Great questions and a good solution by rachelp.

@Lindsay: Since you have extensive experience with weight dryland pack carries, I suggest seeing what your perception of effort during the workout and recovery time after the workout feels like compared when you are on skis vs on foot. Then adjust TSS (probably upward) by an amount commiserate with your fatigue the next days. Say I gave a TSS of 100 for an hour uphill weighted carry. But two days later the athlete still reports dead legs when climbing the stairs I would immediately bump that TSS to 150-200 and check back on the next day.

That’s what I do with myself and all that I coach. I have no problem with adjusting TSS upward if I hear the athlete still has tied legs 2 days after a workout. We are seeking consistency with our TSS. obviously hrTSS will not show the real training effect when skinning uphill with 8lb on each foot and a 25lb pack.

Orange to oranges and apples to apples. Sometimes this will come down to your perceived fatigue the next day or two.