What I’ve learned from my ski trips

When I skied as a child, I didn’t think I would be doing it very often as an adult. Now, it’s a blessing that I get to live my dream of being able to ski at some of the best ski resorts in the world.

But making it happen is the real challenge. Many things stand in the way of a successful ski trip. Lots of planning and preparation is necessary to facilitate a smooth experience on the slopes. From my experiences skiing this year in Washington State, British Columbia, Colorado, and California, I’ve gained insights that I’m excited to use in the future.

Preparing to ski

The thing about skiing is… it’s very tedious. First, you have to get all of your clothes and equipment purchased and/or rented, then calibrated to your body’s measurements. Then, you have to lug it all to the slopes. Once you’re there, congratulations, you get to put it all on. Boots, pants, coats, goggles, gloves, and your helmet. Only then can you go skiing. Once you’re done, congratulations, you get to take them off and then lug them back home.

(By the way, need a list? See the next section for a packing list.)

I don’t know how many hours of my life have been wasted on ski gear logistics, but it’s only made worse by skiing outside your home mountain. You see, the tediousness of handling ski gear is exacerbated when you’re traveling to a different city. Whether you have to buy a roof rack to attach it to the roof of your car, or have to procure a ski bag to hoist your skis in the underbelly of an airplane to your exotic skiing destination, it’s even more expensive and way more time-consuming.

Traveling to ski is also a pain. Not only do you have to worry about lugging your ski gear around, you have to also make proper arrangements. How are you getting to the mountain—with a rental car or with a shuttle? Where are you staying—in a $1,000/night hotel right at the resort or a nearby Airbnb or a far away cheaper hotel?

One more thing. Don’t plan to ski just one day. Why? Because you can’t control the weather. By only planning to ski for one day, you are betting on the weather being good that one day. Given the varied conditions that must exist for snow to precipitate and form proper skiing terrain, you can’t expect that every day will be good for skiing. High winds and whiteout conditions will result in chair lifts to be closed. The only way to adapt to Mother Nature without ruining your ski trip is to wait for the next day and hope for better conditions. Therefore, try to plan for a longer ski trip if possible. If you have the ability to do so, try to ski during weekdays to save money and avoid the crowds.

Ski trip packing list

My friend Arjun created this list on Notion, which you can refer to: https://awake-crown-683.notion.site/Ski-trip-packing-list-176fda99dfb8800ab0b1f1e9102acbf1

Here’s a modified version that I use:

• Absolute necessities
  • Skis
  • Ski boots
  • Ski jacket
  • Ski pants
  • Ski goggles
  • Poles
  • Ski gloves
• Nice-to-haves
  • Glove liners
  • Ski backpack
  • Water bottle
  • Tissues
  • First aid kit
  • Battery pack
  • Snacks, but avoid Clif bars since they significantly solidify in cold weather
  • Helmet speakers
• Vision correction
  • Glasses
  • Contact lenses
  • Contact lens solution
• Warmer weather (above 20ºF)
  • Base layer shirt (Smartwool)
  • Base layer pants (Smartwool)
  • Fleece pullover
• Colder weather (below 20ºF)
  • Any t-shirt
  • Sports pants
  • Heavy ski jacket
• Après-ski:
  • Swimsuit
• Sleeping
  • Sleeping mask
  • Mack’s foam ear plugs
  • Night clothes, if that’s your thing

Traveling with skis

For those of us who purchased our own skis and boots, we have to bring them with us wherever we go skiing. In particular, I want to focus on the logistics of traveling with skis when flying. This involves purchasing a ski bag and placing your skis, boots, helmet, etc., into it.

First, the good news. Most U.S. airlines take ski bags as if they were normal bags and won’t charge you extra for them. Sometimes, airlines might even let you consider one ski bag and one boot bag as a single item for pricing purposes.

But the bad news is, it’s not normal-sized luggage. It’s considered oversize baggage. This means you probably will need to bring your ski bag to a special oversize baggage drop conveyor. Then, when you arrive, you probably can’t pick it up at the regular baggage claim—it’ll need to be claimed at the oversize baggage claim at your airport. Also, it’s annoying to drag around a super long bag around the airport and then transport it in your rental car of choice.

The first time I flew with my ski bag was annoying because I’m not used to dealing with the whole oversize baggage thing. After the first time, though, you get used to the whole oversize thing. Eventually, you come to terms with ski bags being a pain to carry around and then you achieve zen. It becomes a badge of honor to carry around your own skis.

Overnight lodging and rest

Perhaps I’ve had horrible luck, but I haven’t had a single satisfying night of rest before a big ski day this season. I mostly blame my sleep deprivation on the perceived necessity to wake up early, as well as uncomfortable sleeping conditions.

Yes, ski resorts operate their lifts between 9am to 3pm, or maybe 4pm. But does that really mean you’ll be skiing all six to seven hours? And what good is skiing for six hours if you’re not?

So, after this season, here are my new non-negotiable rules for skiing:

1. I’m not waking up early.
2. I’m not skimping on sleeping conditions.

Your body needs a proper sense of balance in order to ski. There is no way you will have a good sense of balance if you are sleep deprived. If you still have the sense of balance, it won’t last long on the slopes before your drowsiness encroaches on you and forces you to stop skiing.

I am no longer amenable to waking up early. I don’t care if I wake up at noon and I’ll only be able to ski from 1pm to 3pm. I’m also the kind of person who would rather not spend any time eating breakfast; I’ll gladly ski on an empty stomach, and in fact, I quite like doing so. Two hours of good skiing beats six hours of bad skiing.

I’m also no longer going to settle for anything less than my own proper bed in a hotel. I will prefer to have my own separate room, as it helps me relax. Perhaps I can share a room with one trusted friend who doesn’t snore, but that’s it.

Understandably, this may seem a bit extreme. I’d say this level of caution is not required for everyone. But when you invest hundreds or even thousands of dollars into making a ski trip happen, you don’t want to skimp on one part of the expenses only to have the entire trip ruined. If you do that, then what’s the point of the trip anyway?

Next season, I am looking forward to paying a few hundred dollars more to make sure I don’t have to wake up before 10am, ever, and I don’t get disrupted in my sleep before 10am.

Looking forward

I’m incredibly fortunate to have the ability to take ski trips. From my ski trips this year, I’ve had lots of formative experiences that will certainly influence how I’m going to approach skiing in the future. I’m looking forward to having amazing, smooth ski trips for later trips in my life!