And the most expensive lift ticket for 2012-2013 goes to........

[steamboat1]

Stratton (also Intrawest) also lowered their price considerably.

I can't imagine either was in response to Jay targeting day trippers.

Strattons weekend/holiday rate is $87. I don't think that's lower than last year. Maybe the weekday rate is lower at $76.

Other mountains I looked at all raised their weekend/holiday rates. Sugarbush, Killington & Okemo all raised their weekend/holiday rates to $88.

Weekday rates went up as well with Sugarbush at $84. Killington & Okemo weekday rates are $80.

Of course these are walk up window rates. They all have other deals.

 

[riverc0il]

I stand corrected on the Stratton rate. I did review their web site recently and thought for sure it was in the 70s. Maybe they had not posted their weekend/holiday rate when I looked or perhaps I was looking at their X2 rate.

 

[mlkrgr]

Stratton (also Intrawest) also lowered their price considerably.

I can't imagine either was in response to Jay targeting day trippers.

I think $76 midweek and $87 weekend/holiday is what it was last year at Stratton. They have been fairly aggressive on deals this year so far and found it striking that the mountain was just slightly more busy than a normal midweek day when they were giving free tickets out on Facebook Friday. Ski bus pricing is going up for all resorts in general, so it is tempting for me to buy into them. Looks like the best deals would be BSSC's midwinter day trips to Mt Snow or K at $63 a pop plus $4 parking.

 

[midd]

I keep needing to remind myself to juxtapose lift ticket prices with greens fees. Not only with skiing are you granted access to all of the best areas, it's remarkably more affordable than golf.

Pebble $495
Bandon/Pac Dunes: $210-280
St. Andrews: $140-$200 (ballpark w/exchange)


Even "good" local courses like Pinehills and Granite Links bang you for more than the most expensive lift ticket in the country. Plus the resorts don't force you off the mountain after a certain number of runs or charge you more to go back out.

 

[kingslug]

Its a shame that soon it will become so expensive it will knock a lot of people out of the game. Mention skiing to anyone and the first thing they say is how expensive it is...$38.00 Alta tix..those where the days...

 

[steamboat1]

Its a shame that soon it will become so expensive it will knock a lot of people out of the game. Mention skiing to anyone and the first thing they say is how expensive it is...$38.00 Alta tix..those where the days...

Lol, first time I was at Alta tickets were $7. Snowbird next door was $18 with the tram.

 

[BenedictGomez]

The most expensive places are outrageous = agreed.

But if you look at the average ski resort's lift ticket pricing over time and adjust them for inflation over time, they're fairly reasonably consistent over the last 20'ish years, especially if you take account of increases in insurance costs and electricity etc...

What hurts is the fact that overall cost of living in America is increasing while the rate of our pay is decreasing. That, and the fact that the value of the US dollar is crumbling. And it's only going to get worse.

HAPPY MONDAY!!!

 

[ScottySkis]

Lol, first time I was at Alta tickets were $7. Snowbird next door was $18 with the tram.

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My dad Camero in 1970? Was 3000$.

 

[riverc0il]

I keep needing to remind myself to juxtapose lift ticket prices with greens fees. Not only with skiing are you granted access to all of the best areas, it's remarkably more affordable than golf.

Pebble $495
Bandon/Pac Dunes: $210-280
St. Andrews: $140-$200 (ballpark w/exchange)


Even "good" local courses like Pinehills and Granite Links bang you for more than the most expensive lift ticket in the country. Plus the resorts don't force you off the mountain after a certain number of runs or charge you more to go back out.

On the flip side, when I golfed, I played a lot of nice courses for $15-30 using mid-week, evening, and early/late season pricing. I don't really think you can compare skiing to golf on pricing, though. The best private golf courses can charge as much as the market will bear... their business model is creating a premium product that they can charge top dollar for yet still pack the course because people will pay for it. Ski areas have the luxury of not having a maximum capacity. With golf, you can only have 8 players per hole minus par 3s. At ski areas, the line just gets longer as more people are added to the mountain. Ski areas don't limit their guest numbers to keep the price high... because it wouldn't work, top ski resorts don't have the same cachet that top golf courses have.

