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So who is breaking the $100 mark this year?

Jully

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I wonder how many skiers do the online rate. On the surface I could see it sucking people in with over a $30 discount
 

Jcb890

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Who can actually afford to pay these window rates? They're all nuts! A lot of these season passes aren't really even that great of deals either. Places out West (like the EPIC Pass) have much more to offer AND better Season Pass options. We kind of get screwed on the East Coast here with that stuff.

Wachusett charges $65 for Weekends and Holidays... it is 2,006' tall and has a vert. drop of about 1,000'. Now, its great for me to go ride there at night, but I won't even go on a weekend or holiday because it is so insanely busy it isn't worth it.
 

dlague

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I was looking at some of the smaller NH ski areas and Pats and Crotched are still showing last years rates but they will be pushing close to $70 which is nuts. King Pine and Dartmouth Skiway have the new rates and DS is still under $50 and KP is over $50.

Ragged and Gunstock new rates at $79 and $86 respectively

Sugarloaf and Sunday River have new rates and are at $95 and $99 respectively so they are close.
 

cdskier

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Well you were right & I was wrong. Sugarbush will be $97 non-holiday & $99 holiday.

I just looked at their site and noticed that they now had the new rates posted. Still nuts and I think all these prices just scare away new skiers to the sport. I wonder how many people actually pay them though with all the deals. Even just getting tickets online ahead of time saves money.

On the flip side, these day ticket rates make season passes better and better deals.
 

steamboat1

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On the flip side, these day ticket rates make season passes better and better deals.
Which is better? K with a $1289 unlimited pass or Sugarbush with a $1739 unlimited pass (todays pricing).

I agree the walk up pricing just scares away the casual skiers/boarders.

I'd bet there are still a significant amount still paying walk up rates, especially on weekends.
 
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cdskier

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Which is better? K with a $1289 unlimited pass or Sugarbush with a $1739 unlimited pass (todays pricing).

What was k's early purchase price? Sugarbush was 1199 which isn't too crazy and makes 13days the break even point. Anyone that knows they plan on purchasing a pass should be doing it at the early rates. For me this year sugarbush was even cheaper with the new early 30s pass that I was able to take advantage of (499 unlimited up until a couple weeks ago...now 699)
 

steamboat1

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What was k's early purchase price? Sugarbush was 1199 which isn't too crazy and makes 13days the break even point. Anyone that knows they plan on purchasing a pass should be doing it at the early rates. For me this year sugarbush was even cheaper with the new early 30s pass that I was able to take advantage of (499 unlimited up until a couple weeks ago...now 699)
I think K's unlimited went up $150 from what early pricing was. Their prices increase again after Nov. 1. My midweek went from $449 early to $519 now. I hope Win keeps the $99 (early pricing) Boomer Pass around. A few more years & Ill be eligible. K allowing the MAX Pass add on to my midweek pass was a nice surprise. Sugarbush should try to hook up with one of these multi mountain pass deals. With other areas now offering multi mountain deals it might be hurting their pass sales.
 

dlague

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Which is better? K with a $1289 unlimited pass or Sugarbush with a $1739 unlimited pass (todays pricing).

I agree the walk up pricing just scares away the casual skiers/boarders.

I'd bet there are still a significant amount still paying walk up rates, especially on weekends.

I would take K on that one in a heart beat.
 

Jully

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Does Sugarbush price higher as a crowd reduction thing? Or a just because thing?
 

WWF-VT

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Does Sugarbush price higher as a crowd reduction thing? Or a just because thing?

Sugarbush has a high percentage of skiers/riders that are season passholders and a lot of passes are purchased at early purchase price rates which come in less than the current $1739 price. Lots of families ski at Sugarbush and every Adult pass comes with a free pass for a dependent child that is 12 years old and younger which adds additional value to the pass purchase.

Killington's current pass prices are valid through October 15th.
 

benski

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Sugarbush has a high percentage of skiers/riders that are season passholders and a lot of passes are purchased at early purchase price rates which come in less than the current $1739 price. Lots of families ski at Sugarbush and every Adult pass comes with a free pass for a dependent child that is 12 years old and younger which adds additional value to the pass purchase.

Killington's current pass prices are valid through October 15th.

Sugarbush really should move away from the free youth pass with an adult pass. Screws people who don't need the youth pass who get absolutely nothing. Also a little ridiculous that a parent of a college student pays more than a parent of a 12 year old.
 

Newpylong

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I was looking at some of the smaller NH ski areas and Pats and Crotched are still showing last years rates but they will be pushing close to $70 which is nuts. King Pine and Dartmouth Skiway have the new rates and DS is still under $50 and KP is over $50.

