25 skiing goals for your season, from first turns to black runs

Skiing goals for beginners

A first season is about control, so beginner goals are small things you can repeat.

• Link 10 turns on a green run without stopping.
• Stop cleanly on both sides, 10 times each.
• Ski a whole blue run without stopping.
• Take 3 lessons this season.
• Get off every chairlift for a full day without falling.

Ski season goals

Season goals count days and metres, and they are the easiest ski goals to track.

• Ski 10 days this season.
• Ski 20 days this season.
• Ski in every month from December to April.
• Ski 50,000 m of vertical in a season.
• Be on the first lift of the day 5 times.

Skiing technique goals

Technique goals are about how you turn, and you can practise them on any run you already ski.

• Leave two clean lines in the snow on a blue run.
• Make short turns all the way down a steep blue run.
• Ski a mogul field from top to bottom without stopping.
• Ski one full run in powder with your weight centred.
• Film one run a month and fix one thing.

Skiing terrain goals

Terrain goals are firsts: a harder colour, a new mountain, snow away from the groomed runs.

• Ski your first run one colour harder than your usual.
• Ski your first black run.
• Ski every marked run in one resort.
• Ski 5 different resorts.
• Ski a first off-piste run with a guide.

Cross-country, touring and off-season goals

Skiing uphill counts too. In summer the same slopes are for hiking goals, and on ice the same edge control shows up in figure skating goals.

• Cross-country ski 10 km without stopping.
• Cross-country ski 100 km in a season.
• Climb 500 m on touring skis.
• Do leg strength work 2 times a week for 8 weeks before the season.
• Take someone skiing on their first day.

What is a good skiing goal?

A good skiing goal is specific and fits inside one winter. A review of 35 years of goal research found that specific, hard goals lead to higher performance than being told to do your best. "Ski better" is not specific. "Ski a black run with short turns by March" is.

Mix a count with a skill. A review of 27 studies of goal setting in sport found that process goals, the ones about how you perform a movement, had the largest effect on performance. In skiing that means goals about your turns, not about keeping up with friends.

Write it with a number and a date, the way SMART goals are written: "20 ski days by 31 March, with 3 lessons before January."

How to track skiing goals

Tick the day off the evening you ski. A review of 138 studies found that people who monitored their progress reached their goals more often, and that writing it down beat keeping it in your head.

Days on snow are a day count with an end date built in: the lifts close. A season is about as long as a 90 day challenge, so the same advice applies. Vertical metres and kilometres are amounts you add to.

Mid January is when a season goal slips, between the holidays and spring. A picture that fills up one ski day at a time shows how much winter you have used.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good skiing goal for a beginner?

To ski a whole blue run without stopping by the end of your first season. Before that, aim to link 10 turns on a green run and to stop cleanly on both sides.

How many days should I aim to ski in a season?

Pick a number you can reach from where you live. If the mountains are a long drive away, 10 days is a real goal. If you live near a lift, 30 is. The number matters less than choosing one before the season starts.

Do lessons count as a goal?

Yes. A lesson is a goal you fully control, and it serves the bigger one. "Take 3 lessons before January" is easier to act on than "get better at skiing".