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Vail Pricing

MilkyWookiee

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Is it just me or is Vail out of their minds with lift ticket pricing?! For context, my home mountain is okemo. I have an epic pass, but ticket prices are so high this year that my non passholder friends and family are refusing to ski there.
I'm seeing weekday tickets over $100 while Killington and Mount Snow are hitting 80 and below! Peak pass mountains seem to be offering fantastic group rates as every bus tour is hitting Snow or Hunter, meanwhile I keep hearing that Vail is refusing to offer deals to the local ski clubs.
I'm curious to hear from those of you who have a longer history with Vail. Maybe this is just growing pains? Or is this just how Vail chooses to run their business?
 

MsWax

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
No idea, but they lost our business because of it. We were going to visit friends at Stowe for a weekend but realized that even with their "Epic" discount, we would have to pay almost $1k for lift tickets for the weekend. We had to pass...
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
I'm curious to hear from those of you who have a longer history with Vail. Maybe this is just growing pains? Or is this just how Vail chooses to run their business?
There's been some discussion recently about destination resort day ticket pricing . . .
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/i...ew-england-record-with-147-lift-ticket.23349/

You are probably closer to the mark that Vail Resorts chooses to provide relatively low prices for Epic passes that must be bought long before the snow flies, and then charges a premium for day tickets. Stowe season passes went from about $2000 for and adult to about $800. Locals I talked to soon after the purchase was finalize were pretty happy.

When the Epic pass was created in 2008, many ski industry people thought Rob Katz had lost him mind. But when you sell almost a million passes by November, that's a lot of money in the bank with no risk if it doesn't snow much in December or January.

Alterra and the partner destination resorts that joined Ikon have similar thinking. As of early Dec, Alterra was hoping to sell 250,000 Ikon passes for this first season.

For those who are willing to consider other locations with fewer amenities and high speed lifts, there are still plenty of options where day tickets are more in the $100 range. By the way, lift tickets on weekends have been about $80 in the southeast for years. That's for under 100 acres of groomed trails only for runs that take 3-5 min to finish before the next lift ride. On weekends, the wait in the life line averages 15 min. Yet, the ski areas that invested in snowmaking are still in business. Mostly because they have successfully evolved as 4-season resorts. A few started as 4-season resorts while others added mountain biking, zip lines, and so on more recently.

In the west, the ski resorts on U.S. Forest Service land couldn't add summer activities such as mountain biking until after 2011. So the concept of a 4-season resort with paid activities is relatively new. Vail Resorts spent years lobbying with others to get the laws and guidelines changed.
 

MilkyWookiee

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
No idea, but they lost our business because of it. We were going to visit friends at Stowe for a weekend but realized that even with their "Epic" discount, we would have to pay almost $1k for lift tickets for the weekend. We had to pass...
Stowe is by far worse than okemo too! I nearly put my fist through the wall when I saw that my buddy passes with my epic pass save a whopping $16 over buying a 2 day weekend ticket online! I'm honestly insulted that they have the nerve to advertise it as a perk.
 

Little Lightning

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
That's Vail's pricing model. They're into season passes. Vail sold over 550 million dollars worth of season passes this season. Including the military passes they sold over 1 million Epic Passes in all flavors. This guarantees income in good and bad years.

When we 1st moved to Denver we had both Vail and Rocky Mountain Super Passes. Vail resorts has become less exciting to us. Until this year we bought the A-Basin/Keystone pass and Copper or RMSP. This year we bought the Ikon Pass and since I can get a senior pass at Loveland for around $100 we dropped the A-Basin/ Keystone pass. Because of the Ikon Pass we skied Aspen last week and are in Utah this week.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
It has been disheartening to see Stowe and Okemo get so expensive. I think it’s short-term gain. How will they bring in new skiers for a first, second, or third ski trip if it costs that much? Imagine the cost with rentals, meals, maybe a lesson and lodging! Don’t we want new people and young people to keep the sport alive? What a shame.
 

Little Lightning

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
With the number of ski days we end up paying about $10.00 a day for our passes. Of course we're retired, no kids, ski during the week.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
It has been disheartening to see Stowe and Okemo get so expensive. I think it’s short-term gain. How will they bring in new skiers for a first, second, or third ski trip if it costs that much? Imagine the cost with rentals, meals, maybe a lesson and lodging! Don’t we want new people and young people to keep the sport alive? What a shame.
There are a lot of places to ski in VT besides the resorts owned by Vail Resorts or Alterra. How have those prices changed in the last few years?
 

CarverJill

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
See back in 2005-2008 I thought Stowe was expensive. I got a locals card where I skied for $60/day or so but getting a pass was out of the question since they were $2000+ Other nearby resorts (Jay Peak, Sugarbush, Whiteface) were a lot more reasonable and you could just get a pass or find discounts. The daily ticket window prices at Vail are crazy but they are the same at many other of the larger resorts.
 

MilkyWookiee

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
With the number of ski days we end up paying about $10.00 a day for our passes. Of course we're retired, no kids, ski during the week.
With my epic pass, it's probably going to work out to about $40 a day. That's before I factor in travel, lodging, and food expenses, plus whatever I spend on lessons or Tix at non Vail resorts. I'm 24, work full time, trying to save money to move out of my parents house, and most of my friends are in the same situation. I'm honestly leaning towards the peak pass next year.
 

