Skiing on the cheap - 2019-2020

[BenedictGomez]

champlain cards coming out end of october. i emailed them yesterday. no details on pricing or resorts provided tho.

That would be very early, it's usually Thanksgiving. Maybe they think part of the problem is they waited too long, but the problem is the higher price combined with deteriorating mix of mountains.

 

[bdfreetuna]

That would be very early, it's usually Thanksgiving. Maybe they think part of the problem is they waited too long, but the problem is the higher price combined with deteriorating mix of mountains.

They told me Nov 1st but it sounded slightly up in the air, best idea is to start checking their site a few days before the end of the month. Good news is they don't fly off the shelf like Ski VT Passes.

 

[urungus]

They told me Nov 1st but it sounded slightly up in the air, best idea is to start checking their site a few days before the end of the month. Good news is they don't fly off the shelf like Ski VT Passes.

True but last year there was a $25 price increase within a few hours/days after they first went on sale. Might happen again this year if it was considered a promotion like Magic selling the first 100 throwback cards for $99. But maybe not, IIRC last years price increase coincided with a couple mountains being added to the pass.

 

[p_levert]

FYI, here's the lineup from last year:

 

[bdfreetuna]

True but last year there was a $25 price increase within a few hours/days after they first went on sale. Might happen again this year if it was considered a promotion like Magic selling the first 100 throwback cards for $99. But maybe not, IIRC last years price increase coincided with a couple mountains being added to the pass.

Funny thing, I must have been the first person to order because I got cards #001 and #002 in the mail. Guess what, only purchased one card. This was at the early $150 price too.

But then as karma would have it, I was fumbling around in that 45" snow storm up at Smugglers Notch, using the card for the first time in January. Girl at the ticket window never heard of the Fox44 card, she was impressed at the deal. I said yup, I got another one too!

Next day could not find the 2nd card, I assume it got buried in the snow somewhere near the Smuggs ticket window. I give it a 25% chance that girl stealth swiped it from me with some sleight of hand. I forget where I went instead that 2nd day probably Bolton. Moral of the story, take off your gloves when opening the wallet at the ticket window in a snow storm.

 

[Smellytele]

Funny thing, I must have been the first person to order because I got cards #001 and #002 in the mail. Guess what, only purchased one card. This was at the early $150 price too.

But then as karma would have it, I was fumbling around in that 45" snow storm up at Smugglers Notch, using the card for the first time in January. Girl at the ticket window never heard of the Fox44 card, she was impressed at the deal. I said yup, I got another one too!

Next day could not find the 2nd card, I assume it got buried in the snow somewhere near the Smuggs ticket window. I give it a 25% chance that girl stealth swiped it from me with some sleight of hand. I forget where I went instead that 2nd day probably Bolton. Moral of the story, take off your gloves when opening the wallet at the ticket window in a snow storm.

I left mine in my ski pants pocket and it got sweaty wet and stuck together and I couldn't open it again. When it dried it was even worse. Only used it 3 times. Back then it was only 129 - I think.

 

[BenedictGomez]

I left mine in my ski pants pocket and it got sweaty wet and stuck together and I couldn't open it again. When it dried it was even worse. Only used it 3 times. Back then it was only 129 - I think.

Back then it sold out quickly.

 

[bdfreetuna]

Back then it sold out quickly.

I'll assume it goes on sale for either $175 or $199 this year. Either way this is an excellent breakdown, at least in my use case, let's assume I use it for these this year:

MRG, Magic, Burke, Smuggs, Gore, Whiteface, Cannon, Bretton Woods

At $199 this = $28.50 per lift ticket. I might be inclined to add Owl's Head this year and try a new ski area that always seemed funky/interesting to me with legit steeps. Maybe I'll combo that with a chance to return to Mt Sutton (which I love but have only skied in icy conditions). Drops the price even more.

Hard to beat this deal at least on the I-91 corridor and willing to do a few overnights. I also enjoy the fact that if a storm skips Vermont (or they get the r**n, I can book it to either Cannon/Bretton or Whiteface/Gore if they get the goods.

Combine that with VT Pass and Ride and Ski NE card and I can go anywhere I'd actually want to ski with great powder chasing ability and never paying more than 1/2 price.

 

[BenedictGomez]

I'll assume it goes on sale for either $175 or $199 this year. Either way this is an excellent breakdown, at least in my use case, let's assume I use it for these this year:

MRG, Magic, Burke, Smuggs, Gore, Whiteface, Cannon, Bretton Woods

At $199 this = $28.50 per lift ticket.

That is awesome, but the vast majority of people arent going to hit that geographically diverse of an area.

 

[JimG.]

Let me know when you decide to hit Gore.

 

[crazy]

So I checked a random date in December on Liftopia, and was surprised to see that the Peak Resorts mountains such as Mount Snow and Attitash/Wildcat have deals posted. I was kind of assuming that once Vail took ownership of these mountains, they would stop posting any deals on Liftopia. The whole Vail model is high window ticket prices to rope people into buying passes. You can save a little bit by buying Epic Day Passes in advance, but they don't post any deals on Liftopia, as far as I know.

Could this be a case where Peaks made deals with Liftopia in advance of the sale to Vail? Or is Liftopia perhaps posting old deals from last season and haven't actually made updates for 2019?

