How Many Calories Does Skiing Burn?

Skiing calories by weight & duration

The ~492 calories per hour figure is an estimate for a 155-pound person skiing at a moderate intensity, and your actual burn will be higher or lower depending on your body weight, fitness level, and how hard you're pushing on the hill. Log your sessions in the Mariposas app to track how your effort adds up over time and see how skiing fits into your broader activity picture.

Calculated as MET (7) × body weight (kg) × hours. How this works.

What to expect in a skiing class

Your first time on skis will be slower and more deliberate than you probably imagine. Most beginners spend the early portion on a gentle beginner slope, learning to brake with a wedge (pizza) shape, then practicing wide, slow turns before attempting anything steeper. Your legs will feel the burn quickly because holding a bent-knee athletic stance is genuinely hard work, and you may not realize how much effort you're putting in until you stop. Expect short runs with plenty of rest in between as you figure out balance and edge control.

Tips for your first skiing class

• Bend your knees and keep your weight slightly forward over the balls of your feet. Sitting back feels safer but actually puts you in a weaker, less controlled position and makes turning harder.
• Take a lesson from a certified ski instructor before freelancing on the mountain. One hour of structured feedback on stance and turning mechanics saves you from building bad habits that become genuinely difficult to unlearn later.
• Dress in moisture-wicking base layers under waterproof outerwear, and don't skip the neck gaiter or balaclava. Cold air at speed pulls heat away fast, and being uncomfortable or wet cuts a session short before fatigue even becomes a factor.
• Start on easier terrain longer than your ego suggests. The ability to control speed confidently on a green run is the actual foundation for everything steeper. Rushing to a harder slope before that skill is solid tends to mean falling more and learning less.

What affects how many calories skiing burns

The 492 calorie figure applies to a 155-pound person at a moderate effort level, and both variables shift the number meaningfully: a heavier person burns more per hour, and someone aggressively carving steeper runs or skiing in deep powder works considerably harder than someone cruising groomed beginner trails. Rest time matters too. A skier who spends half the hour riding chairlifts will log a much lower real-effort duration than someone lapping a short slope repeatedly. Terrain type, snow conditions, and whether you're actively challenging your limits all push the burn up or down from that baseline.

Three things move your number most: body weight (a heavier body burns more for the same activity, that's why the table runs from 125 to 225 lb), duration (calories scale with time), and intensity. A skiing you push hard burns more than an easy one, because effort is what the MET value of 7 represents, an average for this activity. Your fitness level and how much you rest between efforts shift it too, so treat these as a solid estimate rather than an exact count.

How we calculate skiing calories

Every number here uses the standard energy-expenditure formula: calories ≈ MET × body weight (kg) × time (hours). The MET value of 7 for skiing comes from the published Compendium of Physical Activities, the same reference researchers and fitness trackers use. We convert your weight to kilograms and multiply through, no fudge factors. See our methodology for the full formula and sources.