Hacks to Make Skiing Out West Affordable

[Anonymous]

It's often cheapest and easiest to fly to Denver so go to some of the many cheaper mountains in CO
A basin
Copper
Loveland
Monarch
Winter park
Etc
There is no need to pay full price at vail resorts. They're great mountains, but if you can't get some kind of discount, just forget them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to give context - is it just you & spouse? Family of 3, 4, 5? Older kids, young kids? Family friendly (Deer Vally) verse old school (Alta)? Need rentals, need lessons, need ski in/ski out?
Budget?

Your vague generalized question has too many variables.

You are so right! Forgot to include it would be 2 adults and three kids in the tween and teen years. Most likely only kids would ski.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to give context - is it just you & spouse? Family of 3, 4, 5? Older kids, young kids? Family friendly (Deer Vally) verse old school (Alta)? Need rentals, need lessons, need ski in/ski out?
Budget?

Your vague generalized question has too many variables.

You are so right! Forgot to include it would be 2 adults and three kids in the tween and teen years. Most likely only kids would ski.

I've seen other posters say this and I under understand what it means. The adults don't ski? Or its so expensive they can only pay for their kids to ski? I would never pay for my kids and not myself. I'd just skip the whole thing if DH and I weren't going to ski. Its our money!!

[Anonymous]

Skiing out west is very expensive...your dollar will go farther in Steamboat and Big Sky then say Park city or Vail.
To save...rent condooff mountain and eat most meals in. Pack lunch and put in back pack. Utah ski school is expensive and that is where they get you. The later you go in the season the cheaper it will be. After April 1 rates drop. Yes ,you can ski that late. There is no comparison to skiing out West. I have skied everywhere. Europe is fantastic for the experience but in terms of terrain, length of runs, efficiency etc...West is Best. Use VRBO if booking condo..

[Anonymous]

I am poster above...you can fly to Denver but that means either renting car or expensive transfer. So if want to skip car fly into closer airport.

[Anonymous]

There are various ski passes deals out there - do a bit of research, it's not that hard.
Epic,Max, Mountain Collective all come to mind.

You say only your kids are skiing, so maybe those passes aren't for you b/c usually the kids ski free/heavily discounted.
Then again, if you don't ski that often, maybe the ski passes aren't for you. It's hard to say from your post.

Not to digress from you post, OP, but why are only your kids skiing? Taking them the Catskills, Poconos, NE isn't a good enough ski vacation for them?
You're paying a premium to ski out West, and you and your spouse don't aren't taking advantage of it by not skiing?

Also, get "free" airline tickets by getting a credit card with frerquent flyer miles. There are a whole bunch of credit cards offering various deals with this so look into it and see what matches your spending habits best to max out the number of miles you earn.

[Anonymous]

I used to love Winter Park, CO.

So much better than California; taller mountains = more skiing vs. standing in line at the lift.

If you are going on a 100% skiing trip, vs. caring about the rest of your surroundings, Colorado is the place to be in the US. I can't speak to Europe.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you have teenagers, you likely will be going over breaks, which can get expensive. We go out west every year over Christmas, which we recognize is the most expensive time to go, but it's the only time all schedules can make it work. If you are focused on skiing, and not the nightlife or other amenities, check out Solitude - much cheaper than the other SLC-based Utah resorts, with great snow. With sufficient advance planning, you can get adult lift tickets for $55/day. If you have points on Delta, all the better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend of mine who I consider to spend a lot on absolutely everything in life (you name it, hers is expensive) and even she came home from a week in Vail with sticker shock. That day I knew, I am never going to get to go to Vail.

Overall I think maybe Utah is cheaper than CO. And airbnb’s Are cheaper than hotels. But it’s a bit like Disney in the sense that as much as you can save in everything else, you are just not going to get around the enormous cost of the tickets themselves.

Don't go to Deer Valley. It is really expensive.

I’m PP. I’m not sure I will ever ski out west. I like skiing fine, but I don’t love it enough to pay the price. For the same money I’d rather go to Europe. Or Grand Caymen.

Europe is cheaper than out west, really? The flight alone would be super expensive, not to mention the lodging/food/transportation, and whatever the current EU conversation rate is. Skiing out west is pricey, not doubt, but I wouldn't say it's the same rate as going to Europe.

[Anonymous]

Alta is pretty inexpensive relatively if you:

1) Stay in a VRBO/Airbnb in Sandy or similar & rent car
2) Bring your own lunch
3) do 1/2 day ski school instead of full day (which they actually offer)
4) Do the mountain collective if you think you will do more than 1 mountain-- gives free or discounted tix for kids as well

We did it for our family of 4 for just under $3K for a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Alta is pretty inexpensive relatively if you:

1) Stay in a VRBO/Airbnb in Sandy or similar & rent car
2) Bring your own lunch
3) do 1/2 day ski school instead of full day (which they actually offer)
4) Do the mountain collective if you think you will do more than 1 mountain-- gives free or discounted tix for kids as well

We did it for our family of 4 for just under $3K for a week.

Sorry-- $4K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend of mine who I consider to spend a lot on absolutely everything in life (you name it, hers is expensive) and even she came home from a week in Vail with sticker shock. That day I knew, I am never going to get to go to Vail.

Overall I think maybe Utah is cheaper than CO. And airbnb’s Are cheaper than hotels. But it’s a bit like Disney in the sense that as much as you can save in everything else, you are just not going to get around the enormous cost of the tickets themselves.

Don't go to Deer Valley. It is really expensive.

I’m PP. I’m not sure I will ever ski out west. I like skiing fine, but I don’t love it enough to pay the price. For the same money I’d rather go to Europe. Or Grand Caymen.

Europe is cheaper than out west, really? The flight alone would be super expensive, not to mention the lodging/food/transportation, and whatever the current EU conversation rate is. Skiing out west is pricey, not doubt, but I wouldn't say it's the same rate as going to Europe.

No. I clarified in another post that I prefer to just ski on the east coast relatively cheaply and use the money saved for other non-skiing vacations such as Europe or the Caribbean. I have skiied Snowshoe and several New England ski resorts and have been perfectly happy with them. We can drive and bring our own gear. And pocket the savings. Obviously this is personal preference and I "don't know what I'm missing." But I am 100% ok with that. I'd rather do a driving ski trip in the winter and Spring Break in the Caribbean than blow the whole wad on a trip to CO or UT.

[Anonymous]

We got the Mountain Collective pass this year. It can be a great deal if you can use a lot of the free days. Utah is a good bet because there are 3 areas with 2 free days each. If you go past 2 days it’s 1/2 price. We skied 8 days at 2 MC resorts and definitely got our money’s worth. We would have done a third trip if the snow in the west had been better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Alta is pretty inexpensive relatively if you:

1) Stay in a VRBO/Airbnb in Sandy or similar & rent car
2) Bring your own lunch
3) do 1/2 day ski school instead of full day (which they actually offer)
4) Do the mountain collective if you think you will do more than 1 mountain-- gives free or discounted tix for kids as well

We did it for our family of 4 for just under $3K for a week.

Sorry-- $4K.

Including air fare?

[Anonymous]

When do people go? We went for the first time this year, which happened to be during "Ski Week"--week of President's Day--at Tahoe. Super expensive (although we probably waited too late to book a condo at a more reasonable price).

Definitely following for any tips on more affordable skiing out West.