I bought an IKON pass for this season, so I'm not going to get an Epic Pass, but I will say that with the addition of the Peaks Resorts mountains, the Epic Pass became a much stronger proposition. I will strongly consider it for next year. Having Sunapee and Crotched as day trips with Wildcat and Stowe as weekend destinations is pretty awesome.

 

[Smellytele]

So I checked a random date in December on Liftopia, and was surprised to see that the Peak Resorts mountains such as Mount Snow and Attitash/Wildcat have deals posted. I was kind of assuming that once Vail took ownership of these mountains, they would stop posting any deals on Liftopia. The whole Vail model is high window ticket prices to rope people into buying passes. You can save a little bit by buying Epic Day Passes in advance, but they don't post any deals on Liftopia, as far as I know.

Could this be a case where Peaks made deals with Liftopia in advance of the sale to Vail? Or is Liftopia perhaps posting old deals from last season and haven't actually made updates for 2019?

I bought an IKON pass for this season, so I'm not going to get an Epic Pass, but I will say that with the addition of the Peaks Resorts mountains, the Epic Pass became a much stronger proposition. I will strongly consider it for next year. Having Sunapee and Crotched as day trips with Wildcat and Stowe as weekend destinations is pretty awesome.

Vail has said they will let the mtns run this year as they have. Also those peak deals have been on Liftopia for 2 months now. They are for this coming season


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone

 

[Pez]

I'm sure the $49 dollar sunday PM lift tickets are going away next year. Looks like an Epic pass is in my future.

 

[crazy]

Vail has said they will let the mtns run this year as they have. Also those peak deals have been on Liftopia for 2 months now. They are for this coming season


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone

Thank you for this information. This is great news. I will do a couple early or late season days at Wildcat, like I often do, given that these deals will remain in place. Next year will be the big changes. I will have to seriously consider getting an Epic Pass next year.

 

[bdfreetuna]

I'm sure the $49 dollar sunday PM lift tickets are going away next year. Looks like an Epic pass is in my future.

FWIW I was using Ride and Ski Card to get tickets (full day) in the low $40's midweek and low $50's weekends. Looks like that might be good again for at least 1 more year.

 

[ingsy]

Pico has a decent deal if you have kids:
https://www.picomountain.com/plan-your-trip/tickets-passes/season-passes/season-passes
"Also new for 2019/20 is our Kids Ski Free promotion. With the purchase of every Adult My Pico Season Pass, a FREE season pass for kids ages 12 & under is included. Restrictions apply"

 

[urungus]

Received this email from Ski NH

http://skinh.com/deals/ski-nh-lift-ticket-packages

Ski New Hampshire's lift tickets offer you the most flexibility at the best price. Not only are they fully transferable, but they're also valid any day of the 2019-20 season. Plus, there's no minimum purchase, so you can buy as many or as few as you'd like--but they will sell out fast! The sale begins at 9:00am on Wednesday, October 16th so get ready.

2019/20 Early Season Pricing

$39 Black Mountain
$79 Bretton Woods Resort
$59 Cannon Mountain
$69 Cranmore Mountain Resort
$35 Dartmouth Skiway
$69 Gunstock Mountain Resort
$39 King Pine at Purity Spring Resort
$79 Loon Mountain Resort
$25 McIntyre Ski Area
$79 Mount Sunapee Resort
$55 Pats Peak
$59 Ragged Mountain Resort
$69 Waterville Valley Resort

 

[Equinox]

Received this email from Ski NH

http://skinh.com/deals/ski-nh-lift-ticket-packages

Ski New Hampshire's lift tickets offer you the most flexibility at the best price. Not only are they fully transferable, but they're also valid any day of the 2019-20 season. Plus, there's no minimum purchase, so you can buy as many or as few as you'd like--but they will sell out fast! The sale begins at 9:00am on Wednesday, October 16th so get ready.

2019/20 Early Season Pricing

$39 Black Mountain
$79 Bretton Woods Resort
$59 Cannon Mountain
$69 Cranmore Mountain Resort
$35 Dartmouth Skiway
$69 Gunstock Mountain Resort
$39 King Pine at Purity Spring Resort
$79 Loon Mountain Resort
$25 McIntyre Ski Area
$79 Mount Sunapee Resort
$55 Pats Peak
$59 Ragged Mountain Resort
$69 Waterville Valley Resort

I tried to snag a couple of tickets today, but their website is having difficulties. I was greeted by this message:

"Sorry for any inconvenience, we are experiencing technical difficulties with our sales platform and will be closing the sales until we fix the problem. We will have the "Buy Now" button back up as soon as possible! Again, apologies for the inconvenience.

We will send out an email to our newsletter list and post notifications to our social channels (Facebook, Instagram & Twitter) with our relaunch time."

I guess I'll keep checking back.

 

[Smellytele]

I tried to snag a couple of tickets today, but their website is having difficulties. I was greeted by this message:

"Sorry for any inconvenience, we are experiencing technical difficulties with our sales platform and will be closing the sales until we fix the problem. We will have the "Buy Now" button back up as soon as possible! Again, apologies for the inconvenience.

We will send out an email to our newsletter list and post notifications to our social channels (Facebook, Instagram & Twitter) with our relaunch time."

I guess I'll keep checking back.

I got in early and got a couple for Cannon.

 

[ThinkSnow]

I got in early as well and got what I wanted.