaks ( and for the most part those are fullish days not4 laps from first lift). I found I couldn't ski literally every day. A couple of days off to go hiking or whatever ( timed of course for a dry spell) meant I was stoked again to go back skiing.