Question: The price of ski school - I need a reality check

[mustski]

Hi @WaterGirl I'm late to this thread but wanted to say welcome from another SoCal diva who also had a young one and feels your pain on the lessons! Truthfully, we mostly taught him ourselves after a bad experience with ski school when he was young.

Produce and flowers were a lot cheaper when I lived there, too, if that helps. :-)

If you live at he beach ... utilities are a lot cheaper too! There is no need for heating and AC is only necessary during Santa Ana season (maybe 1 week a year). Produce will go way up in price this year because of the drought. They just cut off the water to the farmers in the Central Valley.

 

[contesstant]

Produce and flowers were a lot cheaper when I lived there, too, if that helps. :-)

I guess I'll find out soon enough. I remember when we moved back here in 2009 from Virginia I was shocked that produce wasn't any cheaper here. Don't get me started on car insurance, especially in LA County!

 

[gardenmary]

Yeah, everyone thinks because I live in Fallbrook I get avocados super cheap. Nope, sorry - my trees cost too much to water ($500 a MONTH) and in the stores avos are $1.75 just like everywhere else!

And car insurance is expensive in SoCal because of car theft and idiot drivers getting in wrecks. I get the impression in some other areas that folks are happy to let selective Darwinism work its magic (as petty as that sounds!).

 

[contesstant]

Yeah, everyone thinks because I live in Fallbrook I get avocados super cheap. Nope, sorry - my trees cost too much to water ($500 a MONTH) and in the stores avos are $1.75 just like everywhere else!

And car insurance is expensive in SoCal because of car theft and idiot drivers getting in wrecks. I get the impression in some other areas that folks are happy to let selective Darwinism work its magic (as petty as that sounds!).

LOL!!!

Back to ski school prices--just booked a 3-hour for Peewee at Powder Mountain, 2:1 ratio, $85 including lunch! Our lift tix are $45 each, too. Looking forward to Sunday for sure!

 

[gardenmary]

I think that's one of the things I like best about the Ogden Valley, you really do have such a good variety of choices. Especially when you include Wolf Mountain, a "local hill" to be sure.

 

[WaterGirl]

ok, thank you Contessstant, June was awsome private for DD as no other higher level skiers today but she had a blast and got to hang w/ some other kids during the lunch and "bucky's birthday party" .... Matt her instructor was awsome, took her on every groomed run open on the mountain and was a great ambassador for the mountain and helped her work on her pole plants and carving on some blacks !!! love it.... June is such a secret sister to mammoth mountains business.... so quiet..... DH and I ripping down runs - only us LOL! would love to have it with more snow and full mountain open, will definitely go back.... can see it as a workig on skills area as the blacks are not that long for DD and truly a confidence building atmosphere ...... btw after the fabuous lesson, got a $25 off next lesson coupon from instructor love the love at JUNE Highly recomend, and thanks for the heads up on the download!!! it all worked out

 

[contesstant]

ok, thank you Contessstant, June was awsome private for DD as no other higher level skiers today but she had a blast and got to hang w/ some other kids during the lunch and "bucky's birthday party" .... Matt her instructor was awsome, took her on every groomed run open on the mountain and was a great ambassador for the mountain and helped her work on her pole plants and carving on some blacks !!! love it.... June is such a secret sister to mammoth mountains business.... so quiet..... DH and I ripping down runs - only us LOL! would love to have it with more snow and full mountain open, will definitely go back.... can see it as a workig on skills area as the blacks are not that long for DD and truly a confidence building atmosphere ...... btw after the fabuous lesson, got a $25 off next lesson coupon from instructor love the love at JUNE Highly recomend, and thanks for the heads up on the download!!! it all worked out

I am so happy to hear this!!!! How awesome she ended up in a "private" lesson--on a Saturday, no less! And the cost is so much less, too! Wishing we could have been there with you--we would have had a blast!
Did the download freak you out? I rode with my daughter who was so busy ooohing and ahhhing that it made me relax, look around and oooh and ahhh with her
Mammoth is incredible, but the vibe at June is just so fantastic.

 

[Nic Nic]

Here in VT at Smuggler's Notch a full day lesson (9-2:30pm) is $139 per child for the 7-15 yr old age group. Sounds like you've got a pretty expensive resort there!

 

[marzNC]

The full day ski school (9:30-2:00) for ages 4-12 at Massanutten in VA is $125 on weekends/holidays and $100 midweek. In comparison, full day for kids (4-12) at Alta, UT (9:30-3:30) is $125 with the option of a half-day (2-hr) lesson for $60. Very different snow conditions and terrain options but my daughter loved the instructors at both ski schools, which counts for a lot. She started at age 4 and was Level 7 at Alta by age 9, skiing about 12 days a season locally and 4-5 days at Alta in April. They learn so fast!

 

[WaterGirl]

@Nic Nic just an update, DD is now on a ski team this year which gets her 30+ days of team practice, mountain pass, and consistent goal oriented instruction, a lot of fun with a great instructor and wonderful group of kids…. much more cost effective for us and so much more fun for her ;)

 

[2bjenny]

JHMR lesson prices went up again this year. Full day kids (2nd-9th grade) $215; group adult full day with lift is $215, w/out lift $152; half day $187/$132. Private half day (3 hrs) is $510 for morning/$450 for afternoon, and $745 for full day (7 hrs).

 

[Blondeinabmw]

That's pretty close to what we pay in Breckenridge. Very little discount for a season pass - $193 for the lesson and lunch, reduced to $186 with the pass. No discounts for multiple days. Insane, yes, but worth it in my opinion.

 

[2bjenny]

At least you get lunch! It is worth it, I think some of the instructors at JH are some of the best. They used to give a 10% discount for return students, I need to remember to ask next time.

 

[mustski]

I know a lot of parents who have taken to teaching their kids themselves. I can see why with prices like that. I only had one child so paying for a lesson was "do-able." What do families with 2 and 3 kids do?