Skiing Opening to Closing?

Do any of you ski opening to closing?  If not, did you before?  I always do unless it is early season and my legs are not in shape to make it all the way.

Do you ski opening to closing?

Always or almost always

Sometimes

Rarely or never

Used to, but not anymore

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I went with sometimes. It really depends on the day, what conditions and/or where I am. I ski from when I get there until when I decide that enough is enough and enough fun has been had.

And this "bell to bell" stuff, where does that come from? Never heard a bell in 40-odd years of skiing. Maybe I don't get there early enough and leave too soon.

I suppose I have occasionally gone open to close if conditions were really good, I had the leg to do so, and I had a partner to ski with. But not often. Usually I ski alone but I definitely ski longer when I ski with others.

Most of the time, I push myself really hard so I don't have the legs to make it all day. Or if conditions are bad, I only ski the morning. I almost always arrive at an area for first chair to get the best conditions. But I rarely stay past 1-2pm.

I didn't vote.  I was opening to closing my whole (ski) life really, but this year for the first time, I'm not.

(Just didn't have it in me to check the "used to" box!)

Yesterday I was BEAT and quit at two.  I figured I'd save it for the storm.

Today was escape day, also skied 'til 2.

Had a hard time leaving today.

 

Most of the time, I push myself really hard so I don't have the legs to make it all day. Or if conditions are bad, I only ski the morning. I almost always arrive at an area for first chair to get the best conditions. But I rarely stay past 1-2pm.


that sums it up for me 95% of the time

CONTENTS DELETED

Nope -- never

When i am with my regular RED group We all charge pretty hard from opening ,so our day is usually done at 3pm.

Now when i go to Gore ,with my son and grandson it usually is till closing ,BUT i reel back the speed after lunch and take it easy while they still charge hard.

But at my age it takes 3 days a week in the gym yr round to get this done now :)

It pretty much depends on who I ski with. I can ski all day if I want (easier on Alpine than Tele) and I'm with people who want to push it, but a lot of people I ski with these days are more likely to call it a day early (2:30 or 3:00), and I'm usually cool with that.

I skied 9:00-3:45 on Saturday, then 8:45-2:15 on Sunday.

Wish I had the legs to ski to the end yesterday but they're not quite there yet.  I was floppin' around like a beater the last couple runs so I rolled it up pretty early (2:30ish I think)

Sometimes.  I would like to make it from opening to closing but making that first chair doesn't always work.  I typically stay to close as I find many leave so you get the mountain when it is less crowded.  Probably a break mid day for a frosty beverage.  With kids it is multiple hot cocoa or I'm cold breaks.  Still getting my legs but I'm getting there!

I proudly checked that I used to ski from bell to bell, but I don't anymore. I say "proudly" because I think it shows my maturation process regarding skiing. When I was younger (still am, btw!), I skied bell to bell as a matter of principle. I pushed myself to do so regardless of conditions, terrain and how crowded it was. Now I look back at those days and laugh at myself.

When conditions are not stellar, I find that a better use of my day is to ski for a couple of hours and then do something different. Sometimes it's work, sometimes it's spending time with friends or family. Sometimes it's just sleeping in. Don't get me wrong, I'm very passionate about skiing. But I guess when you ski 60 to 80 days a season you have the luxury of not having to ski every single one of them from bell to bell. My sense is that's how locals look at it as well. Ski for a couple of hours, then work, play, sleep, spend time with friends, drink, whatever. Now....when it's a stellar day...look out. Bell to bell is most definitely an option.

WNY-ADK Skier wrote

 My sense is that's how locals look at it as well. Ski for a couple of hours, then work, play, sleep, spend time with friends, drink, whatever. Now....when it's a stellar day...look out. Bell to bell is most definitely an option.

That's how I look at it but I do 4 hrs+ when at the big mtns. So if I don't get there till 10 or so no biggie. I used to ski all day/cold days but no longer desire to cause I don't have to get my days in.

Take today, was gonna go to Gore but it was supposed to be cold so I slept in. The sun came out so I'll slide over to West for some turns.

If it's cold or crappy I can afford to stay home cause it's easy to get to the mtn anytime.

EDIT:  I see Gore has a demo day Wednesday. Think I'll go try those new rockers out.

I rarely ski the entire day but it somewhat depends on what mountain I am at.
Last year on our Whiteface trip, I skiied the entire day on our last day there. I think the lifts stopped spinning at 4?
When skiing at Vail the lifts shut down at 3:30 so we skiied all day there.
At Greek Peak, my home mountain, the lifts spin from 8:30 am until 9:00 pm. There's no way I'm skiing for that long!
I'm not a big fan of night skiing anyway...

Rarely.  Most of my ski days are with the family, and getting to Gore from an hour away with 2 kids (ages 6 & 9) in time for first chair is pretty tough to pull off.  But when I'm skiing on my own, if conditions warrant, I'll go bell-to-bell.  When it's really good, like on my Big Sky trip last year, I'll invoke the No Lunch Policy.

(da da dum...da da dum)
In the days of my youth I was told what it means to [ski] a man....now I've reached that age....

Used to, but not any more....

First chair to absolute last chair is how I grew up.  I still try to make the most of my opportunities on the hill.  I make use of First Tracks when I can, but other times getting the kiddos to ski school prevents me from being ready to go when the lifts start turning.  I still go all day, but once the upper lifts close my urgency for the next/last chair is no longer there.  There have been days I have passed up the Face Lift at 3:45, when the younger me would have cringed at such a thought.  Also, my lunch/Ubu breaks during the day get longer and more frequent as I grow longer in the tooth.

On powder days, with a decent lunch. But, you gotta be smart in the afternoon. You know, you don't want that proverbial last run of the day to be the last run of the season because you pushed yourself just a bit too far.

Skidds wrote

(da da dum...da da dum)
In the days of my youth I was told what it means to [ski] a man....now I've reached that age....

Used to, but not any more....

First chair to absolute last chair is how I grew up.  I still try to make the most of my opportunities on the hill.  I make use of First Tracks when I can, but other times getting the kiddos to ski school prevents me from being ready to go when the lifts start turning.  I still go all day, but once the upper lifts close my urgency for the next/last chair is no longer there.  There have been days I have passed up the Face Lift at 3:45, when the younger me would have cringed at such a thought.  Also, my lunch/Ubu breaks during the day get longer and more frequent as I grow longer in the tooth.

You want to have more" good times than bad times"...so quit early and have some wings and beer..

Back in the day I did. Now that I'm 56 that never happens anymore.  I work 6 days a week and ski mostly on Sunday so I sleep in a little. I shoot for getting to the mountain by 10 and ski till 3 or so. I do stop for a frosty beer in the Tannery around lunch. Old joints need lubrication.

  When I travel to ski I usually ski from first to last chair. At my local hill, Greek Peak, my usual routine is to get there at opening, ski till 11, hit the bar for their opening. I don't drink anymore, but I like having a coffee at the bar before the lunch crowd arrives. After that I'll ski until I feel like I've had enough. All depends on crowds, conditions, and how I'm feeling physically.

  Friday at Snow Ridge my body was telling me to leave before close, but my mind knew I'd probably never ski that much snow again, so I pressed on til the end.