In a recent social media post, Boyne Mountain Resort, Michigan, asked its guests to bow down to "the shredding elite"—the skiers that have logged the most days at the Michigan ski area during the 2023-2024 season.
Atop the list sits one Paul Kuehl with 114 days on snow at Boyne.
In adulthood, I've realized that for a skier to hit 100-plus days in a season, some combination of the following must be true: they don't have a job, live very close to a ski resort, have incredible time management skills, or have a spouse who doesn't mind that the needy other man or woman is a chairlift.
There are permutations here. Maybe you work full-time but live next to a ski resort offering night skiing. Or, more classicly, take winters off to ski your heart out. There isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to skiing more than 100 days in a season.
I also realized that I vastly overestimated the amount of times I skied during any given season. I'd often proudly say in casual conversation, "Oh yeah, I probably skied 60 or more days this season."
Then, this season—which admittedly was pretty awful in my corner of the country—I set about actually tracking how much I ski. The results? Twenty-five days so far this season. So much for being a hardcore skier.
Realistically, I probably hit 40, maybe 50 days during my peak in college. And as the adulthood obligations stack up, I'm not convinced I'll break my personal record anytime soon.
For the time being, that's okay. When you ski less, you're forced to make the days count and appreciate every hour spent on the slopes. Ideally, I'd be skiing around three times a week, but I always force myself to remember that skiing any amount—even if it's only a few days a winter—is a gift.
Plus, there's always retirement.
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