Avid skiers frequently undertake highly ambitious day trips to chase snow, sometimes calling in sick or fitting in a single day away. SnowBrains reported that it asked its readers on social media about the furthest they had driven for a single day of skiing. The responses received were described as surprising, detailing trips that crossed multiple state lines and involved driving through the night, both ways, for brief hours on the slopes.
Among the most frequent examples of challenging single-day journeys were those to Mammoth. Many Southern California skiers, including those from San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles, commonly endure the desert trek to Mammoth. This drive typically takes between five and six and a half hours each way, adding well over 600 miles to a vehicle's odometer for a round trip.
Another particularly long journey involved a reader from Edmonton, Canada's northernmost major city. This individual completed a 12-hour round trip drive, covering approximately 1,200 kilometers (745 miles), for a single day of skiing at Fernie. The drive was so extensive that a friend who began reading the “Lord of the Rings” series when the trip started finished the entire series just 20 minutes after the driver returned home.
A reader from Australia's largest city recounted an overnight drive of about six hours to its biggest ski resort, Perisher, for a single day on the slopes. This individual picked up a brother in Canberra along the way. After skiing until 4 p.m., a two-hour nap was taken in the Perisher car park before the six-hour drive back home to Sydney.
A different reader shared an experience driving to Wolf Creek in Southern Colorado during a significant storm. While the trip normally takes about four and a half hours, the storm conditions extended the overnight drive to eight and a half hours. Upon arrival, the reader rested in the parking lot before experiencing what they described as "the deepest day I’ve ever had" at Wolf Creek, then completing the roughly 250-mile drive back to Denver that same night.
One respondent recalled departing Steamboat around midnight for a seven-hour journey to Southwestern Colorado. After skiing the entire day, the individual immediately began the return trip. This roughly 600-mile round trip was completed in a 1981 Monte Carlo, with snow falling consistently throughout the drive to the resort. The reader was reportedly awake for about 26 hours straight during this endeavor.
In 2020, following an early season closure due to COVID, Arapahoe Basin briefly reopened, allocating a limited number of tickets through a lottery. A Las Vegas resident, notified at 11 a.m. the day prior to the event that he had secured a spot, embarked on a ten-hour drive through southern Nevada, remote Utah, and Western Colorado. After approximately five hours of skiing at Arapahoe Basin, the driver immediately began the ten-hour return journey.
An additional account detailed a reader from San Diego convincing both himself and his wife to undertake a round trip of roughly 750 miles and 12 hours each way to Snowbird in Utah. This extensive travel was for just a few hours of skiing. The total driving time for this venture exceeded 24 hours.
These examples highlight the significant commitment shown by some skiers to access the slopes, regardless of the distances involved. While such extensive travel may not always be enjoyable, these trips often result in memorable ski days.
