Best dry land exercises (outside the gym)?

Ok, I guess:

- mountain biking for aerobic fitness + leg strength/stamina.

- roller blading?

- swimming for overall fitness but what about the legs???

- stepper machine in the lounge! ;)

Any opinions? What do you do when away from the mountains?

rollerblading helped me alot. skating backwards, on one foot. helped with balance.

good old fashioned running - middle distance with short sprints included

whilst watching recent olympics Im sure I heard the comment that in line skates was the best possible preparation for ski-ing. i presume in line means rollerblades! Took up road cycling 3 4 years ago , made enormous difference to leg strength.

The key is the s at the end of exercises!

No one activity can cover all that is required in skiing.
As note above running or in line skating are excellent

Before I give my favorites, we should all accept that it is above a question of life style! Exercising for two hours once a week then eating fast foods does not help!

My typical program is;

1 hour of swimming non-stop laps n( every day)

2 hours ( 3 times per weeks of light weights many reps ) of weights Free and pulley

Every second weekend walking up ski center.

PS
I never take elevator
I walk instead of taking car to corner store
Starting in August I do stomach crunches with ski boots ( sets of 100)

I do every day 30 minutes on pivot board!

Everyone has to find workout they like and that makes them happy!

For the time starved recreational skier : for general fitness single workout which exercises the most muscles is rowing machine. For skiing add cycling / running. Sessions dont need to be long - 20 to 30mins rowing and same cycling/running most days will make a difference. Take few seconds break regularly during routine if muscles tiring - less chance of damage to muscles - but you should be in a sweat by the end.

I have to agree on inline skating as maybe the best cross training. As sugested above, this isn't about pounding the pavement for miles, but rather skill developement exercises. I spend alot of time doing an exercise called wiggles by inline skaters. This is a continuous slalom movement, with the feet a few inches apart. It is especially good for learning to pressure the inside ski which is important in modern carving. You can do this exercise tight and fast or slow and wide. When you are able to really pump the turns, it can be done uphill, great workout. All the principles of weighting your edges apply and you can get verly low. Full proective gear is essential. You won't learn anything if you are worried about falling.

trencher

I almost forgot the wobble board (balance board, is that also a pivot baord ?). The type I use is circular with a half ball underneath. You can stand on it while watching TV. you can rock it around while still maintaining control. I often do squats on it. Here's a good link to show what it looks like.

http://www.fitter1.com/exercises_wb.html

Trencher