How cheap can you ski?

[Smellytele]

That's inspirational. I have 123,000 on my 4x4 Envoy, which I love. It's getting harder and harder to find real SUV trucks, as opposed to Crossovers (i.e. station wagons) built up high on a car chassis. Not to mention, the cost of used SUVs has absolutely skyrocketed. I need to take care of her! Oil change tomorrow.

My vehicle is a ford ranger with the original clutch. It is my 3rd vehicle that I would rather put mileage on than my other 2. When the whole family goes though we bring the SUV (that is all paid for as well with 130k on it).

 

[deadheadskier]

My vehicle is a ford ranger with the original clutch. It is my 3rd vehicle that I would rather put mileage on than my other 2. When the whole family goes though we bring the SUV (that is all paid for as well with 130k on it).

That's awesome your Ranger has 250k miles and still going strong. Best vehicle I ever owned maintenance wise was a 94 Explorer which I got 200k miles out of despite beating the crap out of it off road. Until the radiator blew at 200k the only thing I had to fix were ball joints other than basic maintenance.

 

[dlague]

See...kids are the problem (lol). For husband and I to ski as much as we want, we had to get the kids into it. 3 kids...3 extra passes (only free til they are 5/6)...3 ski programs...gear x3... handwarmers/toe warmers...

I will pay $15-16/day with my pass and ~60 days skiing (forget price I paid for pass). But add in the ski house, gas, equipment... it's not cheap in any shape or fashion. Keeps me thankful for my job!

Except the years when they can use the VT passports and NH Passports. During those years our lift ticket cost average dropped to $8.06 with out any season passes!

 

[JDMRoma]

Was at Cannon, this year the PSU deal is with Waterville. Bought my son the NH4 College Pass so he can do Cannon.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

PSU is going to Waterville now !
Well so much for me trying to get my daughter to go there next year !
The college pass is really good though !


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone

 

[mbedle]

Alright, I am trying to understand this and having a hard time. You are telling us that you ski for $8 a day for (based on your last year total). 39 days a season. I can put my hand around that. Do you drive to a different resort every day you ski?

Except the years when they can use the VT passports and NH Passports. During those years our lift ticket cost average dropped to $8.06 with out any season passes!

 

[Kleetus]

Last season I managed $35 a day for 31 days with no season pass. Shooting for the same this year but missed out on a few deals so outlook is a little grim right now. I don't like being tied to one place...if I was ok with it I'd make out well under $35 a day.


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone

 

[Scruffy]

Equipment and clothing may not be annual costs, but generally, boots are good for about 100 days. For some of us, that's one season.

boots are good for about 100 days. :-o Skis maybe 80-100 days, but boots? X5 that for me, and that's hard charging.

 

[BenedictGomez]

There's a difference between boots and liners.

YRMV, but that can be a big difference depending upon what different people are talking about regarding "boots".

 

[skiNEwhere]

There's a difference between boots and liners.

YRMV, but that can be a big difference depending upon what different people are talking about regarding "boots".

Yup. Liners compact over time too. Just today, I had to unscrew the top buckles on my boots and move them over an inch because they were too loose even when on the last notch of the buckle.

 

[deadheadskier]

boots are good for about 100 days. :-o Skis maybe 80-100 days, but boots? X5 that for me, and that's hard charging.

500 days out of boots? Wow.

150 tops for me. The Krypton's I just retired were more like 125 and are totally shot. It's not just liner pack out either. Buckles are shot, plastic has softened; just junk.

 

[gmcunni]

500 days out of boots? Wow.

150 tops for me. The Krypton's I just retired were more like 125 and are totally shot. It's not just liner pack out either. Buckles are shot, plastic has softened; just junk.

What replaces the Ks?

 

[deadheadskier]

Nordica Fire Arrow.

 

[jaytrem]

500 days out of boots? Wow.

150 tops for me. The Krypton's I just retired were more like 125 and are totally shot. It's not just liner pack out either. Buckles are shot, plastic has softened; just junk.

I got well over 1000 on a pair of Lange Tii liners I still use, LOTS of bump skiing. I had to replace the shells after maybe 800-900, thank you ebay. I've tried other boots but I keep going back to them. They're must be packed in just right, can't imagine at this point they'ed get packed in any more. I don't use them as much these days. I spend more time on teles or a snowboard. So hopefully I'll get a another 30 years out of them.

