This is an excerpt from a larger list, where I give various activities a Sober Fun rating of 1-10. Entries from this list are scattered throughout my website, or you can find that complete list HERE.

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SKIING (AND SNOWBOARDING!): 11

{Note: When I use the word ski or skiing, know that it also includes snowboarding! Constantly writing both words out, every single time, made things real clunky. It's the same reason I often shorten it just to "alcoholics," because writing out "drug addicts and alcoholics" every single time can bog down a story. Sorry, Snowboarders and Drug Addicts-- but please know that I’m definitely including you in this too!}

Every time I sit down to write about snow skiing, the whole thing quickly digresses into some kind of glowing testimonial, almost an “Ode to Skiing,” as if some ski company paid me to write an extended advertisement extolling all the wondrous virtues of the sport. This is partly because skiing was always the number one beloved thing I was fearful of losing in sobriety, afraid I would no longer care for it sober. So perhaps I find it hard to hide my excitement, when much to my relief, that was not at all the case. If anything, skiing has gotten even more enjoyable with sobriety and, needless to say, my skill level has also increased exponentially. Who knew?

It’s amazing how much better you can become at a sport when you don’t start pounding whiskeys at nine in the morning, spend a good portion of the day at various on-mountain bars, and then are completely shit-faced by about noon.

I’m not saying there isn’t fun to be had in skiing the way I just described, obviously there is, or I wouldn’t have kept doing it for so many years. Let me tell you, there are cheaper ways to spend a drunken day, if that was the only goal! But skiing—drunk or sober— is a very rare and special activity because it combines so many different wonderful things together all at once, and with the utmost flexibility to create your own personal version of the perfect day.

First of all, let’s start with the obvious: you are going to likely be in one of the most beautiful places on the entire planet. You are going to get to experience places on the mountain and see breathtaking views that cannot be accessed any other way. Your non-skiing friends think they understand how beautiful a ski resort is, just by enjoying it at face value, palling around at the base, but they have no idea. Skiing opens up a whole new world, a whole new wealth of stunning vistas you never knew existed. Not to mention, restaurants and special venues that can’t be accessed any other way. So sorry, non-skiing friends, looks like you won’t be joining us for lunch at this amazing on-mountain barbecue joint with live bluegrass music, the only way to get there is to ski or board!

Which brings me to my next item of praise, at no point during your ski day are you very far from food. You have constant access to it! This is not always the case with nature-centric adventure activities, so I say take it while you can get it. When HIKING A 14ER, for example, it would be great if there were a lovely brunch spot at the top of each summit, but there isn’t. There’s usually just a sign, a flag, and whatever smashed sandwich you brought with you in your pack.

Now compare that sad lunch to the abundance of options you have while skiing. The lunch choices range from expensive to more expensive, and include everything from uninspired but adequate staples like burgers, to insanely fancy four-course meals with wine pairings, and everything in between. (Yes, yes, it’s all expensive, but you just have to accept that and get over it. Remember that smushed sandwich we talked about? That’s always an option too..).

Or you can always ski back to your lodging and have a lovely midday lunch in the warmth and comfort of your own home. This is even better if you can convince one of your non-skiing friends to have it ready for you at a set time. It will make them feel useful, and like they are a part of your ski day (even though they’re really not). What fun for them! They will love hearing you describe your fun and show photos of things they’ll never get to experience, but don’t sell it too hard, or you won’t have anyone left to stay home and make lunch.

Leaving the mountain to have lunch at home leads me quite beautifully into another huge selling point of skiing for me, and that is the fact that you are never trapped. Unlike a DAY ON A BOAT, where you are destined to see the day through to its bitter end, like it or not, with a ski day you can jump ship at any time. Tired of skiing? No problem! Just ski down and be done! No one’s forcing you to keep skiing, in fact, no one is forcing you to ski with a group at all!

I love this about skiing, the idea that you can enjoy it with the safety and camaraderie of friends, if you so choose, but ultimately, it is a solo sport that always allows you the maximum freedom to choose your own path. And not just your own ski path down the mountain, but your path for the entire day! If you want to get a head start skiing for the day, and arrive on the mountain the second the lifts open, go for it! We all have cell phones.

As someone who gets up each morning well before the sun rises, I get frustrated with expeditions that require you to wait on an entire group of people to wake up and languidly pull themselves together before you can leave for the day and start the activity. More than any other adventure sport I can think of, skiing lends itself to solo exploration and an individualized time table and itinerary. Do your friends want to sleep in? Fine! Who cares? You can leave and hit the mountain early, and they can meet you later! (Try this at the ocean when you only have one boat and see what happens… )

I know this isn’t a competition between frozen water sports and liquid water sports, but remember how earlier I suggested that skiing can provide both drunk and sober fun? Well, not only is that true, but it can also provide those two experiences simultaneously, with no inherent danger to the sober person’s life or sobriety. This is where that glorious autonomy comes back into play, because unlike a boat, no one is ever in control of your skis but you. Your friends can get as drunk as they want, this doesn’t really affect you. Also, if the peripheral drinking of alcohol does become too much for you, remember you are not trapped in a vessel with these people, you can hop back on your skis at any time, and spend the remainder of the day as you wish! Either skiing alone with nature or relaxing back at the cabin, you are at liberty to spend the day doing whatever you want. I can’t emphasize how liberating this is, especially early on in sobriety. We’ve all been there -- the only one sober, trapped in a heavy drinking situation that you are unable to escape (like on a boat) -- and it's the absolute worst. Even if it's not threatening to jeopardize your sobriety, bottom line, it's just not fun. And adventure sports are too expensive to not be fun. So I say, ski away from the drunks, Sober Butterfly! Ski and be free!

You might have picked up on this by now, but to me, the best activities are those that combine the beauty of nature, with some sort of athleticism or exercise; then the absolute best of the best are activities that top it all off by adding some kind of adrenaline component, like speed. Skiing checks all those boxes for me.

Also, throw in the fact that you are even given a map you can pull out and use to coordinate routes and strategies and rendezvous… and I’d say we have ourselves a proper day of adventure! I sure do love things that involve a good map, it makes me feel like a pirate or an explorer. Plus, like any good adventure, skiing of course comes with an ample amount of pre-activity shopping built in, and that’s always great fun, too! You are going to need so much special technical clothing and gear and accessories— I’m getting excited just thinking about it, as these things are always such a blast to shop for. Finally! A line of clothing that has the appropriate AMOUNT OF POCKETS!

For all these reasons and more, that is why skiing gets a Sober Fun rating of 11. Yes, you heard me, 11. Surprise, it goes to 11!

So, to recap: Skiing is a beautiful, athletic activity, enjoyed out in nature, but with constant access to food, and that you can do alone or in groups, and can always start or stop doing at any point in the day, as it suits you.

Could you ask for any better sober activity?

*Full disclosure, I don’t surf, but I bet it has a similar appeal!