Hi friends. Skiing is a huge part of my life. I ski 60+ days a years and it is my absolute favorite hobby. I recently a committed to staying sober. Only on day 6 of being sober but am going skiing with out of town friends tomorrow that I only get to see a few times a year.
For those unfamiliar, there is (counterintuitively) a huge drinking scene(après) that goes along with skiing. I have locally a ton of drinking buddies that are ski bums I ski with a lot and there is a huge popular ski bar scene at my local mountain, think Cheers vibes.
I absolutely am not going to quit skiing. It’s fun, exercise, healthy, a great release. I just need to separate the activity from the drinking aspect. I went skiing sober on Thursday at said resort with the bar scene. I went by myself and skied straight for 3 hours and never went into lodge/bar but definitely had cravings after 7-8 runs to pop in for a couple high abv pints.
Tomorrow I will be with friends and going the entire day so I know the temptation will be higher. Luckily of this friend group 1 out of 5 of them doesn’t drink so at least I’ll have one person there to lean on.
Just looking for thoughts/advice on the subject. Thanks!
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It’s 2026, any good bartender can make you a warm non alcohol drink apres ski. Hot chocolate also rules!! Day 6 is a rough time to be heading into that environment. It isn’t that you never get to enjoy your old pasttimes, it is more that you need to build the sober muscles first that allow you to enjoy old haunts without thinking you are ‘missing something.’ The true reality of what you are ‘missing’ is hangovers, regret, bad choices, health issues, the list is long. Until we are able to truly internalize and know that drinking takes away from our lives vs thinking it is ‘fun, a release, etc’…until we are honest with ourselves, we will long for the fiction of drinking. Remember your why. Why you quit. Remember how fabulous sober skiing feels (no dehydration, yay!!). Remember how proud it feels to wake hangover free and to keep promises to our self.
Hit the sauna, catch up on sleep or a book if you need to. Come on here and reach out in the moment if needed, someone is always here. Do not romanticize alcohol. It takes. It does not enrich.
Keep us posted!! Enjoy the slopes!
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Yeah, not a skier but I know the feeling. I’m two years in and still really avoid bar scenes. Just focus on skieing and having a good time with your friends if you find yourself going to the bar with them, get something warm or a Shirley temple. If you find yourself really struggling, absolutely don’t feel obligated to stick around. Your sobriety is yours and you need to own it and protect it with everything you got. Have fun
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