MilkyWookiee

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
The daily ticket window prices at Vail are crazy but they are the same at many other of the larger resorts.

Really though they're not the same. Killington and Mount Snow are each 30 min from okemo. Yes they have similar window prices. The difference is they offer more discounts off of that window price (group rates, liftopia, corporate discounts, etc) and the ONLY things keeping me at okemo right now are my epic pass and my boot fitter.
 

Obrules15

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I think we sometimes forget that skiing is an expensive sport. Think about how many hills have closed for want of funds in the last 30 years. In the early 80's my local bump (literally) in Michigan charged around forty dollars for a full day lift ticket. I remember trying to budget and save my pennies for a night only season pass at Wachusett in 1991 because a day pass was >$1000 and out of my budget.

The introduction of the mega passes has been a godsend for me and has really changed how I ski. The walk up day rates (and Vail management) really say they are looking to serve the higher volume skier who plans ahead or skiers for whom day ticket prices are not an issue.

The real shame here is that no one realizes that this creates an opportunity for local ski areas. IMHO we should be trying to get daytrippers and new skiers out to local hills that still have relatively reasonable prices. Vail pricing at least still leaves local hills some way to compete since they clearly can't compete with the season pass pricing.

I've skied this season for about $26 per day at some of my local hills (liftopia), and if you are a beginner and have no need to go someplace fancy, there are some really great deals out there.

I look at Vail as the BMW of the ski world, there are definite perks but they are wants not needs. If all you really want to do is ski, you can find reasonably priced local offerings that will be affordable and allow you to have a great time.

I personally much prefer local hills for certain things as the crowds can be much more manageable.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
I'm honestly leaning towards the peak pass next year.
Having checked out Wildcat and Attitash during my Dec ski safari, I can see why the Peak Pass can be a good idea for people who live in MA, NH, or even CT, RI. The price is certainly tempting for people who qualify for the options for those under 30 or can ski midweek.

I personally much prefer local hills for certain things as the crowds can be much more manageable.
I'm hoping to get back to Tenney in March. Along with Magic, and perhaps Waterville Valley again. Berkshire East is another small mountain I'd like to experience when all the trails are open. One reason I started the "old school" thread was to find potential places to check out when in "tourist mode."

At the same time, having bought Ikon for trips out west, that meant I skied at Loon and Sunday River more than I originally expected. Also put Stratton on the list for March. If I get in 5-6 days in the northeast on Ikon, that covers the cost in my mind. I expect to get at least 12 days on Ikon during trips out west because I'm lucky enough to have three trips planned that are to Ikon partners.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
I've skied this season for about $26 per day at some of my local hills (liftopia), and if you are a beginner and have no need to go someplace fancy, there are some really great deals out there.
January is Learn To Ski Month. There are deals for people who bring a friend who gets a beginner package. Both Liftopia and GetSkiTickets are involved.

There are large mountains and small hills participating in Learn To Ski Month all over the U.S. and Canada. Take a look and see what's available in your favorite region. Even if you can't make it this month, perhaps let the ski area/resort know you appreciate their participation.

https://learntoskiandsnowboard.org/find-a-resort
 

MilkyWookiee

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I just contacted okemo looking to book the 2 day women's Alpine adverture clinic and they are no longer offering a discount for passholders! They are asking epic passholders to pay the same amount as those receiving a 2 day lift ticket with the package.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
I just contacted okemo looking to book the 2 day women's Alpine adverture clinic and they are no longer offering a discount for passholders! They are asking epic passholders to pay the same amount as those receiving a 2 day lift ticket with the package.

Whaaaat???? That makes no sense and isn't how I've seen a clinic run anywhere previously! Why in the world would they insist on charging for lift access you don't need???? I'd escalate the question to a manager for sure! Could the person you spoke to have not understand the issue somehow?
 

MilkyWookiee

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Whaaaat???? That makes no sense and isn't how I've seen a clinic run anywhere previously! Why in the world would they insist on charging for lift access you don't need???? I'd escalate the question to a manager for sure! Could the person you spoke to have not understand the issue somehow?
The person I spoke to wasn't the brightest, so I plan on calling them back and will update. But I was pretty clear with my wording, and reworded a few times to be sure. It used to be VERY clearly listed on the website (before Vail took over).
 

Abbi

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I had wondered about that. Last time I did WaWa I got a discount. But that was then, this is now
 

MilkyWookiee

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Update: I called back this afternoon, and was given the same answer: no discount for passholders. I asked to speak to a manager and was put on hold then told she wasn't in. I asked to speak to whomever the supervisor on duty was and was again put on hold then told the supervisor was on another call. I left my name and number around 2 pm and did not receive a response by the end of the day.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Update: I called back this afternoon, and was given the same answer: no discount for passholders. I asked to speak to a manager and was put on hold then told she wasn't in. I asked to speak to whomever the supervisor on duty was and was again put on hold then told the supervisor was on another call. I left my name and number around 2 pm and did not receive a response by the end of the day.

Wow, what the heck is going on over there..?
 

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