Uphill, in the snow: Why this laborious ski trend is booming at US resorts

In ski towns, “earning your turns” comes with inalienable bragging rights.

The term, thought to originate from backcountry skiers in search of untouched snow, often involves bypassing ski lifts, gondolas and any other mechanized way up the mountain in favor of ascending on human power alone.

“Earning your turns” usually requires using specialized ski equipment made for traveling uphill. That includes special bindings and boots paired with “skins” — sheaths of synthetic fabric placed on the undersides of skis to give them traction in the snow (in the past, seal skins were used).

Alternatively, you can carry your gear on your back and hike up — all for the rush of skiing pristine runs down the mountain.

Backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering, which involves summiting peaks with alpine gear, are versions of traveling uphill in the snow.

But a less extreme, fitness-oriented version of “uphilling” is on the rise within resort boundaries at US ski resorts. It’s attracting skiers beyond the backcountry set in search of a good workout with the added bonus of fresh air and fresh tracks — often before the mountain opens to lift-access for the day.

Ski areas allowing uphill access (designated routes and hours when skiers, hikers and snowshoers can walk up the mountain) have increased by nearly a third over the past decade, according to statistics from the National Ski Areas Association, a trade association for ski area owners and operators that represents over 300 alpine resorts in the United States.

An end-of-season association report shows 65% of NSAA resorts permitted uphill access in at least some form during the 2023/24 season compared with roughly 33% in 2013/14.

The climb and its reward

Uphilling hours, designated routes and what you’ll pay to do it varies depending on the resort.

At some ski resorts, uphill skiing access is allowed only before and after regular resort operating hours, while others may allow it during operating hours.

Next time you ride the chair lift up the mountain, look for parallel tracks leading upward along the side of the trail (or, in steeper terrain, a zig-zagging path).

“It’s huge, really, how much uphilling at the resorts has grown,” says Cara Marrs, 55, a dietitian and devoted uphiller and backcountry skier who has lived in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, for 27 years.

Steamboat ski resort allows uphill access before 9 a.m. and after 4:30 p.m. daily with the purchase of a $39 armband, which you can buy online after watching a safety video and signing a waiver.

“I do feel like back in the day there were not that many people on the ski area skinning up, it was more for backcountry skiing. But now people are doing it for fitness,” Marrs says.

Uphilling has become a form of on-mountain camaraderie as much as a fitness craze in many mountain towns, says Brody Leven, 37, a professional adventure skier and ski mountaineer who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, and says he is “entirely human-powered.”

“In the winter, the majority of the way that I and many skiers catch up with our friends is on the skin track, as we call it, which is on the hike up. You have so much quality time to talk with someone,” he says.

And while Leven hasn’t used any mechanized manner to get up the mountain in at least a decade and spends most of his time ski mountaineering in the backcountry in Utah and beyond, he says uphilling in-bounds at resorts is more mainstream.

“There’s a huge variety of equipment, huge variety of people. It can be casual, it can be inexpensive, and it’s generally safe. I think people are looking to get outdoors,” he said about the pursuit.

In addition to skins, skiers and ski mountaineers use specialized bindings and boots that allow their heels to move freely compared with downhill skis (you clip back into the bindings when it’s time to ski down). “Splitboard” snowboards can be split in two halves for walking on them uphill, too. The skins are removed and stashed away when it’s time to ski or snowboard down the mountain.

“The uphill is where you get the workout. But the whole purpose is to get the downhill,” says Marrs. “If you go up on the ski area and it’s a powder day, and you’re going at 5:30 or six in the morning, you’re going to get the most delicious, perfectly groomed, first run down.”

While uphilling in-bounds at resorts mainly requires good fitness and the ability to ski down (unless you plan to ride the lift), ski mountaineering can also require ice climbing and rock climbing skills, says Leven.

An offshoot of ski mountaineering referred to as skimo that involves racing is set to debut for the first time as an Olympic sport at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

Doing it for the rush, fitness and fun

Terrin Abell, program manager at the Breckenridge Recreation Center in Breckenridge, Colorado, says she’d never heard of uphilling when she first moved to the ski town in 2011.

“A group of friends wanted to do a full moon ski, and that was my first experience with it,” she says.

Abell, who snowboarded and skied at the time, decided to carry her snow board up the mountain since she didn’t have the right skis for walking up. Her friends skinned up on their skis, and they all enjoyed a moonlit run down empty slopes.