 

[Scruffy]

500 days out of boots? Wow.

150 tops for me. The Krypton's I just retired were more like 125 and are totally shot. It's not just liner pack out either. Buckles are shot, plastic has softened; just junk.

What the hell are you guys doing to your boots I just retired a pair of Tecnica Icon race boots, they were my everyday boots for 15 years, they seen lots of bump duty - loved them. I have another pair of recent tecnica race Infernos I use for racing. I replaced the old Icons with Dalbello Lupos.

 

[jimk]

Last season I managed $35 a day for 31 days with no season pass. Shooting for the same this year but missed out on a few deals so outlook is a little grim right now. I don't like being tied to one place...if I was ok with it I'd make out well under $35 a day.


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone

Well played sir. For me this is one of the more meaningful posts in this thread because I too ski almost as many days per season without a season pass. Keeping costs down when you prefer not to be tied to one ski area requires a lot of scrambling. While you guys in New England bemoan expensive passes compared to Colorado, you still have some very good deals compared to the mid-Atlantic. Also, I concur with the gist of JoshuaSegal's posts that lift tickets are just the tip of the iceberg, especially for folks like me who accrue a lot of ski days far from home. However, my adult son instructed at a local bump last season and I got to ski it 6 or 7 days for free because of him. Seeing how I bought him a lot of lift tickets over the years, turnabout is fair play.:-D

 

[VTKilarney]

If you want to keep daily costs as low as many people are claiming, you need the flexibility to ski on weekdays. People who are limited to weekends should not be fooled into thinking that they can average $12 per day if they intend to ski at larger mountains.

 

[deadheadskier]

What the hell are you guys doing to your boots I just retired a pair of Tecnica Icon race boots, they were my everyday boots for 15 years, they seen lots of bump duty - loved them. I have another pair of recent tecnica race Infernos I use for racing. I replaced the old Icons with Dalbello Lupos.

I take good care of them; dry, buckle and store appropriately after each use. By 75 days max a boot isn't capable of locking my foot in the same as when new and I don't like the accompanying drop in performance. I hold onto them for another 50-75 days to get my monies worth, then replace. This has been the case with 2 sets of Lange's, 1 Rossi, 1 Dolomite & 1 pair of Dalbellos I've owned over the past 20 years.

 

[xwhaler]

I don't like being tied to one place...if I was ok with it I'd make out well under $35 a day.


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone

+1 I love the diversity of skiing different mtns as they all have their own unique vibe/culture. I can find positives in just about any mtn if I set my expectations accordingly. On Sunday I plan to have a great day at Okemo with friends and family. Okemo is awesome for early season as they go a nice job grooming, pump out a ton of snow, and move people up and down the mtn efficiently.
Ask me if I would ever go to Okemo mid season during a powder day when they groom everything out and of course I wouldn't. Take what the mountain gives you and pick places to ski based on value, terrain, time of year, drive time, social companions, etc.


Last yr I skied at 15 different mtns over a 25 day season for an average of $21.79/day. Love checking out new places.
I ski at places ranging from Whaleback/Pats Peak to Sugarloaf/Smuggs so get great diversity in my winter travels.

 

[Abubob]

If I didn't ski it's not likely I've live where it snows regularly. So add snow blower, ice scrapers, snow shovels, extra insulation, winter clothing NOT for skiing plus heating oil and snow tires (for my wife's car too) to my skiing cost.

Other than the yearly expenses like that and cost for skis, boots, gas (I'd probably be driving somewhere if I didn't ski) and food (no doubt I'd be eating if I didn't ski) my per day cost to ski last year was about $30.00 average.

If I calculated what it costs me to live just where I can ski ... I think it would be well over Josh Segal's $100 per day.

 

[Smellytele]

If you want to keep daily costs as low as many people are claiming, you need the flexibility to ski on weekdays. People who are limited to weekends should not be fooled into thinking that they can average $12 per day if they intend to ski at larger mountains.

I only ski weekends for the most part and ski larger areas but the deals are out there. I can keep it down to around 30 a day per person. 10 days skiing in CO last year at 6 ski areas (Breck, Copper, Abasin, Wolf creek and Taos) and I had it right around 30 a day/person