Hacks to Make Skiing Out West Affordable

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP who first mentioned Europe and the other replies are not mine. I was not referring to skiing in Europe. I was saying I'll ski on the east coast (relatively) cheaply and vacation in Europe or Grand Caymen with the savings. No need to be a ski snob though. Some of us don't need Colorado "powder" to enjoy skiing.

It's not the powder. I don't even care about powder. Even if it's groomed on a Western mountain, it's better. High quality snow, not icy slushy shit, big mountains with lots of big wide trails. Simply no comparison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would do whistler. Seem to get more bang for your buck.

Every time I've been to Whistler, it has been incredibly, intolerably cold. Like, sub-zero with wind blowing.

[Anonymous]

Just got back from Vail / Beaver Creek and found it offensively expensive. Lift tickets were $200/day and rentals were pushing $50/day, so it was basically $1,000/day for a family of 4 to stand on the slopes. Oh, and private lessons weee $1,000/day. We arrived the Wednesday after Presidents Day and, while I had a hookup that essentially cut the costs in half, I really can’t see going back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP who first mentioned Europe and the other replies are not mine. I was not referring to skiing in Europe. I was saying I'll ski on the east coast (relatively) cheaply and vacation in Europe or Grand Caymen with the savings. No need to be a ski snob though. Some of us don't need Colorado "powder" to enjoy skiing.

It's not the powder. I don't even care about powder. Even if it's groomed on a Western mountain, it's better. High quality snow, not icy slushy shit, big mountains with lots of big wide trails. Simply no comparison.

The last couple of years we’ve had icy rocky conditions. Yes, the trails are nice and long, but the west is struggling with conditions these days. Eastern resorts do a better job grooming because they have to.

[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.

I'm in Europe now and skiing in the Pyrenees is amazing, inexpensive, and not crowded. Lodging is decently priced as well. Food is very good and inexpensive as well. Some of the towns are very charming.
If you can get here using FF miles, this is the way to go.

[Anonymous]

Taos, in New Mexico, can have great skiing and is reasonably priced. It's doesn't have the vibe of a Vail or Aspen, but if you just want good skiing, it can be a pretty good deal. Durango Mountain Resort can be done on the cheap too. It's a little harder to get to. Durango airfares, like a lot of small towns out west are expensive. We fly into Albuquerque to save money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just got back from Vail / Beaver Creek and found it offensively expensive. Lift tickets were $200/day and rentals were pushing $50/day, so it was basically $1,000/day for a family of 4 to stand on the slopes. Oh, and private lessons weee $1,000/day. We arrived the Wednesday after Presidents Day and, while I had a hookup that essentially cut the costs in half, I really can’t see going back.

I can’t believe you made the decision to ski in just about the most expensive way possible and are complaining about it. Next time make better choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP who first mentioned Europe and the other replies are not mine. I was not referring to skiing in Europe. I was saying I'll ski on the east coast (relatively) cheaply and vacation in Europe or Grand Caymen with the savings. No need to be a ski snob though. Some of us don't need Colorado "powder" to enjoy skiing.

It's not the powder. I don't even care about powder. Even if it's groomed on a Western mountain, it's better. High quality snow, not icy slushy shit, big mountains with lots of big wide trails. Simply no comparison.

The last couple of years we’ve had icy rocky conditions. Yes, the trails are nice and long, but the west is struggling with conditions these days. Eastern resorts do a better job grooming because they have to.

This might be the dumbest statement in this thread. "The West" includes about 23% of the country, with all different kinds of conditions. Where did you go, and when?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP who first mentioned Europe and the other replies are not mine. I was not referring to skiing in Europe. I was saying I'll ski on the east coast (relatively) cheaply and vacation in Europe or Grand Caymen with the savings. No need to be a ski snob though. Some of us don't need Colorado "powder" to enjoy skiing.

It's not the powder. I don't even care about powder. Even if it's groomed on a Western mountain, it's better. High quality snow, not icy slushy shit, big mountains with lots of big wide trails. Simply no comparison.

The last couple of years we’ve had icy rocky conditions. Yes, the trails are nice and long, but the west is struggling with conditions these days. Eastern resorts do a better job grooming because they have to.

This might be the dumbest statement in this thread. "The West" includes about 23% of the country, with all different kinds of conditions. Where did you go, and when?

Most recent trip was last week to Colorado. Also went to Wyoming and Utah earlier in the season. All people are doing in CO is complaining about the conditions. They say it's the worst season in the last 30 years. I don't know if that's technically true, but certainly seems to be the view of the locals. Vail has only gotten 142 inches of snow this season, which is about half the normal snowfall for this time of year. The Christmas season was really bad in Utah and Colorado, with a number of areas at 20-30% of capacity. Telluride reportedly had about 10 trails open then. Jackson has done okay this season but in December it was thin cover and icy, and about 60% open. Glad you had a better experience, your timing must have been better than ours!