After that, she says, she was hooked.

By the next year, Abell had invested in alpine touring skis to make it easier to get up the mountain and venture into the backcountry, too.

Every year, she and a group of friends take part in the Imperial Challenge, a rite of spring in Breckenridge. The challenge involves biking or running from the Breckenridge Recreation Center to the base of Peak 7 at Breckenridge Ski Resort before transitioning to ski gear to walk (or for some, run) uphill to the top of Peak 8.

“I will be in a tutu, I will be in a costume. I do these things because I’m in it for the fun,” Abell says.

Uphill policies vary, depending on the resort

Not all resorts allow uphilling, and policies vary at ski resorts that do allow it. Those can usually be found online.

You should always check ahead of your visit to understand the hours and routes allowed as well as what sort of ski pass is required. Some resorts require an additional fee on top of a regular ski pass to travel uphill, some require just a pass for uphilling, and others don’t charge at all.

Arizona ski resort Snowbowl has an uphill access policy that allows it only on designated routes that change with ongoing snowmaking, grooming and weather conditions.

At Snowbowl, uphilling is allowed only outside normal lift-operating hours, so uphillers have access to certain routes Monday to Friday from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday from 4:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Snowbowl’s uphill access permit is free, and you can apply for it online after signing a waiver.

Interest in uphill access at Snowbowl — particularly from pass holders and local guests — has been booming, says Angie Grubb, the resort’s marketing manager.

“It’s great because not only is it free, but this is also a really good opportunity for outdoor enthusiasts and runners and hikers to train in the winter, when hiking tracks around the area are often muddy,” she says.

Utah’s Powder Mountain allows uphill travel during the ski resort’s operating hours only in designated areas and on approved routes, with a lift ticket or season ski pass required for access. The resort hosts a skimo race, the Lightning Ridge Relay, every year.

Also in Utah, Alta Ski Area does not permit uphill skiing at all during the operating ski season because of heavy equipment operations and avalanche mitigation, says Lexi Dowdall, the resort’s communications manager.

Before the ski season officially opens and after it closes, however, Alta’s terrain is open to backcountry skiers who understand they are completely on their own and responsible for their own actions. It’s imperative to ski with backcountry equipment and a partner, says Dowdall.

“We’ve seen more and more folks coming to take advantage of that uphill policy beyond our operating season. Preseason and postseason, people are using Alta like crazy to go uphill. My last ski day last season was June 20, and I was skiing up here at Alta,” she says.

Aspen Snowmass in Colorado has some of the most liberal policies for uphilling, according to Dan Sherman of ski travel agency Ski.com, which sells ski vacation packages that include lift tickets, lodging and more.

It’s possible to ski uphill at three out of four of the resort’s mountains —Snowmass, Buttermilk and Aspen Highlands — from 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., including during resort operating hours. At Aspen Mountain, uphilling is off limits during operating hours between 9am and 4:45 p.m., but permitted before and after hours.

Designated “safe routes” up are marked by signs to make sure uphillers don’t find themselves in the blind spots of skiers coming down the mountain. Uphill passes at AspenSnowmass for activities including skiing, snowshoeing and walking cost $69 (free for Premier Passholders) and are good for the entire season, which is considerably less than a day’s lift ticket.

Uphilling is a “very big deal” in Aspen, says Sherman, who lives in the famous ski town.

“It’s like going out for a hike in the winter, you just happen to be going up the mountain. And then your reward is being able to go down it skiing,” he says.

Know the rules

Before attempting uphill skiing for the first time, school yourself on the rules.

In addition to staying on designated routes as you ascend, always yield to downhill skiers and keep aware of hazards in the form of grooming and snowmaking equipment as well as snowcats. Wearing a brightly colored ski jacket and pants will make you more visible on the mountain, too.

Abell, from Breckenridge, cautions that uphilling isn’t for everyone. The exertion involved in getting up the mountain –- especially on cold, dark mornings — is significant. (Uphill access at Breckenridge is available from the resort’s closing time at 5 p.m. until 8:15 a.m.)

“The first couple times I’m like, ‘why am I doing it?’ ” Abell says. “But then the sun comes up, and then you get to the top. Then you transition and then you ski down, and you’re like, ‘Wow, that was the best thing ever.’ ”

Florida-based travel writer Terry Ward lives in Tampa and is skiing in Switzerland’s Jungfrau Region soon, where she will be riding chairlifts and gondolas.

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