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How does some someone ski more than 50 days per season

dlague

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Sorry posted this under another thread originally by accident!

I think I have the wrong job (it pays well, but is M-F during daylight hours)! It certainly does not give me the freedom to get out more than 40-50 days. To get to 50 I would have to ski every day of every weekend, use all my vacation time and call in sick once and a while or go night skiing more often. I have yet to hit 40 (came 1 short several times)

Currently - we ski every day of every weekend + or - a day missed for various reasons here and there (not many). Starting in April it drops to one day per weekend due to sports. We go night skiing from time to time and I have taken a few days off to go skiing as well. Yet I am at 32 days now and will get to around 38.

How the heck does someone get to skiing over 50 days in a single season? Work nights? Work at a Ski Area? Student? Retired? There has to be a strategy to getting there?

To those over 50 days in -

How do you do it?!

Responses from other thread:

I have skied 47 days so far this season and should end over 50 days. I am a passholder at Sugarbush so I start skiing weekends when the mountain opens in November. I ski two days most every weekend, take a few 3 day weekends and take additional days over the Christmas and February vacations with my family. My family also skied on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years day as we celebrate our holidays in VT. Being a passholder, I have also skied on a few marginal days when many other people would not spend money on a lift ticket. I am fortunate that my entire family has a passion for skiing and it's what we do in the winter.

WWF-VT sounds like us...I have 49 days, mostly weekends and holidays.
 

joshua segal

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When I was working, like dlague, 40 to 50 days was a great season. When I was in grad school 40+ years ago, there were nearby night skiing places where I might take a break for an hour or two in the evening, and under those circumstances, I hit 60 or so days. Retirement + living slopeside is the difference. The people who really are trying to make ends meet in the industry don't generally do 100+ days.
 

dlague

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I know of some situations such as one of my team who's son went to UNH graduated to become a Civil Engineer and over the winter worked as a liftie and got in about 120 days - not all full days but got out there! He also still lives at his parents home! Then again I would not want to be in that situation either!
 

JimG.

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Night skiing at Jiminy adds 5-6 days to the total. As a Hunter pass holder I ski every weekend day Dec to at least mid-April. And I make sure to use vaca time over holidays (Tgiving, Xmas, Pres week) and at least 4 vaca days between March and April.

Gotta have priorities and make it a mission.
 

yeggous

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I have a real job, M-F 9-5, and I am shooting for 70 days this season. Here are the tricks:

1) start in October. Seriously.
2) go as late as possible, not Killington on Memorial Day, but elsewhere in late April for sure
3) night skiing! You need a local mountain. Crotched's midnight madness helps save some "lost" weekends
4) Ski every weekend, obviously
5) it is never too cold to ski, but I will skip washout days.
6) powder days! 18+" deserves a sick day, 6-12" means leave work early and go night skiing, 12" is that gray area where you get sick on Mondays and Fridays.
7) vacation days are use it or lose it by the end of the year. Smoke 'em if you got 'em in December.
8) get a season pass and place to stay (I recommend a ski club) so that you won't have to worry about the cost. You'll be much more likely to go on marginal days.
9) have a job where you can telecommute, that way if I go north and conditions suck I can dial in and not blow a day of vacation. Again you'll be much more likely to roll the dice.




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4aprice

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I got somewhere around 50 (I lose count, could be 47,48 etc). I count any day on snow as a "day" be it 2 hours or 8. My current schedule has left my mornings free and the home bump is only 45 min away so I can get a 2 hour session and be home by noon. We ski every weekend from approx. Nov 15-April 15 like the op but its those little sessions that bump the number up.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ
 

dlague

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I have a real job, M-F 9-5, and I am shooting for 70 days this season. Here are the tricks:

1) start in October. Seriously.
2) go as late as possible, not Killington on Memorial Day, but elsewhere in late April for sure
3) night skiing! You need a local mountain. Crotched's midnight madness helps save some "lost" weekends
4) Ski every weekend, obviously
5) it is never too cold to ski, but I will skip washout days.
6) powder days! 18+" deserves a sick day, 6-12" means leave work early and go night skiing, 12" is that gray area where you get sick on Mondays and Fridays.
7) vacation days are use it or lose it by the end of the year. Smoke 'em if you got 'em in December.
8) get a season pass and place to stay (I recommend a ski club) so that you won't have to worry about the cost. You'll be much more likely to go on marginal days.
9) have a job where you can telecommute, that way if I go north and conditions suck I can dial in and not blow a day of vacation. Again you'll be much more likely to roll the dice.

