Activity calories · 2024 Compendium METs

Calories burned skiing

Quick answer

A 70 kg (154 lb) person burns about 221 kcal in 30 minutes of skiing (Downhill or snowboarding, moderate effort), and about 441 kcal in an hour. That is 6.3 METs.

30 minutes: 221kcal; 70 kg (154 lb)
1 hour: 441kcal; 70 kg (154 lb)
1 hour: 378kcal; 60 kg (132 lb)
1 hour: 504kcal; 80 kg (176 lb)

Downhill skiing and snowboarding share their ratings in the Compendium and count active time only, not the lift ride. Cross-country skiing is rated by speed and is a much steadier effort, which is why it sits higher than most downhill entries.

Calculate calories burned skiing

Starts at 70 kg (154 lb) for 30 minutes of skiing at 6.3 METs; enter your own weight and time.

Calories burned skiing by weight and time

Kilocalories for skiing at 6.3 METs (Downhill or snowboarding, moderate effort), by body weight and minutes. Read across from your weight; the pace table below shows the other rows.

Calories burned skiing at 6.3 METs, by body weight and duration
Body weight	15 min	30 min	45 min	1 hour	1.5 hours	2 hours
50 kg (110 lb)	79	158	236	315	473	630
60 kg (132 lb)	95	189	284	378	567	756
70 kg (154 lb)	110	221	331	441	662	882
80 kg (176 lb)	126	252	378	504	756	1,008
90 kg (198 lb)	142	284	425	567	851	1,134
100 kg (220 lb)	158	315	473	630	945	1,260
110 kg (243 lb)	173	347	520	693	1,040	1,386

Skiing: calories by pace or effort

The Compendium rates skiing on 7 lines, from 4.3 METs (Downhill or snowboarding, light effort) up to 11.3 METs (Cross-country, 5.0 to 7.9 mph). Each row below is one of those codes with the calories it works out to.

Calories burned skiing by pace or effort
Pace or effort	Compendium code	METs	30 min, 60 kg (132 lb)	30 min, 70 kg (154 lb)	30 min, 80 kg (176 lb)	1 hour, 70 kg (154 lb)
Downhill or snowboarding, light effort	19150	4.3	129	151	172	301
Downhill or snowboarding, moderate effort	19160	6.3	189	221	252	441
Cross-country, 2.5 mph, light effort	19080	6.8	204	238	272	476
Snowboarding, recreational, moderate pace	19201	7.5	225	263	300	525
Downhill or snowboarding, vigorous effort	19170	8	240	280	320	560
Cross-country, 4.0 to 4.9 mph	19090	8.5	255	298	340	595
Cross-country, 5.0 to 7.9 mph	19100	11.3	339	396	452	791

The Compendium’s own wording for each code: 19150, “Skiing, downhill, alpine or snowboarding, light effort, active time only”; 19160, “Skiing, downhill, alpine or snowboarding, moderate effort, general, active time only”; 19080, “Skiing, cross country, 2.5 mph, slow or light effort, ski walking”; 19201, “Snowboarding, recreational, moderate pace, mountain”; 19170, “Skiing, downhill, alpine or snowboarding, vigorous effort, active time only”; 19090, “Skiing, cross country, 4.0-4.9 mph, moderate speed and effort, general”; 19100, “Skiing, cross country, 5.0-7.9 mph, brisk speed, vigorous effort”.

What changes the number for skiing

Pace is the biggest lever. The hardest listed way of skiing (Cross-country, 5.0 to 7.9 mph) is rated at 11.3 METs, 2.6 times the 4.3 METs of the gentlest (Downhill or snowboarding, light effort). For a 70 kg (154 lb) person that is 791 kcal an hour against 301 kcal.

Body weight is the second: the same 6.3 METs of skiing for 30 minutes comes to 158 kcal at 50 kg (110 lb) and 347 kcal at 110 kg (243 lb). To reach 100 kcal at 70 kg (154 lb) takes about 14 minutes at the starting pace.

Laid out in half-hour terms for 70 kg (154 lb): downhill or snowboarding, light effort is 151 kcal; downhill or snowboarding, moderate effort is 221 kcal; cross-country, 2.5 mph, light effort is 238 kcal; snowboarding, recreational, moderate pace is 263 kcal; downhill or snowboarding, vigorous effort is 280 kcal; cross-country, 4.0 to 4.9 mph is 298 kcal; cross-country, 5.0 to 7.9 mph is 396 kcal.

How the calories are worked out

The formula is calories = MET × body weight in kg × hours. A MET compares an activity with sitting quietly, which is 1 MET and is taken as roughly 1 kcal per kilogram per hour. That equivalence is an approximation, which is why every figure is rounded and called about.

For skiing at 6.3 METs, a 70 kg (154 lb) person for 30 minutes: 6.3 × 70 × 0.5 = 221 kcal. This is a gross figure: it includes the energy your body would spend at rest in the same time.

The MET values are those of the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (Herrmann SD, Willis EA, Ainsworth BE, et al., J Sport Health Sci 2024), read from its activity list on 2026-10-23 and copied with their codes. They are averages for adults; see how we calculate.

Frequently asked questions

How many calories does a 70 kg person burn skiing in 30 minutes?

About 221 kcal at 6.3 METs (Downhill or snowboarding, moderate effort). The whole range for skiing on this page runs from 151 kcal (Downhill or snowboarding, light effort) to 396 kcal (Cross-country, 5.0 to 7.9 mph) in the same half hour.

How many calories does skiing burn in an hour?

At 6.3 METs, about 378 kcal for a 60 kg (132 lb) person, 441 kcal at 70 kg (154 lb) and 504 kcal at 80 kg (176 lb). Heavier people burn more because they move more mass.

How long does skiing take to burn 100 calories?

For a 70 kg (154 lb) person, about 14 minutes at 6.3 METs (Downhill or snowboarding, moderate effort). At the gentlest listed pace (Downhill or snowboarding, light effort, 4.3 METs) it takes 20 minutes, and at the hardest (Cross-country, 5.0 to 7.9 mph, 11.3 METs) about 8.

Does the number for skiing include the calories I would burn anyway?

Yes. Of the 6.3 METs, 1 is the resting cost, about 16% of the total here, so the activity itself adds about 186 of the 221 kcal in 30 minutes at 70 kg (154 lb).

Why would my watch show a different number for skiing?

A watch uses its own model, often with heart rate, age and sex, while this page uses the Compendium’s average. For skiing that average already spans 7 entries from 4.3 to 11.3 METs, a 2.6-fold range, so a gap between the two is normal.

Which line in the table should I choose for skiing?

Pick the row that best describes how you did it: this page starts from “Downhill or snowboarding, moderate effort”, about 29% of the way up the 4.3 to 11.3 MET range. The rows are separate Compendium entries (19150, 19160, 19080, 19201, 19170, 19090, 19100).

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These are estimates for healthy adults from average MET values. How much you actually burn varies with your fitness, body composition, technique, terrain and conditions, so use the figures as a guide, not a measurement. This is not medical advice.