Ragged and Gunstock new rates at $79 and $86 respectively

Sugarloaf and Sunday River have new rates and are at $95 and $99 respectively so they are close.

Whaleback is $45 with plenty of ways to ski there even cheaper.
 

WWF-VT

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Sugarbush really should move away from the free youth pass with an adult pass. Screws people who don't need the youth pass who get absolutely nothing.

There are a ton of options with the For20s and Early30s passes. I hardly think they are screwing adult pass holders if you don't have kids.
 

WWF-VT

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They are certainly screwing full passholders who don't have kids or have a kid(s) between 13 & 18.

No...I look at it as a benefit if I have kids, not as an added cost. My guess is that full season Adult Killington passes will be within $50 of a similar pass at Sugarbush. Early season Killngton pass was $1139 and Sugarbush was $1149. The current significant price difference in this thread was because Killington still has a price increase pending after Oct 15th.
 

Jully

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No...I look at it as a benefit if I have kids, not as an added cost. My guess is that full season Adult Killington passes will be within $50 of a similar pass at Sugarbush. Early season Killngton pass was $1139 and Sugarbush was $1149. The current significant price difference in this thread was because Killington still has a price increase pending after Oct 15th.

Ahh, that makes a lot more sense price wise.

I certainly don't think Sugarbush is screwing anyone. They're targeting themselves as a family resort. The 12 and under limit as opposed to the 13-18 crowd I think is the same reason they have a For 20s pass. Families with young kids are usually shorter on cash as the parents aren't as far along in their careers. You get parents with young kids to continue to ski at SB as opposed to switching to a more local mountain like Hunter or Mountain Creek for the NY/NJ crowd or WaWa for the Boston crowd or even leave the sport all together. I know my parents had to sacrifice a lot when I was in elementary school to keep us skiing, but they did because they loved it and wanted me to love it too. By the time I was 13 they were both a lot better off financially.
 

cdskier

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Yes, sugarbush has already passed 2 pass deadlines for price increases. They are at the 3rd tier prices now. As mentioned early season passes were much lower and it looks like not much more than k's early rates. I don't have kids and never viewed them as screwing me for paying for a regular adult pass and not having any kids. I would view it as a bonus if I had kids and I see absolutely no reason for them to even think about getting rid of it.

I really don't think sugarbush is losing many pass sales to other areas that have multi mountain passes either. This is based purely on the crowds I see. Sugarbush is kind of a niche area from my perspective and has some very loyal followers that wouldn't be swayed by other multi mountain passes. Then add in the great options they have for people in their 20s (and now early 30s) and they are attracting plenty of people. I know some people that actually wish they would stop attracting so many people as they think it is getting too crowded. Personally I'm ok with how many people they have now but wouldn't like to see them increase the number of people much beyond the current number of skiers.
 

Jully

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Yes, sugarbush has already passed 2 pass deadlines for price increases. They are at the 3rd tier prices now. As mentioned early season passes were much lower and it looks like not much more than k's early rates. I don't have kids and never viewed them as screwing me for paying for a regular adult pass and not having any kids. I would view it as a bonus if I had kids and I see absolutely no reason for them to even think about getting rid of it.

I really don't think sugarbush is losing many pass sales to other areas that have multi mountain passes either. This is based purely on the crowds I see. Sugarbush is kind of a niche area from my perspective and has some very loyal followers that wouldn't be swayed by other multi mountain passes. Then add in the great options they have for people in their 20s (and now early 30s) and they are attracting plenty of people. I know some people that actually wish they would stop attracting so many people as they think it is getting too crowded. Personally I'm ok with how many people they have now but wouldn't like to see them increase the number of people much beyond the current number of skiers.

It seems similar to how Shawnee Peak in ME approaches the competition it faces from Boyne and Peaks. They target families while still providing adequate values for its loyal followers. Shawnee is a little bit different than SB in that Sugarbush does everything on a resort scale with some of the best skiing in VT, but if Shawnee can flourish in Maine with heavy competition from Boyne and the North Conway ski areas, then it's clear that what SB is doing is an excellent business plan.
 

Jully

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They are both fucking people when you can get a Epic pass even at this point for $829.

For the combo passes (not something like the Epic where all resorts are owned by the same company), it might even make more sense to have your own pass if it's equivalent in price. If you sell 40% of the passes that, for comparison, the White Mountain Super Pass sells, you might even come out ahead depending on how much of a cut the Superpass resorts get.
 
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