. ski analyses : Ten ways to save real bucks on lift tickets - 18 October 2004 - 02:11
Never pay full price. That's my guiding principle. Read and learn.
My blood boils when I see lift ticket rates soar into the stratosphere. Skiers and snowboarders are the lifeblood of any resort, yet it seems that the resorts are making it hard to spend an affordable day at the slopes. And devilishly hard to figure out.
Comparing lift ticket rates is like trying to decipher major airline ticket pricing. Many lift ticket deals are tough to buy, shrouded in secrecy, slanted towards locals and come with strings attached.
North America's most expensive lift ticket
After hearing about this season's record — Vail Resorts's $73 lift ticket — I decided to really lambaste the resort. But a funny thing happened on the way to the story.
I discovered that any savvy skier or boarder never would fork over $73. There are plenty of ways to avoid paying top dollar. Vail's deals aren't that hard to find. Their Web site has a page dedicated to smart lift ticket purchasing such as the money-saving Peaks Card, advance purchases and multiday lift tickets
Never pay full price
Anyone who walks up to the window and pays the top rate is either ignorant or doesn't care about price. The snow industry is packed with ways to trim lift ticket costs. Here are 10 of the best.
1 & 2) Ski midweek, Buy multi-day
Ski midweek instead of weekends and buy multi-day tickets. This works best in the Northeast. Skiers and boarders can save as much as $20 a day and sometimes more. At Stratton, Vermont, the whopping $72 single-day price on weekends and holidays is $7.50 a day less when you purchase a two-day ticket. Their midweek prices drop to $59 for a single day and less than $37 when you buy a six-day ticket.
3) Buy a cheap season pass — early
The best deals are in the fall, but there are often savings for passes purchased before January. Some season passes are only $199.
In Colorado, the top resorts all compete during autumn to sell bargain season passes. In California, Northstar-at-Tahoe and Sierra-at-Tahoe sell a joint pass for only $289 before September 30th. In New Hampshire, the Threedom Pass for Cranmore, Loon and Waterville Valley is the value priced at $249 for adults and $199 for kids.
4) Buy a midweek season pass
Almost every season pass deal has a midweek option. If you have the luxury of getting away on a weekday, the deals get better. For example, this year a regular season pass for Okemo (Vermont) and Mt. Sunapee (New Hampshire) purchased after August 15, 2003 costs $1,443.75, while a midweek/non-holiday season pass is only $408.45. Take the extra money and run!
5) Get a discount card
Many resorts sell discount cards that save big dollars and pay for themselves after only five days on the slopes. These cards tend to cost more as the season nears, though they are normally available through early January.
For example, Sunshine Village and Marmot Basin in Alberta have a joint card that provides up to a 40% discount. It sells for C$59.95 and normally may be purchased only from October through the end of December.
These are huge savings, but note this well: read the fine print to see if discount cards are good on weekends and holidays.
6) Ski at nearby, bargain areas
In New England, you don't have to pay Killington and Sunday River prices. Head to Waterville Valley for prices as little as $39 including weekends! Only a few miles away, Cannon Mountain charges just $34 for adults on weekdays.
In the Lake Tahoe area, next door to expensive Squaw Valley is Alpine Meadows, where lift tickets are only $39. Across the lake, in Nevada, Mt. Rose has lift tickets for as little as $19 on Ladies Days.
7) Get discount lift tickets from your hotel
If you stay at a resort, hotel deals can lop off at least $5 a day. In the Lincoln/Woodstock, New Hampshire, motels sell a room and lift ticket to Cannon Mountain for as little as $39 a day midweek. That's a bargain that's hard to beat.
8) Ski Canada
The U.S. dollar is still worth much more than the Canadian dollar. Ski at almost any Canadian resort for $37-$42 a day, with greater discounts for packages and multi-day tickets or when using a discount card.
9) Ski early/ski late
It costs less to ski before Christmas at virtually every North American resort, and the spring season deals are awesome.
10) Search for special discounts
There are scores of relatively esoteric deals known only to knowledgeable locals. If visitors have a local connection, they can take advantage of these discounts. My Web site, www.skisnowboard.com, site lists many of these discounts on the lift ticket pages. Here's a sample: Durango's Coca-Cola Six-pack promotion, Sierra-at-Tahoe's Goodyear Tire deals, Food Bank Wednesdays at Alyeska in Alaska, or New England's Price Chopper discount passbooks.
By Charles Leocha, Special for USATODAY.com
Charles Leocha is the author of Ski Snowboard America and Canada and Ski Snowboard Europe. His Web site, www.skisnowboard.com, features independent, editorial reviews of the leading mountain resorts in North America and www.skisnowboardeurope.com covers the top resorts in the Alps and Spain.
[xt] ski