Decisions Decisions - Where to get a Season Pass?

[wtcobb]

Sounds very similar to my situation. I'm coming from Waltham, and again have the place in Tilton. I bought the NE pass this year with the payment plan (Gunny pass last season). $140/month was very forgiving. I just wish we had a better year to take more advantage of it.

Gilford to Loon is still a breeze, and even a day trip to SR isn't bad. I've left at 7 and made it there by 9 (weekday). Coming home is tiring, but it's certainly doable. They have great midweek skiing/lodging rates too - if you can find some friends who rent a room and are willing to split the cost, your pass is already paid for.

With the prices of Loon/SR/SL, you'll have that pass paid off in about eight visits. And you'll have all that terrain to enjoy. Since you're close by, if you can make it midweek at Loon and take some weekends to SR, I'd say it's definitely worth it for the NE pass.

Gunstock will always be special to me too, but they have deals every season. Grab a day pass there for the nostalgia - you're NE pass was paid off over the summer anyways.

Good luck, and hopefully plenty of snow wherever you decide!

 

[snowmonster]

So that is my choices help!!

You know you want to ski T2 in October.

 

[MadPadraic]

I've been somewhat critical of Boyne in the past (pass holders pay more for lodging than non-pass holders and SR is the only major mountain without sniffle stations), but they flat out delivered this year. They are committed to longer seasons than other multi-mountain passes (Crotched has been closed for two weeks while Loon is still blowing snow).

IMO, there is no better hill closer to Boston than Loon (I have clocked Cannon as being exactly 3 minutes further), and Sugarloaf is really really freaking good.

That being said, after the days I just had at Vail, Breck, and the Beav....if you can do Gunstock plus the rockies, you should.

 

[speden]

Sounds like WaWa or Gunstock would be the most practical choices for you, but in your heart you want to ski the Boyne resorts.

Boyne has shown a great commitment to making snow, but the question is do you have the commitment and family situation to allow for the long drives/overnight stays needed to ski frequently at the Boyne resorts. If you do then go with your heart. If not, then get a pass where you will actually be able to ski a lot.

 

[SkiFanE]

I just wish we had a better year to take more advantage of it.

It was a great year at SR! Really...everyone that watched the weather and decided to stay at home call it "a bad year". Those that actually got out and skied had a great time. So many days the weather was 180 from what was forecasted. You just have to make a plan and go...and at SR at least, they deliver. If it's after a weekday thaw/freeze, they'll have new snow by the weekend and you'll be happy. If they get a little rain, they recover. You just have to stop listening to naysayers and weatherforecasters, seriously.

 

[snowmonster]

It was a great year at SR! Really...everyone that watched the weather and decided to stay at home call it "a bad year". Those that actually got out and skied had a great time. So many days the weather was 180 from what was forecasted. You just have to make a plan and go...and at SR at least, they deliver. If it's after a weekday thaw/freeze, they'll have new snow by the weekend and you'll be happy. If they get a little rain, they recover. You just have to stop listening to naysayers and weatherforecasters, seriously.

Very, very well said. This sums up my SR and Loon experience this year -- and my ski season thus far.

 

[Bostonian]

Sounds like WaWa or Gunstock would be the most practical choices for you, but in your heart you want to ski the Boyne resorts.

Boyne has shown a great commitment to making snow, but the question is do you have the commitment and family situation to allow for the long drives/overnight stays needed to ski frequently at the Boyne resorts. If you do then go with your heart. If not, then get a pass where you will actually be able to ski a lot.

This pretty much sums up everything. With Gunstock, it would take 5 days out to make the pass pay for itself. Boyne would take 8. Gunstock is $375 up front, while boyne is $180 each month... looking at the money factor. Damn it... If I hit for mega millions though this Friday, I will get both! and a slope side place somewhere haha!

 

[Riverskier]

Do you want to ski in October and May? Heck, seeing that the Boyne alternative is Gunstock, do you want to ski in November and April? Given my geography and preferences, I would probably buy the Boyne pass anyway, but season length seals the deal. I want a 6 month season, and if I bought a cheaper pass to a smaller mountain, it would end up costing me more by buying early and late season tickets to SR and SL.

How many days do you estimate you will use a pass? This affects the value of each pass resepctively (obviously), but also may factor into how tired you might get of a skiing a smaller mountain. I love Mt Abram in Maine (comparable to Gunstock?), and get there every season, but would get tired of the place over 30+ days in a season. I can ski SR all season long and never get bored. Add in SL and Loon, and that is some serious variety.

 

[deadheadskier]

Do you want to ski in October and May? Heck, seeing that the Boyne alternative is Gunstock, do you want to ski in November and April? Given my geography and preferences, I would probably buy the Boyne pass anyway, but season length seals the deal. I want a 6 month season, and if I bought a cheaper pass to a smaller mountain, it would end up costing me more by buying early and late season tickets to SR and SL.

How many days do you estimate you will use a pass? This affects the value of each pass resepctively (obviously), but also may factor into how tired you might get of a skiing a smaller mountain. I love Mt Abram in Maine (comparable to Gunstock?), and get there every season, but would get tired of the place over 30+ days in a season. I can ski SR all season long and never get bored. Add in SL and Loon, and that is some serious variety.

When it has snow, Abram is better than Gunstock IMO.

When I lived in Portland, I got a SR/SL pass. No complaints on their product. I just get bored skiing the same two mountains all winter long. That's the benefit of a getting a cheap pass to a place like Gunstock. It's convenient and not so expensive that I can't get out to other mountains. Last year my cheap pass was Ragged at $380. I managed to ski in October and May and at 15 other mountains during the season for an additional $500 in lift tickets. When I spent $600 or so for SR/SL, that's pretty much the only places I skied because I wanted to make sure I got my monies worth.

Guess it just depends on what you like to do. If you're on a budget and like skiing a large variety of areas, getting a cheap local pass and hunting for ticket deals is the way to go. If variety doesn't matter much to you, go with a pass at whatever mountain you like the best.

 

[bigbog]

Guess I'll keep this part...
Might wanna think especially about SR and Loon midweek...instead of the Silver Pass.

 

[vcunning]

Personally, if my family had a 2nd home near Gunstock, I would pull that trigger (pun intended). There is a huge no hassle benefit to leaving your gear and extra clothes nearby. Plus it gives you a retreat on a day that may not have favorable conditions. $375 is a bargain if you can live across the street.

 

[mlkrgr]

SR/Loon/SL is a good option for those in the Boston area as if gas gets expensive during the season, you just hop on the bus, which is perfect if you want to go skiing on any given day on your own, so you can do that it squeeze in single days at $35-40 per whack (bus only price) which these days is less than the cost of gas alone to make the roundtrip from where I am (almost on the MA/NH border). Though, keep in mind this can increase the # of days to break even to 20 days (possibly more) as you are technically paying for your pass w/ the savings from the bus and lift ticket combo pricing or even more when considering unrestricted pass pricing. I would drop the $299 that Sugarbush asks for their 20s pass in a heartbeat if a comparable amount of buses ran there vs Sunday RIver (and there's a few more that run to Loon) or if enough of my friends would come in w/ me but they mostly ski no more than 3 times a year.

Only other resolution for those concerned w/ the cost of gas is a pass to Wa, but we all know what that entails. But breakeven in that sense is not all that bad; I'd be happy to get 6 equivalent full days.

With the way I work things, I'll keep on finding deals; last 5 seasons or so I've been keeping my effective lift ticket price per day under $30 once considering voucher promos even w/o a pass.