Skiing alone: how riding solo helped me meet 100+ riders

Some of my best riding friends started as strangers.

In March 2020 I met a rider named Aodhgan through the app at Whistler. We rode two days together. He mentioned he was heading out to Kicking Horse, I took him up on the offer on the spot, and we ended up riding the last day of the season at Kicking Horse, the last day at Lake Louise, and a day of backcountry snowmobiling in Revelstoke. None of that was on my plan. All of it started because I was open to riding with someone I had never met.

So if you are asking whether it is weird to ski alone: it is not. Plenty of people do it, and a solo day is often the easiest way to meet the people you will be riding with for years. I rode 153 days in the 2018/19 season at Whistler and 114 the season after in Colorado. By 2021 I had met more than 100 people through SkiBuds, and many of them I still ride with.

Here is what I have learned about riding alone, staying safe while you do it, and turning a solo day into a crew.

Why skiing alone is better than it sounds

You ride your own day. No waiting at the top of every run, no negotiating which lift to hit, no lunch at 10:30 because someone is hungry. You go when the snow is good and stop when your legs are done.

You get more laps. Many busy lifts run a singles line, and filling the empty seat on a chair is usually faster than waiting with a group. On a powder morning that difference is real.

Every chair is a conversation. This is the one people miss. The original idea for SkiBuds came out of talks on chairlifts and in the four-bed dorm room I lived in that first Whistler season. When you ride with friends you talk to your friends. When you ride alone you talk to everyone.

How to stay safe when you ride alone

Riding solo is a great way to spend a day, but it changes what you should be doing on the hill. These are the habits I stick to.

• Stay on open, marked runs. Inside the boundary, on open terrain, ski patrol is around and other riders pass by. Save gates, sidecountry and the backcountry for days with a partner, the right gear and a plan. If that is where you are headed, start with how to read an avalanche forecast.
• Be careful in the trees on deep days. Deep snow around tree trunks can trap a rider who falls in head first, and when you are alone nobody sees it happen. On a big snow day, ride the trees only with someone who keeps you in sight.
• Tell someone your plan. Send a text with the mountain, roughly where you will be riding and when you expect to be done. It takes ten seconds.
• Keep your phone charged and warm. Cold drains batteries fast. An inside pocket helps, and so does knowing how to reach the resort's ski patrol before you need them.
• Know the code. The NSAA's safety resources cover the Responsibility Code every rider shares: stay in control, people below you have the right of way, and stop where you are visible.
• Ride a little under your limit. On a solo day there is nobody to help with a tweaked knee. That is not the day to try the line you have been eyeing all season.

How to turn a solo day into riding partners

Use the singles line, then actually talk

The chair ride is a few minutes, which is the perfect length for an easy conversation. Ask where they have been finding the good snow, or what their favorite run is. Locals love that question. If the conversation is good, the natural next step is simple: "Want to take a lap?" The worst answer is no, and nobody is offended. I wrote a whole post on chairlift etiquette and how to talk on the lift.

Take a lesson or a clinic

A group lesson puts you with people at roughly your level for a few hours, which is exactly how riding friendships start. You already have something in common, and you have watched each other ride.

Post your plan where people can say yes

"Anyone want to ride?" gets nothing. "Riding blues and easy groomers at Keystone Saturday, first chair, meeting at the base" gets replies. Be specific about the mountain, the day, the terrain and your pace. The free meetup planner turns those details into a message you can send, and how to find ski buddies covers where to post it. Clubs work too; see how to join a ski club.

Keep the first lap low stakes

Meet at a busy base area or the bottom of a lift, ride one run, and decide from there. If the pace works, keep going. If it does not, no hard feelings. Everyone has had a lap that did not click. The SkiBuds safety page has more on meeting someone new.

Swap numbers before you leave

This is the step most people skip, and it is the one that matters. Shae was a rider I met in Park City in early December 2020. We swapped contacts, met up again a couple of times that season, and Shae became one of my good riding buddies. The first day is the meeting. The text afterward is what makes it a friendship.

A quick solo ski day checklist

• Check the forecast and the resort's lift and terrain report. How to read a ski resort snow forecast helps.
• Text your plan to someone who is not riding with you.
• Charge your phone and save the resort's ski patrol number.
• Pick open, marked terrain you know, and leave the backcountry for a partner day.
• Bring water and a snack so a short break does not turn into a long one.
• Go in with one goal: one good conversation on the chair.

Why I built an app around this

The photo at the top is from Keystone in 2019: two groups of people who found each other through SkiBuds, on the same summit, on the same day. That is the whole point. Riding alone is great, but it should be a choice, not the only option because you do not know anyone at the mountain.

SkiBuds is being rebuilt for iOS and Android, and the new app is coming soon. It is built around finding people who ride the way you do, at the mountain you are actually going to, with a forecast and a map in the same place. You can read the full story on the about page, and every one of the 115 mountains in the resort guide has advice on where to meet.

Now I want to hear yours. What is the best day you ever had with someone you met on a chairlift? Send it to us on Instagram.