A skier’s guide to car-free living

We all know that skiers are great at living carefree, but what about car-free?

Unless you’re one of the small percentage of people who are lucky enough to live slope-side, skiing involves commuting, whether it’s the weekend rush from the urban centre or hopping on the shuttle bus to your local ski hill.
One thing is for sure, owning a vehicle as a skier is a luxury, one that should not be taken for granted in this day and age of responsible carbon emissions. That said, there are still thousands of skiers that make their way to the powder on a daily basis without a car. Here are some of the ways that they do it.

Hitching
One of the most common ways of getting around in small ski towns is hanging a thumb out on the side of the road. It’s usually quicker than waiting for the bus, but depending on where you live it can sometimes mean standing there for much longer. Workers for the ski hill can benefit from wearing their uniform to increase their chances of being picked up, people love helping staff get to work on time to keep the mountain running. By keeping skis and snowboards visible,  the motorist will know if they need to accommodate cumbersome equipment as well as your person. Hitchers should always, always, be friendly and engage in conversation with the driver. If they were nice enough to pick up a stranger, they shouldn’t be greeted by awkward silence.

Bus it
On powder days cars can get trapped in driveways, requiring laborious shoveling. Having a bus schedule memorized means simply grabbing gear and heading to the bus stop, though remember to allow for snow-related delays with the bus as well. Once aboard, free hands allow passengers to start texting friends and planning their powder day strategy. If boarding in the city, the Greyhound can sometimes feel like it takes forever to get to your snow destination, but hey, at least you’re going skiing.

Winter biking
With the rising popularity of fat bikes, getting around on the world’s most efficient form of transportation shouldn’t be restricted to the non-winter months. Mountain bikes work well on ploughed roads too, just keep a third eye open for patches of black ice and reduce speed when cornering. Pro skier Eric Hjorleifson has been riding his bike to Whistler Mountain for years and has even retro fitted his bike with ski carriers like those found on snowmobiles. The best bikes to use are cheap hard tail commuters to avoid exposing expensive mountain bikes to rust-inducing salt. Studded tires are a wise investment too if relying on your bike for daily transport.

Whether a broke ski bum or a champion of helping the community reduce its snow-melting carbon footprint, there are plenty of creative ways to get yourself to the slopes without four wheels.