Lift Ticket Prices, Season Pass Prices, Total Costs, Value, Etc.

[MikeTrainor]

T I think I might have paid around $56 at Wildcat a few years back and I think that was my ceiling so far..

Well Wildcat kept the $5 mid season increase of last year and tickets are $59. Also I noticed a billboard on route 16 that the add a day is $29 this year vs the $25 of the past. Once a great value prices keep creeping up at Wildcat.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

In the last 20 years I have always worked in the ski biz so I have never paid for skiing except a couple of years ago I paid $1 to ski SR and 6 of us did the $25 carload deal at Burke about 10 years ago. Admittingly this does restrict my skiing resortwise but there is no way I would pay big bucks to ski.

 

[Talisman]

In the last 20 years I have always worked in the ski biz so I have never paid for skiing

It's great that you get that perk. Skiing is unique that insiders get access to the best financial deals. The high cost of entry and poor access to deals is one reason some never take up the sport.

Via the internet and other sources insider's like us can and do get better access to cheaper skiing through ASC all for one passes, ski club deals or the Stratton lift ticket lottery.

 

[riverc0il]

Um, well, um. hmm. I agree w/the notion that it is too expensive, but you are wrong that it cannot be worth it. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

i made a statement that was an opinion in a factual manner, that is my bad. stating a fact that $70-80 lift ticket skiing is not worth it, but my opinion is neither right nor wrong and that is the spirit i meant the statement in. my bad for stating something in a factual manner that was an opinion, i stand by my opinion that for me personally, $70-80 is not worth it for a day of skiing.
[/QUOTE]

These guys could barely afford the gas, food, lift ticket, lessons, let alone boots (custom made leathers) skis (his first pair of metal Heads skis cost something like 3 paychecks), just to go do something remarkable that everyone in their lives thought was absolutely stupid, expensive, dangerous, better spent on family, here or abroad. Just the same they saved money all spring/summer/fall, and everywhere in between, just to be able to do it.
(Sound familiar?)

These were poor guys, sons of immigrants, born during the depression, brought up during WWII. They were long-shoremen, laborers, ditch diggers. The $5-10 pet ticket they were spending would be $200 today.

this is a really cool story. i appreciate the spirit. but i find it irrelevant to this thread. back then there were no options for big mountain skiing. today there are. today you can ski 2k vert mountains with excellent terrain or $55 or you can ski stowe for $80 and kmart for $70. today we have a choice in how we spend our money, but then, there wasn't much choice due to the lack of affordable transportation. the comparison in this thread is value for the money and where you draw the line on weekend lift ticket, history comparison is apples to oranges.

You gripe about lift tickets? I can't even purchase a house within 100 miles of where I was born due to the inflation of the market.

i never griped about lift tickets. i merely stated that my threshold is mid- to upper-$50s and i don't see the value in paying more. i am not complaining. indeed, i purchased a season pass and a mad card this year and will be doing very little skiing at other mountains. the mountains i do plan on skiing (including stowe), i have arranged for some nice discounts. it is very likely i will not pay for a full priced lift ticket all season. no complaints here, just trying to stir the pot and create some discussion. the housing situation is also irrelevant. this conversation is worth having regardless of other economic factors. should we stop discussing skiing all together because of broader global geo/political issues that are more important than a ski trip? surely not. i used to live in boston metro, i am familiar with the housing situation down there. i still took great pains to avoid paying full price when i lived down there too. not sure what any of that has to do with a weekend day ticket price though.

 

[thetrailboss]

Via the internet and other sources insider's like us can and do get better access to cheaper skiing through ASC all for one passes, ski club deals or the Stratton lift ticket lottery.

Absolutely. Last season, I was able to score several tix through online promos, connections with "friends of a friend" I met in here, and just by being in the right place at the right time. With threads like these and our ticket swaps at the end of the season, folks can usually find a way to ski. I helped some new friends last season with gift tickets that I was not going to use.

 

[thetrailboss]

FridayHiker: I did those promos at BW as well when I was younger. Glad that they are still doing it.

 

[FridayHiker]

I'm not sure whether or not they are, now that they've changed ownership.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

As River has proven year after year one can ski pretty cheap as long as you are somewhat flexible and as long as you are willing to ski the mountain not the resort. Check his website to see how he does it.

The Bush has a couple of cheap priced days if you bring a couple of cans of food on a certain day you can ski for $25 or ski on their birthday when the price is $5.50. The Loaf lets Mainers ski every Wednesday for $28, lots of deals out there.

 

[JimG.]

We tend to take a broader seasonal view of our spending. We paid full price at Sunday River last year on New Year's Eve. Ouch! We definitely hated to do it, but DH's brother was there with his family, and we wanted the kids to have a chance to ski with their cousins. Was I happy about paying $200 or so to ski for a day? No way. But would I do it again? Sure. We only get together a few times a year, and don't often get the chance to ski with them.

I like this attitude. You do what you have to to make it all work.

Being single or having an SO is totally different from having a wife and kids. With a family, you ski whenever you can and you make it a family experience as often as possible, regardless of the time of year, weather, or expense.

Money is a tool to use on things that make you and your family happy; in and of itself, money is worthless.

IMHO.

 

[AdironRider]

It all depends on conditions and who Im riding with. Most of the time Ill be using my seasons pass to Whiteface/Gore and Cannon/Sunapee/Gunstock. However, all my buddies from home go to UVM and if they cant comp me tickets or snag me a pass to borrow Ill gladly pay full price for a ticket. I only get to ride with em a few times a year, Im not going to let an extra 15 bucks or whatever take priority.

Just remember .... its only money, youll make more another day.

 

[bigbog]

......

Agree AHM.....I couldn't say it any better molecan...
I'm not planning on doing any skiing in the afterlife!, but it would be a bonus!

 

[Lostone]

I remember when nobody could believe areas were going to break the $25 level.:blink:

There are always discounts out there. When I was in a ski club, there were enough people searching around that we were constantly coming up with different ways to save a few bucks, here and there.

None beat the idea of getting a pass. That limits you to where you can ski, but hits the goal I always had of getting a lot of time on the snow.

But if you can't lock yourself to one area, look around. The deals are there.

And as for the "Is it worth it?" question. Something to ask yourself as you pop out of the bottom of Middle Earth on a powder day. Or maybe when you are sitting in the lodge, taking a week and a half to take your boots off, at the end of the day, with that "What the heck hit me?" look?


There's nothing like it! :beer:

 

[Ascend the Snow]

As a college student there's nothing better than paying my $375 for unlimited all-east each october and going to Attitash/River/Loaf 4 or 5 days a week...

Now if I could only find money for gas!!!!