Are you a fairweather skier???

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Imagine that you have a weekend trip booked somewhere in Vermont and the forecast for the entire weekend is for rain...do you still go and ski in the rain? Do you reschedule?

Will you ski in extreme cold and intense winds? In sleet/freezing rain? When only one trail is open?

Just wondering..alot of my friends are fairweather skiers to the point when if there's just a chance of rain they'll bail. The ski season is too short for me to be picky..When I skied 60+ days in a row this past season..several of those days were in the rain. My sessions are usually shorter in the rain because I only stay dry for 2-3 hours but I at least want to be out there. Plus I love the fast yet edgeable surface on a rainy day...and lack of crowds.

 

[Greg]

Last season at Sugarbush, I skied on a day with -35 windchills. The actual summit temp was -19 that morning. The base high that day (actual) was probably -5 to -10. That was the coldest I've ever skied and I know it's pretty warm compared to what some others here have skied. I wasn't very uncomfortable, but that was indeed my limit.

Skied some great bumps in the rain on MLK Day at Hunter last season too. First time I've skied all day in moderate to heavy rain. Once you acclimate, it's actually quite enjoyable. I rode the Z lift over a completely brown (expect for Wayout) West side in a pretty steady rain. I don't think there was another person on the line at the time and it was kinda surreal.

 

[JimG.]

It's supposed to be cold and windy...it's Winter.

Icy? That happens with cold and wind so deal with it.

And if it's snowing that's an excellent thing and a great reason to ski.

Rain isn't so bad either...normally I'll go skiing anyway and enjoy the consistent snow and no crowds.

But I avoid skiing 3 days in a row in the rain...that's bordering on punishment.

 

[ComeBackMudPuddles]

Season pass hill? Why not? Rain isn't horrible. But, I only did it growing up when my dad made me. I'm not a huge fan.

Shelling out $50 - $70 to ski in the rain? No.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Shelling out $50 - $70 to ski in the rain? No.

I do because if I didn't shell out that money to ski in the rain..I wouldn't be skiing and most likely spending that money on something else...I feel like..ski season is only a certain number of days and you can never get a missed day back..

 

[dmc]

I ride in the rain... It's usualy awesome snow...
But i don't ride everyday just because I feel obligated to...

Only when i want to...

 

[tjf67]

I ski on the weekends. If it rains then I ski in the rain. If its cold then I ski in the cold.

 

[ERJ-145CA]

I'll ski in almost any conditions, my second time skiing last season was at Belleayre in December and it was rain and freezing rain the whole time, but it was still fun. I had a few days skiing Bromley, Mountain Creek and Mt. Peter when the temps were in the single digits with howling wind, so I guess I won't bail out because of the weather.

 

[millerm277]

Temps don't bother me much, and bad weather just means no crowds. As long as the lifts can run, I'll ski....and if they can't, I still might ski.

 

[MRGisevil]

Ski anytime- weather doesn't deter my ski schedule. Besides, if it's raining, there's usually absolutely no wait on the lift!

 

[RENO]

I hate when it rains, but I'll go out for a couple hours if it's only showering and only on my season pass. I also wouldn't spend $60+ to ride in the rain. Since we own a condo and my work is pretty flexible as far as taking vacation I will skip a weekend that looks like it's gonna rain a lot and wait till the following weekend. I'm not driving 5 1/2 - 6 hours to ride in 3 days of rain. I love when it snows and I don't care if it's cold as long as it doesn't get brutally cold. I hate very windy days.

I was at Killington 2-3 years ago and it was -16 with wind chills in the -30's and went out. My goggles froze inside and I took them off at the top of Snowshed to ride down to the lodge to dry them. By the time I got there the fluid in my eyeballs was frozen! LOL!
Also was at Breckenridge this past season where it was -15 to -20 and windchill -30's or worse and all the upper lifts were closed and I went out. Dipped into the lodges after every lift ride up for 15 minutes to warm up! Never saw it that cold in Colorado! Probably why I tore my calf muscle.

 

[kcyanks1]

I have skied in the rain a few times and on one occasion drove 3.5 each ways to do so (though that was more of a drizzle). But if I have not yet firmly committed to plans for a weekend, and it is supposed to rain, there is a good chance I'll plan for a different weekend. It depends on how fixed my plans are and who else is involved.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Skiing in the rain blows, but I do it. Since I bought rain gear it's a better experience.

 

[Grassi21]

The limits of my Spyder gear were test last season night skiing at Sundown. My jacket and pants were soaked through. Not a fun experience. I'm not against skiing in the rain. I just need to invest in a jacket with gore-tex. But the odds of me investing in ski gear for myself this year are slim to none. :-(

 

[Greg]

The limits of my Spyder gear were test last season night skiing at Sundown. My jacket and pants were soaked through. Not a fun experience. I'm not against skiing in the rain. I just need to invest in a jacket with gore-tex. But the odds of me investing in ski gear for myself this year are slim to none. :-(

True. Good gear is a must. My TNF jacket with Gore-Tex is almost 100% rainproof. The Hyvent pants are decent, but I do get a bit damp, but not bad. My Marmot gloves get totally soaked.

 

[tjf67]

True. Good gear is a must. My TNF jacket with Gore-Tex is almost 100% rainproof. The Hyvent pants are decent, but I do get a bit damp, but not bad. My Marmot gloves get totally soaked.

I use my golf rain gear for rain days. It works and is not that expensive. The NIKE rain pants are great. I have HH foul weather jacket. I look like the gorden fisherman but for the most part am dry. Put dishwashing gloves over a pair of liners and BAM you are dry

 

[ctenidae]

Yes. I am willing to ski when the wether is fair.
I'm willing to ski when it's not so nice, too, but that wasn't really the question.

 

[Greg]

I use my golf rain gear for rain days. It works and is not that expensive. The NIKE rain pants are great. I have HH foul weather jacket. I look like the gorden fisherman but for the most part am dry. Put dishwashing gloves over a pair of liners and BAM you are dry

:blink:

 

[Grassi21]

True. Good gear is a must. My TNF jacket with Gore-Tex is almost 100% rainproof. The Hyvent pants are decent, but I do get a bit damp, but not bad. My Marmot gloves get totally soaked.

The night I was speaking of my hands were the only part of me that was dry (well my feet were fine too). I love my TNF gore-tex gloves. Through skiing I have a new found respect for gore-tex. But I will never stop thinking of George Costanza in his poofy TNF jacket. :lol:

 

[kcyanks1]

If I am skiing in the rain it's potentially warm enough to use a windbreaker instead of my ski jacket. While my ski jacket is probably far from waterproof now, a windbreaker works fine.