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Ski Pass Hacks

C

CalGalTraveler

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
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Location
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HGVC, MVC Vistana
For anyone who skis lift tickets can be expensive. What are your hacks for keeping the cost down?

Are there any reciprocals with local ski areas that can be worthwhile? For example, we bought the Homewood (Tahoe) season pass last summer for about $299 https://www.skihomewood.com/ski-tickets/season-passes/ which has reciprocals with several western resorts including Alta Utah for half price tickets with no blackouts. The cost of the season pass was less than an Epic 4 day pass. (note the link has prices which increase as the season approaches.)

What are your hacks to save money for western skiing? Are there any reciprocals outside of Epic, IKON or mountain collective for major resorts such as Park City and Breck? Is it cheaper to buy direct for a visit of a few days?
 
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Have you tried Liftopia for discounts? I haven't used it but had it bookmarked in case I ski outside of the area I get my season pass.
https://www.liftopia.com/
 
In Colorado, all 5th graders get a free ski pass that is valid at most every CO resort. In 6th grade, the same pass is available for a nominal (<$100) cost.

I think the Epic season pass is a great deal if bought early enough (usually the prior spring). There are several different versions, so you can choose that one that includes all of the resorts you plan to ski at the following year. For HGVC owners, it can cover skiing at both of their ski resorts in Colorado and Utah.

Kurt
 
CalGalTraveler said:
What are your hacks to save money for western skiing? Are there any reciprocals outside of Epic, IKON or mountain collective for major resorts such as Park City and Breck? Is it cheaper to buy direct for a visit of a few days?
Click to expand...
When Vail took over Park City a few years back it changed the game in Utah. An When the IKON pass added Solitude Resort in Utah last year, it changed the game even further. It used to be you cobble together pre-season discounts at all the resorts that would allow you to ski 5-10 days at significant discount. Single day and multi-day passes have gotten prohibitively expensive while season pass pricing has plummeted. My break-even point on a season pass compared to pre-season discounted day passes is only around 13 days and I do that easily so our family will be doing the season pass thing from here on out.
 
CalGalTraveler said:
For anyone who skis lift tickets can be expensive. What are your hacks for keeping the cost down?

Are there any reciprocals with local ski areas that can be worthwhile? For example, we bought the Homewood (Tahoe) season pass last summer for about $299 https://www.skihomewood.com/ski-tickets/season-passes/ which has reciprocals with several western resorts including Alta Utah for half price tickets with no blackouts. The cost of the season pass was less than an Epic 4 day pass. (note the link has prices which increase as the season approaches.)

What are your hacks to save money for western skiing? Are there any reciprocals outside of Epic, IKON or mountain collective for major resorts such as Park City and Breck? Is it cheaper to buy direct for a visit of a few days?
Click to expand...
Homewood (Tahoe) is to Heavenly or Squaw Valley as the Colorado Gems are to Vail, Copper Mountain and Breckenridge. If you want to spend your day skiing instead of standing in lift lines, Colorado Gems is the way to go.

https://www.coloradoski.com/store/gems-card-2018-2019

Aspen Skiing Corp. bought Intrawest ski areas last year, jacked up the price for a season IKON pass and blacked-out holidays on the shorter passes. (Still a better deal than the EPIC pass, though.) So, I saved a few hundred dollars by buying an early season Steamboat 3-pack for my family's Spring Break, a SnowDaze buy-4-get-five-days at Winter Park (must purchase in person in August), and a Loveland ski card ($74, first day free, discounts all other days, plus every 5th day free) to round out the ski season.

https://skiloveland.com/loveland-pass/

If you ski Loveland, get there before 8:30 a.m. It is a small parking lot, and when it fills, you go home with a discount coupon for another day. (Or in my case, go telemark skiing at the top of Berthoud Pass on the way home.)
 
CO skier said:
, and a Loveland ski card ($74, first day free, discounts all other days, plus every 5th day free) to round out the ski season.

https://skiloveland.com/loveland-pass/

If you ski Loveland, get there before 8:30 a.m. It is a small parking lot, and when it fills, you go home with a discount coupon for another day. (Or in my case, go telemark skiing at the top of Berthoud Pass on the way home.)
Click to expand...

Completely agree about lack of lines more skiing at alternate resorts. We skied Squaw and Alpine a lot when we were younger. Homewood is fav of locals and a best kept secret. Best views of Tahoe. Love that we can sleep in and park close to lift at 10 am on weekends even during Xmas holiday. Could never do that at Squaw. Several people told us about wind holds and long lines over the holidays at Squaw. Not a problem at Homewood.

Love info about gems and Loveland. In addition to unlimited half-price Alta, we get 3 days at Loveland no blackouts included in our Homewood pass so may check this out
 
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CalGalTraveler said:
For anyone who skis lift tickets can be expensive. What are your hacks for keeping the cost down?

Are there any reciprocals with local ski areas that can be worthwhile? For example, we bought the Homewood (Tahoe) season pass last summer for about $299 https://www.skihomewood.com/ski-tickets/season-passes/ which has reciprocals with several western resorts including Alta Utah for half price tickets with no blackouts. The cost of the season pass was less than an Epic 4 day pass. (note the link has prices which increase as the season approaches.)

What are your hacks to save money for western skiing? Are there any reciprocals outside of Epic, IKON or mountain collective for major resorts such as Park City and Breck? Is it cheaper to buy direct for a visit of a few days?
Click to expand...

The season pass pricing on the website is $799. How did you get it for $299?
 
TravelTime said:
The season pass pricing on the website is $799. How did you get it for $299?
Click to expand...

Pre-season/summer purchase. All resorts discount heavily at the end of the season for the next year including Epic Passes. Plus we are eligible for a local rate which saves us another $80 because we own a second home in the Lake Tahoe area and can prove it with a local address on a utility bill. With reciprocals such as Alta it made much more sense to buy this because it was less than a 4 day Epic plus we get a full season pass with no blackouts.
 
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For New England skiing.

Preseason or Black Friday deals are decent.
Friends of mine use liftopia

Best deal going in this area if for kiddos under 13.
Rent gear at participating shops for them for the season. The place I go to is $99 for used and $199 for new.
Get a season pass for kiddo at Brettonwoods for the season with no blackouts and wet $15 off adult tickets with her pass.
In the end - she skis all year long with rented equipment for $99, which I make up with the adult ticket discounts.


But...the best deal.....xmas gift cards from family! Yes, I love getting them to help offset our ski trip costs.
 
For the western US you might look into the Vail Resorts Epic Pass program.

Beyond that, there are a number of independent resorts in eastern British Columbia that offer great value. With the exchange rate and lower resort financial exposure to liability (when people do stupid things, the Canadian legal system is more likely to say it's your fault for being stupid), those can offer great skiing at great value.
 
It sounds like you used a good hack. $299 for season pass with many receiprocal benefits is a pretty good deal to me. Although, it would cost more for the meals and transportation than the lift tickets if you were to travel to other areas.
 
I just renewed IKON base pass for next season for $619. Last year I paid $ 599 and we used it multiple times at Eldora, Winter Park, AspenSnowmass and still have plans for TS week at Steamboat and two days at Aspen. Friends/family discount 25% used five times. My avg per skiing day lift ticket will come to under $ 35. Excellent price IMO.
 
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