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Post by AussieMeg on Jul 16, 2014 2:53:40 GMT
Reading Peppermintpatty's thread about buying skis reminded me of a question I was going to ask the other day.
How much does it cost you to go snow skiing? I started skiing in my early 20's and I used to go 4 times a season BM & BC (Before Mortgage and Before Children!). For the last 6 years or so we have been going away for one week each July during school holidays - we went last week. We stay in a little town at the base of the mountain and drive up for a few day trips. It is way beyond our budget to stay on the mountain - I could fly to New Zealand and ski there for a week for less money than it costs here, and that's including airfares! It costs so much to ski in Australia because the season is so short - it goes from mid June to the end of September, but in reality there is rarely any snow until July so barely 3 months. Also, there are only ski resorts in 2 states here.
Anyway, this is what it costs here:
Adult lift ticket - $116 per day ($96 for youth or $57 for child 6-14yo)
Entry to the mountain - $45 per car per day or $22 after 1pm
Ski rental - $70 for skis/snowboard and boots per day (less for kids)
We have our own clothes, I think it would cost about $50 per day to hire clothes as well.
Lessons are really expensive too. My son and his friend did a full day (9:45am - 3:20pm) snowboard lesson last week and it cost $169 each, plus board and boot hire (total of $209 each).
We only do 2 full days of skiing, and maybe one or 2 trips up to do tobogganing because that doesn't cost us anything (apart from entry onto the mountain).
So for one day (the day the boys did a snowboard lesson) it cost us a whopping $800 for 4 of us - me, DD, DS and DS's friend !!!! Thank goodness DSO doesn't ski, it would have been over $1000 for the day including lunch,
So now make me jealous - what would you have to pay for a day of skiing where you live?
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Post by freecharlie on Jul 16, 2014 3:08:23 GMT
I live in Colorado, so we can just drive up for a day of skiing or stay with an aunt who lives just off I-70 up the mountain. Lift tickets depend on the ski area and sometimes a season pass is a better choice. A one day pass can cost $40-$120 regular price, but there are always deals to be had. A season pass is $300-$500 multi-resort, some go up to $1000, but those are very unlimited.
Ski rentals start at about #30.
Ski or snowboard lessons start at about $120 for a full day, but are more if it is a private lesson. Many have a BOGO, so even better.
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marimoose
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,282 
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Post by marimoose on Jul 23, 2014 4:21:44 GMT
I am in Colorado also and skiing is a day trip for me. My daughter and I own our own equipment so we don't have that cost. We have bought passes which is the most practical way to go but the best was when I won a season pass for one of the areas. Yay me that year and my daughter is still a teen so her passes are cheaper. I try to never pay more than $80 tops if I have to buy a single day pass. There are so many deals out there, at least in Colorado, that I rarely spend that much. I don't know how some of the families do it and this is probably why I gave up skiing while my kids were growing up - just couldn't afford it.
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Post by tania7424 on Jul 23, 2014 4:47:42 GMT
I'm in Vancouver and used to go skiing afterschool I lived so close!! Anyways, now (20+ years later) average lift ticket is $60/day for adults for the three closest mountains. That does not include parking, rentals or lessons. Whistler Blackcomb is $238 for two days. I don't ski anymore though.
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Post by katlaw on Jul 23, 2014 5:23:34 GMT
I live in Alberta, Canada. We have great skiing here. Lots of mountain ski resorts to chose from or smaller ski hills.
A season pass to Marmot Basin which is in the Rocky Mountains about 4 hours from us is $1045. But our season is from November to spring skiing sometimes into May.
A single day is about $85.00. That is the most expensive way to pay. Prices get a little more affordable for a 2, 3 or 4 day pass.
Hotels - $150 a night during ski season and up to $100's a night for fancier hotels.
There is a park pass you have to buy to get into Jasper National Park where the ski resort is located. An annual pass is $67 and we can use it all year round for camping, hiking, fishing, boating, sight-seeing. The park is a world class place to visit.
Just a day pass is about $10.00 per day.
So a weekend of skiing here if we chose daily passes for a family of 4 is probably pretty comparable to what you are paying.
We do have a lot of more affordable ways to go skiing, we have a smaller ski hill in the city we can spend the day at. That one is about $300 for a season pass if you buy early, I can buy now for next winter. We can get a lot of skiing in for a really affordable price.
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luvnlifelady
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,428
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Post by luvnlifelady on Jul 23, 2014 5:34:41 GMT
I haven't skiied since I met DH over 20 years ago. It's pretty much a rich man's sport for the most part IMO. Also, here locally (Southern CA), it's at least 2 hours to the snow and it's usually mostly man-made. This past season was terrible for the local ski resorts. I had told DD that she could go snow boarding for her 17th bday but I don't think there was even enough man-made hardly to run the lifts (mid-March).
We've gone on her bday before to play in real snow, so mid-March can be good for local conditions but it can also be bust.
When I used to ski, we had our own equipment. I've never heard of being charged to enter the mountain.
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perumbula
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,439
Location: Idaho
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Post by perumbula on Jul 23, 2014 5:53:27 GMT
We've only been because DH's bosses buy him a gift card to a nearby mountain (well, it's a 2 hour drive.) Last year the $300 gift card got all seven of us rental equipment, limited mountain passes (just the bunny hills. we're all very much beginners.) and lunch.
rentals: $32/day ($19 for 11 and under)
One day pass: $58 (bunny hill pass was just $32)
for full season passes it's $529 for adults and $200 for juniors. Basically you'd need to go skiing ten times to save money.
keep in mind this is a smaller ski resort. they have a great mountain, but they don't have the amenities a lot of the pricier places do. there's no cute lodges to stay overnight in. there's no fancy decor. the third floor of the "clubhouse" is set up with a cafeteria lunchroom complete with school lunch room style tables. it's just a place for locals to go get on some great snow. there is a place that's the same distance from us that's more resort style and costs more, but it's struggling to break even.
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Post by SallyPA on Jul 23, 2014 6:04:40 GMT
I do not ski. My kids' dad takes them nearly every Sunday in the winter to our local resort about an hour away.
Their skis, boots, poles, and helmet rental was about $200 per kid for the season.
Their season passes were bought at a special rate of $125 per kid for the season.
Clothing is just bought as needed. They are outfitted with base layers, ski coat and pants, ski gloves, buffs, and freaking expensive socks!
They have gone to bigger places in Montana and paid considerably more; so I know and appreciate the good deal they have. When they get older, they'll be able to ride the ski bus up for $40 a season as well. They're still too young for that.
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Post by miominmio on Jul 23, 2014 6:37:51 GMT
I refuse to ski, cross country or downhill, I hate it! (Which probably makes me a very odd person, because it seems everyone else enjoy it.)
DH and DD will go downhill skiing several times during winter, they have their own skis which I guess cost around the equivalent of $1000, each. When it comes to clothes, most people just use their normal winter clothes when they go downhill skiing. A season pass at the nearest mountain (30 minutes away), is approx $ 1000 for the two of them. It's not impressive, at all, so if they want to go somewhere with steeper and longer slopes, it's a 2 hour drive away.
Cross country skiing: access to tracks are free, and lots of farmers will make tracks in their fields during winter, so the nearest one is 100 meters from my front door. Or you can just put on your skis and go into a wood somewhere, our right to access to forests and mountains and beaches are protected by law, even those privately owned. Cross country skis can be as expensive as downhill ones, and you will need lighter clothing because it's much more physical (depending on the terrain).
if we're lucky, we get five months of winter here in the south of Norway, in the north, it might be winter fof 7-8 months.
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