Hacks to Make Skiing Out West Affordable

[Anonymous]

Would appreciate tips on bargains, least expensive time of year, rentals, places to stay, etc. posted this question previously by mistake (before completing the title.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would appreciate tips on bargains, least expensive time of year, rentals, places to stay, etc. posted this question previously by mistake (before completing the title.)

This family travel points/miles blogger posts a lot about family ski trips. Quite a few posts about how to maximize value with ski passes, reserving hotels on points early, hotels which just opened and have more award availability, etc.

http://mommypoints.boardingarea.com/category/ski-trips/

You can certainly bring the price down by working some of these angles, but it is still going to be expensive. No way around that.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Protip: the skiing out West is better than the skiing in Europe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Protip: the skiing out West is better than the skiing in Europe.

If you like powder yes. If you like food and culture along with the skiing, Europe. I prefer Europe.

[Anonymous]

West Coast native here. Skiing out west is not cheap, particularly in flagship areas such as Utah and Colorado.

You might consider looking at ski resorts in Oregon (Mount Bachelor in Bend, Mt. Hood Meadows) and Washington State (Steven's Pass, Snoqualmie, Mission Ridge) or even Vancouver B.C. (Whistler, etc.) for deals. Same mountains, but less fla$hy.

That would be my suggestion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Protip: the skiing out West is better than the skiing in Europe.

If you like powder yes. If you like food and culture along with the skiing, Europe. I prefer Europe.

So if you’re not really a skier go to Europe. Gotcha.
Lots of Europeans skiing in the American West, BTW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Protip: the skiing out West is better than the skiing in Europe.

If you like powder yes. If you like food and culture along with the skiing, Europe. I prefer Europe.

So if you’re not really a skier go to Europe. Gotcha.
Lots of Europeans skiing in the American West, BTW.

And plenty of Americans skiing in Europe. Let's not bring the nasty tone of the political forum to travel. A chaque son gout!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:West Coast native here. Skiing out west is not cheap, particularly in flagship areas such as Utah and Colorado.

You might consider looking at ski resorts in Oregon (Mount Bachelor in Bend, Mt. Hood Meadows) and Washington State (Steven's Pass, Snoqualmie, Mission Ridge) or even Vancouver B.C. (Whistler, etc.) for deals. Same mountains, but less fla$hy.

That would be my suggestion.

Mount Bachelor is a family favorite, going back to my teen years. Bear Valley in California is another Sierra ski resort that is not so flashy.

The key thing to me is figuring out the housing angle. Wherever you go, lift tickets are pricey. If you can figure out where you can stay cheaply -- do you have friends nearby you can stay with? Are there reasonable AirBnBs? Is the resort offering lodging deals late in the season? can you use points? -- you can then weigh the whether you can make it work with the rest of the costs (lift tickets, transportation, lessons ....). Fortunately for me, my father retired to the Sierra foothills, so we stay with him and drive an hour to the Donner Pass ski areas, or a little further to the ski areas on Lake Tahoe. That makes it a two-fer -- ski vacation and family visit. Depending on snow conditions in California, we manage two ski trips a year (Christmas and spring break).

[Anonymous]

Another less-flashy-resort thought -- even in flashy places there are cheaper lift tickets. For example, Donner Ski Ranch (CA) and Mount Rose (NV) are smaller but also cheaper alternatives to Squaw Valley/Heavenly/etc. Locals often ski at Mount Rose.

[Anonymous]

The Utah 5th and 6th grade passed bring the lift price down for those ages. Some ski schools will include equipment and lift Tix for beginners or young children. Do your own cooking. Rent in town, like Salt Lake City vs on mountain. Be sure your kids like skiing before going.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Protip: the skiing out West is better than the skiing in Europe.

If you like powder yes. If you like food and culture along with the skiing, Europe. I prefer Europe.

So if you’re not really a skier go to Europe. Gotcha.
Lots of Europeans skiing in the American West, BTW.

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.