Calories burned skiing

Ski and snowboard calorie calculator

Pick the description that matches the skiing and enter only the hours or minutes actually spent skiing or riding, because entries 19150, 19160 and 19170 count active time only. The two choices labeled estimated value are marked in red by the Compendium as estimated MET values.

Lift rides and waiting are outside these numbers

Entries 19150, 19160 and 19170 all end with the words active time only. A calculator result therefore covers only the time entered as active time. Lift rides and waiting in line are also part of a ski day, but these entries do not cover them.

The October 14, 2026 search covered every page in the Compendium's sitemap. No entry names a ski lift, chairlift or gondola, so this page assigns no calorie number to that time.

Entries 19201, 19075, 19146 and 19174 do not carry the active time wording. The calculator treats the time entered for those entries the same way.

Where the 500 calorie hour comes from

Calories equals MET times body weight in kilograms times hours. Beside that calculation, the Compendium unit conversions page, checked October 14, 2026, defines 1 MET as 1 kilocalorie per kilogram per hour.

Pounds become kilograms by dividing by 2.2046, while minutes become hours by dividing by 60. Here, 175 pounds is 79.38 kilograms. Multiplying 6.3 times 79.38 times 1 hour gives 500.09, which rounds to 500.

A day's calories can also be split into an active part and a resting part, as shown in the active and resting calorie breakdown.

Calories burned downhill skiing by effort

Three shared entries on the Compendium winter activities page, checked October 14, 2026, cover downhill skiing or snowboarding at light, moderate or vigorous effort.

In kilograms, the column weights of 125, 150, 175, 200 and 225 pounds are 56.7, 68.0, 79.4, 90.7 and 102.1.

Reading the 175 pound column for one hour gives 341, 500 and 635 calories. Each description supplies an effort word, with no speed, slope, run or snow named. The winter page leaves light, moderate and vigorous undefined.

Calories burned snowboarding

Snowboarding appears in two places in the Compendium. The three shared entries above include the words Skiing, downhill, alpine or snowboarding. Separate from those is 19201, snowboarding, recreational, moderate pace, mountain, at 7.5 MET.

The Compendium lists both the snowboarding-only 19201 at 7.5 MET and the shared moderate 19160 at 6.3 MET. This page gives no reason for that gap.

For the one hour comparison at 175 pounds, 19201 produces 595 calories. That falls between 19160's 500 and 19170's 635.

Slalom, general skiing and alpine training

Entry 19075, Skiing, general, names neither downhill nor cross-country. For one hour at 175 pounds, general skiing, slalom and alpine training give 556, 738 and 579 calories respectively.

Calories burned cross-country skiing by speed

Speed appears in three cross-country descriptions, at 2.5 mph, 4.0-4.9 mph and 5.0-7.9 mph. The remaining three describe training, hard snow uphill, or skating instead.

In the order above, an hour at 175 pounds gives 540, 675, 897, 754, 1230 and 1056 calories.

The smallest calorie cell across all these tables is 122 for 19150 at 125 pounds over 30 minutes. The largest is 6328 for 19130 at 225 pounds over 4 hours. Multiplication by active time and body weight makes the result rise in step with either one within the same entry.

Rounding happens after each full calculation. For 19150 at 125 pounds, the displayed 244 for 1 hour becomes 975 for 4 hours, rather than four times the rounded hourly figure.

Ski jumping, biathlon and racing entries

These winter page descriptions begin with Skiing or Ski jumping, but are left out of the calculator.

Also left out are the same page's rollerskiing entries 19305 to 19345 and biathlon training entries 19142 and 19144.

What the Compendium says its values cannot do

The Compendium's own limits on MET values, checked October 14, 2026, include these statements.

The Compendium was not developed to determine the precise energy cost of activities within an individual.

However, the Compendium is frequently used outside of its original scope.

It does not correct the MET levels for age, body mass, and sex.

The winter page adds this footnote.

Specific Activity Codes in red are estimated MET values. All other values are supported with published literature.

Calorie numbers for snow shoveling, trails, runs and rides

For clearing snow by hand or with a snow blower, there are snow clearing calorie estimates. Hours on a trail belong in the hiking calorie calculation, while a mile on foot has its own walking calorie estimates.

Runs and bike rides have separate running calorie numbers and cycling calorie numbers. For a whole day's calorie total, see the daily calorie expenditure calculator.

Where TrueCal fits

TrueCal provides calorie and macro tracking on iPhone, Android and the web. Recording calories by hand is free. Macros require Pro, as does logging from a typed description, voice, a photo or a barcode.

Get the app

Answers for downhill, cross-country and snowboard entries

How many calories does skiing burn in an hour?

An hour of active time with 19160 at 6.3 MET gives 500 calories at 175 pounds or 429 at 150 pounds. At 175 pounds, the light entry 19150 at 4.3 MET gives 341, and the vigorous entry 19170 at 8.0 MET gives 635. The Compendium marks 19170 as an estimated MET value.

How many calories does cross-country skiing burn?

One hour at 175 pounds gives 540 calories for 19080 at 2.5 mph and 6.8 MET. For 19090 at 4.0-4.9 mph and 8.5 MET, it gives 675. For 19100 at 5.0-7.9 mph and 11.3 MET, it gives 897.

How many calories does snowboarding burn?

The snowboarding-only entry 19201 uses 7.5 MET, giving 595 calories for one hour at 175 pounds. With the same hour and weight, the shared moderate entry 19160 gives 500. Both are listed by the Compendium.

Does the calculator count time on the lift?

No. The three shared downhill or snowboarding entries, 19150, 19160 and 19170, count active time only, and the result covers only the time entered. No Compendium entry names a ski lift, chairlift or gondola.

Which skiing entries are estimated MET values?

Red markings identify 19075, Skiing, general, and 19170, the vigorous downhill or snowboarding entry, as estimated MET values on the Compendium page. The other calculator entries are, in the Compendium's words, supported with published literature. Ski jumping entry 19060 is also red and is not included in the calculator.

Sources checked October 14, 2026

• Winter activities and their MET entries.
• Unit conversions defining MET.
• Corrected METs and the Compendium's limits.
• 2024 Adult Compendium home.

The search of all 31 pages in the Compendium's sitemap on October 14, 2026 found no entry naming a ski lift, chairlift or gondola.