Have to say we ski in any temp just not rain, we bookend our season with trips to K town. As I read your post, I began to realize, I have bound myself to the deals that I have for early season - need more early season deals! I need to make better use of sick days (I have 12/year for crying out loud), lastly I need to get out for more night skiing (Tuesdays at Gunstock are $16 per person - went there twice). At best I think I can get to 50 - just do not see more than that happening/feasible!
 

thetrailboss

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When I was in College, I could do over 40 days.

In law school, with a season pass and vacations, I could do over 50. My last year of law school I did 66. And I had great grades. I could have theoretically done more with night skiing.

Since going back into the real world I have not gotten over 40. This year I was hoping for 35, but I will be lucky if I hit that. This is because job + 2 year old + wife.
 

abc

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Currently - we ski every day of every weekend + or - a day missed for various reasons here and there (not many). Starting in April it drops to one day per weekend due to sports. We go night skiing from time to time and I have taken a few days off to go skiing as well. Yet I am at 32 days now and will get to around 38.
I take a few WEEKS off to go skiing! (ok, most of us have minimum of 2 weeks a year, and that's the minimum I take off to go skiing!) So I'm guarantee to have 10 additional days right then and there on top of whatever weekend and night skiing I can muster. When I'm at jobs that has more vacation time (4 weeks at one job), I may go up to 3 weeks of skiing.

Disclaimer: I don't claim to do 50 every year, though this year is one such... but that's irrelevant.
 

St. Bear

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I'm having trouble breaking 20 because I don't have a pass to a local mountain, and it's such an investment of time and money to head up north. When (not if), I move back to NH, I could keep the same job/family commitments and easily double that.
 

Bostonian

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When I was in College, I could do over 40 days.

In law school, with a season pass and vacations, I could do over 50. My last year of law school I did 66. And I had great grades. I could have theoretically done more with night skiing.

Since going back into the real world I have not gotten over 40. This year I was hoping for 35, but I will be lucky if I hit that. This is because job + 2 year old + wife.


I am hoping for 20, which will be a record for me as I started only getting back into Skiing about 6 years ago... But having a wife and a 3 year old make it tough to get out often. My 9-5 job is flexible enough that I could do week long vacations in the winter and it pays well. But now having Daycare constraints and a wife who doesn't ski, well it makes it nearly impossible to get more than 20 for me
 

pcampbell

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Strategically located :) 10 minutes to MRG and I work on west coast time. I actually moved to VT for bike riding but turned into a skier.

I usually cut work 2 days a year to ski... any more than that I feel guilty :(
 

Edd

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I work 12 hour shifts so I have more days off than most. My best year was 59 days but, at the time, my GF lived in North Conway so I was up there by default constantly. I easily break 40 most years but I'm going to fall a bit short this season.


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JDMRoma

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I work 12 hour shifts so I have more days off than most. My best year was 59 days but, at the time, my GF lived in North Conway so I was up there by default constantly. I easily break 40 most years but I'm going to fall a bit short this season.


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I would love a 3 day week !! Ideal would be Tues,Wed,Thurs...having Friday and Monday off !
 

skiNEwhere

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Problem with "sick days" is that everyone in the office knows I'm an avid skier. I think they'd figure it out pretty quick.
 

catsup948

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I did right around 50 this season. I teach lessons two nights a week to get a free pass. Many of my trips are only for a few hours but having a pass I can ski when I want. I even managed to get a few days up north this winter as well!
 

Not Sure

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I really don't enjoy , rocks, hard pack or boiler plate, So I pick my days a little more carefully than I used to. Being self employed has some benifits, carry my skiis in my Van in case of an emergency .
Pa. sucks a lot of years.
If I go North I usually do 2nd week of Feburary on. Not as cold, better snow , more options...woods. If I lived up north I would definatley ski more!
My skis are older but in pretty good shape.
 
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