Skiing Calorie Burn Calculator
Estimate calories burned downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, ski touring or snowshoeing from your weight, time and intensity, using 2024 Compendium of Physical Activities METs. It can take out lift and break time, and shows gross and net calories, per hour, whole-trip totals and a comparison of every winter activity.
How it works
kcal per minute = MET × 3.5 × weight (kg) ÷ 200 · Calories = kcal/min × active minutes (+ 1.5 METs for lift and break time if included) · Net = Calories − 1 MET × same time
Calories are estimated with MET values, which are multiples of your resting energy use. One MET is about 3.5 mL of oxygen per kilogram per minute, and each litre of oxygen burns about 5 kcal. The values come from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. It lists downhill skiing and snowboarding at 4.3 METs for light effort, 6.3 for moderate and 8.0 for vigorous, active time only. Recreational snowboarding is 7.5, slalom training 9.3, and cross-country skiing from 6.8 METs for slow ski-walking to 16 METs for elite racing. Skating, backcountry touring, uphill skinning, snowshoeing and sledding are also covered. A resort day is mostly lifts, lines and breaks. If you enter your whole day, switch on lift time and say what share you spent skiing; the rest counts at 1.5 METs. You get gross calories, net calories above resting, per hour, a trip total and a table of every activity for the same time.
Worked example
A 70 kg skier doing 120 minutes of moderate downhill skiing (6.3 METs) burns 6.3 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 = 7.72 kcal per minute, or about 926 kcal (net 779 kcal above resting). If those 120 minutes were the whole outing with 40% spent skiing, it is 48 active minutes (370 kcal) plus 72 minutes on lifts at 1.5 METs (132 kcal), about 503 kcal in total.
Sources: 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities — Winter activities · Herrmann SD et al. (2024) — 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (J Sport Health Sci)
Frequently asked questions
Does time on the lift count?
Only a little. MET values for skiing assume you are moving. Either enter just your active minutes, or switch on “Time includes lifts and breaks” and set the share of time you were skiing. The rest is counted at 1.5 METs, about the cost of sitting or standing in the cold.
How many calories does a day of skiing burn?
For a 70 kg skier, an hour of moderate downhill skiing is about 460 kcal. A full resort day of six hours with about 40% spent skiing comes to roughly 1,500 kcal. A day of cross-country skiing or touring can burn twice as much or more.
Why does cold weather matter?
Skiing in the cold can raise energy use a little: shivering, heavier clothing and stiff snow all add work. MET tables do not include that, so the real burn on a frigid day may be slightly higher than the estimate.
Is snowboarding the same as skiing?
Close. The Compendium uses the same values for light, moderate and vigorous downhill skiing and snowboarding (4.3, 6.3 and 8.0 METs). Recreational mountain snowboarding is listed a little higher, at 7.5 METs, partly from getting up after falls and strapping in.
Why is cross-country skiing so much higher?
You use your arms and legs continuously and push yourself along instead of letting gravity do the work. Moderate cross-country skiing is 8.5 METs and skating 13.3 METs, compared with 6.3 for moderate downhill.
Related calculators
Estimate only — actual calorie burn varies with fitness, terrain and technique.