Measuring a ski instructor activity…

First, we need to pick a measurement unit. Calories, income, number of days, hours or vertical drop? The latter unit, as imperfect as it may be could be the best one, and nothing prevents it from being associated with a number of days or hours spent on skis. 

This is why I wonder how many vertical feet can a full-time, active ski instructor, rack up in one season? Although the question might seem trivial, it’s still a legit and appropriate for those interested in the profession. 

Before trying to come up with an average per day, let’s assume that the professional instructor puts on their skis 120 days in a season, for an average of 6 hours on the job, with a good mix of high-speed and fixed-grip lifts. This would also include personal skiing, clinics and other on-hill presence. 

That’s about 720 hours of skiing. Assuming on the other hand that most of their students are advanced to expert, let say they ski an average of 15,000’ vertical per day (2,500’ per hour), we get to 1,800,000’ vertical for a full season, which seems like a lot. 

This might be valid for the Alps in which lifts run a bit longer, and also for younger and more aggressive instructors. Perhaps a range from 1 million to 2 million for full-time teachers, with an average of 1.2 million at Alpine resorts, and 750,000’ to 1.5 million with an average of 1 million in the American Rockies? 

Does this make any sense? Let me know...