[Anonymous]

We are headed to Breck for spring break. We stay in a condo and eat most our meals in. DH is military so that helps get us a discount on tickets. Ski school is $$$, so DD goes for one day and then skis with us the rest of the time. We have been there many times so don’t need a lot of souvenirs. The whole trip will be about $4000. Expensive but we really enjoy it so we budget for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP who first mentioned Europe and the other replies are not mine. I was not referring to skiing in Europe. I was saying I'll ski on the east coast (relatively) cheaply and vacation in Europe or Grand Caymen with the savings. No need to be a ski snob though. Some of us don't need Colorado "powder" to enjoy skiing.

It's not the powder. I don't even care about powder. Even if it's groomed on a Western mountain, it's better. High quality snow, not icy slushy shit, big mountains with lots of big wide trails. Simply no comparison.

The last couple of years we’ve had icy rocky conditions. Yes, the trails are nice and long, but the west is struggling with conditions these days. Eastern resorts do a better job grooming because they have to.

This might be the dumbest statement in this thread. "The West" includes about 23% of the country, with all different kinds of conditions. Where did you go, and when?

Most recent trip was last week to Colorado. Also went to Wyoming and Utah earlier in the season. All people are doing in CO is complaining about the conditions. They say it's the worst season in the last 30 years. I don't know if that's technically true, but certainly seems to be the view of the locals. Vail has only gotten 142 inches of snow this season, which is about half the normal snowfall for this time of year. The Christmas season was really bad in Utah and Colorado, with a number of areas at 20-30% of capacity. Telluride reportedly had about 10 trails open then. Jackson has done okay this season but in December it was thin cover and icy, and about 60% open. Glad you had a better experience, your timing must have been better than ours!

California skier here -- Christmas was bleak. But we skiied in Tahoe 10 days ago, and there was a TON of new snow. Our biggest problem was that I-80 closed for a while so getting to the slopes was delayed. Last year, of course, they had an unbelievable amount of snow. And the several years before that California was in a pretty brutal drought cycle. It's the west. They have real mountains -- and a changing climate with no guarantees on the snow pack. (I guess there are some theories that the drier conditions are normal and the last 100 years of water are the anomaly, but anyway ....). You buy your tickets and you take your chances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are headed to Breck for spring break. We stay in a condo and eat most our meals in. DH is military so that helps get us a discount on tickets. Ski school is $$$, so DD goes for one day and then skis with us the rest of the time. We have been there many times so don’t need a lot of souvenirs. The whole trip will be about $4000. Expensive but we really enjoy it so we budget for it.

Have you seen the deal for military season passes next year? $99 for active duty or retired military Epic pass.

https://www.epicpass.com/pass-results/military.aspx

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are headed to Breck for spring break. We stay in a condo and eat most our meals in. DH is military so that helps get us a discount on tickets. Ski school is $$$, so DD goes for one day and then skis with us the rest of the time. We have been there many times so don’t need a lot of souvenirs. The whole trip will be about $4000. Expensive but we really enjoy it so we budget for it.

Have you seen the deal for military season passes next year? $99 for active duty or retired military Epic pass.

https://www.epicpass.com/pass-results/military.aspx

Please don’t let my DH see that! He’s already got this idea that when DD is grown we will retires to Dillion, CO and ski everyday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are headed to Breck for spring break. We stay in a condo and eat most our meals in. DH is military so that helps get us a discount on tickets. Ski school is $$$, so DD goes for one day and then skis with us the rest of the time. We have been there many times so don’t need a lot of souvenirs. The whole trip will be about $4000. Expensive but we really enjoy it so we budget for it.

Have you seen the deal for military season passes next year? $99 for active duty or retired military Epic pass.

https://www.epicpass.com/pass-results/military.aspx

Please don’t let my DH see that! He’s already got this idea that when DD is grown we will retires to Dillion, CO and ski everyday.

Ha! He and my husband can move up there together and you and I can head to a beach town. I think that price is just this year for an anniversary, but passes are free once you hit 70. This has been an interesting read about old people in Summit County:
https://www.summitdaily.com/news/the-longevity-project-part-1-why-do-residents-of-colorados-mountain-towns-live-longer-than-anyone-else-in-the-country/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are headed to Breck for spring break. We stay in a condo and eat most our meals in. DH is military so that helps get us a discount on tickets. Ski school is $$$, so DD goes for one day and then skis with us the rest of the time. We have been there many times so don’t need a lot of souvenirs. The whole trip will be about $4000. Expensive but we really enjoy it so we budget for it.

Have you seen the deal for military season passes next year? $99 for active duty or retired military Epic pass.

https://www.epicpass.com/pass-results/military.aspx

that's amazing. Thanks for the tip.