 

[ScottySkis]

On the flip side, when I golfed, I played a lot of nice courses for $15-30 using mid-week, evening, and early/late season pricing. I don't really think you can compare skiing to golf on pricing, though. The best private golf courses can charge as much as the market will bear... their business model is creating a premium product that they can charge top dollar for yet still pack the course because people will pay for it. Ski areas have the luxury of not having a maximum capacity. With golf, you can only have 8 players per hole minus par 3s. At ski areas, the line just gets longer as more people are added to the mountain. Ski areas don't limit their guest numbers to keep the price high... because it wouldn't work, top ski resorts don't have the same cachet that top golf courses have.

I'm pretty sure Deer Valley in Utah has a limit of people, I think its 10,000.

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[Polarizor]

I'm pretty sure Deer Valley in Utah has a limit of people, I think its 10,000.

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Yes...they do. I think it's that or maybe even less. They encourage you to buy your tickets online in advance to avoid meeting with a closed ticket window.

 

[Polarizor]

No brainer for the hard core skier and those lucky enough to be in the Denver area for sure. Shows how much they rely on the out of town market. Most people come in on a 6 day trip and many of those take days off. Utah has not followed suit with a similar pass and as your Stowe example illustrates it ain't happening here in the east.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

Vail has very openly stated they want to derrive 75% or more of their skier visit's from pass holders as they insure them from miserable winters like the one they had last year in Colorado. They were bragging about the same when they saw almost no effect on their gross revenues as a result of this strategy last year.

 

[drjeff]

I'm pretty sure Deer Valley in Utah has a limit of people, I think its 10,000.

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Yes...they do. I think it's that or maybe even less. They encourage you to buy your tickets online in advance to avoid meeting with a closed ticket window.

And with the exception of the "big 3" times (Christmas week, MLK weekend, and Pres week) you don't need to buy ahead at DV and risk them being "sold out" - and even when they're "crowded" they still have so much uphill capacity that you're not waiting more than a couple of minutes at the major intermediate pod lifts.

The one thing about DV that kind of shows how good an actual skier's mountain (not meant as a snowboarder dig, just referring to layout and cutting of the trails and how it makes the mountain ski) it is, is that how many times have we all read reports about somehow going to DV for their 1st time, and expecting it to be just a mountain of wall to wall corduroy covered with Bogner clad beginners, and came away from the day talking about far more than just how good the food is and how fancy the bathrooms are

 

[swampwiz]

When I lived in Arvada, CO (Denver area), for the winters in the late 00's, I got the Copper Mountain season pass for $229. One year I headed out there 37 times, for about $6/day average.

 

[Blizzard of Wahhs]

And with the exception of the "big 3" times (Christmas week, MLK weekend, and Pres week) you don't need to buy ahead at DV and risk them being "sold out" - and even when they're "crowded" they still have so much uphill capacity that you're not waiting more than a couple of minutes at the major intermediate pod lifts.

The one thing about DV that kind of shows how good an actual skier's mountain (not meant as a snowboarder dig, just referring to layout and cutting of the trails and how it makes the mountain ski) it is, is that how many times have we all read reports about somehow going to DV for their 1st time, and expecting it to be just a mountain of wall to wall corduroy covered with Bogner clad beginners, and came away from the day talking about far more than just how good the food is and how fancy the bathrooms are

granted they have decent meadow skipping, but how is that not amenable to single plankers? I really don't get how a mountain can be a "skier's mountain" on a geographic basis. Culturally sure, but are some mtns really designed for ski traffic and not board traffic?

I call bullshit and submit evidence A.

evidence A: preseason traffic in UT is concentrated around Alta in bounds terrain as it has a lot of low rock/high snowfall runs. Magically, once the runs fill in they become "skier only" runs and are no longer fit for use by single plankers. Geographic reality or manmade farce?

 

[skiNEwhere]

When I lived in Arvada, CO (Denver area), for the winters in the late 00's, I got the Copper Mountain season pass for $229. One year I headed out there 37 times, for about $6/day average.

You still in CO?

 

[swampwiz]

You still in CO?

No, I was only there because I got flooded out from Hurricane Katrina. Since I had to live away for a while, what better place than somewhere within commuting distance to ski?

 

[thetrailboss]

I went Deer hunting yesterday and snagged some discount Deer Valley tickets...the only blackouts are Christmas and President's Weekend...

$62.50 per day. I like that better than $102.

You have to be pampered at least once in a while. I was surprised that I like the place and the change of pace from other places.