Skiing in America, for multimillionaires ?

[Deschodt]

I went back skiing a couple times after a 15y break, and I'm shocked at the costs here (Tahoe)...

Day pass is $150 - for which price you spend a lot of time in lines...
Kid's day lesson with rental is $240 (each).
Hotel was $$$....

I'm not joking when I say I could have flown my family to the alps and done the same thing for the same amount (flights paid for by the price difference)... I honestly don't know how people do it. Season passes ?

I checked some serious Alps ski resorts and day passes are like 40 to 60 Euros... vs $150 here ? About the same ratio for rentals....

Is colorado cheaper ? I think I'm about to nix Tahoe from my activities... Why do they charge so much more here ?

[Dantilla]

I recently read an article about a corporation that owns several ski resorts.
They are jacking up prices of one-day tickets to promote multi-day passes so skiers will also pay top-dollar for several nights of accommodations.

All about maximizing income. Squeeze affluent skiers out of more cash, and not care about losing cheap-skate skiers.

[scottmandue]

Have you been to Disneyland recently? About the same prices to stand in long lines too.

[legion]

I've never been skiing in my life. I've contemplated going. The cost has kept me from attempting to learn.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by legion

I've never been skiing in my life. I've contemplated going. The cost has kept me from attempting to learn.

I haven't since I was a youngin...never very much though, then trashed my knee pretty good (b-ball)...so no mas.
Maybe take a look at the NC, VA, WVA ski resorts? Baby mtns by comparison, but still great fun....non-issue for learning...might be even better...YMMV.

[tevake]

I really like Geary's approach to sking that he shares here with us. He hikes up a select hill, then carves down an untracked slope. We have seen some great pictures of his outings. Good on ya Geary!
Looking forward to more of your pics Bro.

Cheers Richard

[Eric 951]

I love skiing, and have to agree with the OP--ticket prices are getting out of hand--even at the less than ideal "resorts" . Our local "mountain" Seven Springs is 85.00 for an adult weekend day. The value is not there.

and don't get me started on the price of gear...

[biosurfer1]

If you hit a major resort like Heavenly then ya, it's crazy. But there is just as good skiing at Boreal, Sierra at Tahoe or Mt. Rose plus you can find discount tickets at several places.

I remember a couple years back at the height of the drought, I was up gambling and saw a family from Japan completely decked out in brand new North Face wardrobe, new skis, boots...everything new, heading to the gondola. My first thought was what the hell were they planning on skiing on? Rocks? But I suppose the flew all the way here, they were going skiing one way or another.

[bleucamaro]

When I was in it heavier, I'd buy the season pass at the end of the previous season, pays for itself in about 3 days of skiing. The last one I got was good at Heavenly, Kirkwood, and I think Northstar. It was $300. That was a few seasons ago.

[ckissick]

Back in 1981 I could drive up to Sugar Bowl, near Tahoe, on a weekday and ski for $8. In today's dollars, that's $22.67. Yet a weekday pass today costs $115. Pretty much the same numbers apply to rock concerts. I'm glad I was alive when people could still afford to have fun.

[hcoles]

I started skiing in 1959 at Pine Crest Lake. I think I skied there one time, but thought I would mention it in case someone else knew about that place back in the day. After that we went to Dodge Ridge. The tickets were under $10 in those days but I don't recall exactly - my dad paid. I became a very good skier but not great. Qualified for the NSPS (ski patrol) and did that for a few years. Free lift tickets when skiing for the NSPS. When I was single and had a job we used to go to Squaw every other weekend or so. Lots of fun. At that point Squaw tickets were about $40. I'm over it now at say $10 per run or more. Cost/Risk/Reward ratio isn't there for me. This Christmas we went to Sugar Bowl - I didn't ski but my wife and kids did. Something I noticed is the lines are shorter than they used to be back in the day. Quad chairs move so many people - they end up on the hill and not in line. I can say been there, done that.

[JeremyD]

It was cheaper for me to fly my family to europe than it was a Colorado Ski Vacation...

[legion]

Originally Posted by ckissick

Pretty much the same numbers apply to rock concerts. I'm glad I was alive when people could still afford to have fun.

Yep. I used to go see Jimmy Buffett every summer with my college friends. Not a big Jimmy Buffett fan, but it was a chance to get together and drink beer. First time I went in 1997 a ticket was $15. Last time I went in 2003 a ticket was $75--and that was if I could actually get one as the scalpers would buy out the whole concert in 3-4 minutes. Either way, it became too much cost and hassle to go see a guy I was only mildly interested in seeing.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by JeremyD

It was cheaper for me to fly my family to europe than it was a Colorado Ski Vacation...

From what I hear that is the same as the F1 race in Texas. It is more expensive to drive to the F1 race in Texas than than fly to the Canada F1 race. Easier transportation and better accommodations.

[Nordwest]

I love to ski but don't ski travel much anymore. I buy a pass for 700 and ski 30-35 days a year.
I can't afford to take the Family to Colorado for a week. Hell, 3 days at Whistler for 4 of us costs close to 3500 and that's driving up from Tacoma.

[wayner]

Come to Canada. The alps have nothing on us,
AND in american currency ours is 70 cents to your dollar, so skiing here is on sale for you

https://www.skibig3.com/lift-tickets/

[wildthing]

I hear 'ya. We were looking up lessons for our kids, it's like $150 per head.

Honestly, I feel the same about paying $150 for walking around Laguna Seca at Rennsport Reunion. I'd rather pay to actually drive on track!

[mepstein]

My daughter has a season pass in Maine. College student price is $200 for the season for three different mountains. It did cost me my 4 wheel drive truck so she could get to ski area with her friends.

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by ckissick

I'm glad I was alive when people could still afford to have fun.

Last time I was skiing at Lake Tahoe, I looked out at the crowds and realized that each person I saw represented nearly a $1K investment in just equipment and a one-day lift ticket. Of course, if you own your own gear, its cost can be spread out over a few seasons. But even if you rent your skis you can easily drop about $200 for a day on the slopes, not including the cost of food, your own cold-weather gear and getting yourself to the mountain. Lots of new-looking skis and trendy 'outfits' around though. I don't know how so many folks are able to manage it...especially when you're taking your family w/couple kids to the slopes for a weekend of skiing.

And as already mentioned, concerts and theme parks are crazy expensive now as well.

The strange thing is that, despite the high costs, all of these activities are still jam-packed with people. Last time I was at D-land it was wall-to-wall people on an off-peak day at $99 per head for everyone over 3 years old. And that doesn't include food, lodging, souvenirs or admission to CA Adventure either! Hotels in popular resort areas are the same way. $500-$700 per night is not uncommon at some of the nicer places here in the US. And again, these resorts fill up fast and reservations need to be made well in advance or you're SOL.

I can imagine that a lot of these trips and outings just get put on the ol' credit card and are paid off over time. I guess that's why the average CC balance is nearly $17K and more than half of Americans have less than $1K in savings.

[sugarwood]

Tahoe is not exactly Walmart nation.

In the rest of the county, ski passes are $50/day
$50 + gas for an entire day of entertainment is cheap as ****.

Compare that to $40 dinner out or going to a $15 movie, neither of which last even 2 hours.