International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) Austrian Lift Ticket Prices

[Jacob]

Just to be mean, here are the prices for the cheapest and most expensive resorts in Austria for a day pass. These are all walk-up prices. At the current exchange rate, €57 is about $64.50.

The light grey/blue number to the left of the price is the combined length of all the marked pistes in the area covered by the lift pass in kilometers, not including off-piste terrain within the area.

 

[Carl]

I've been to Arlberg twice. Amazing terrain and terrific town. $62 for a daily ticket is an incredible bargain! How to they do it? Their economic model is obviously much different than ours in the states.

 

[Nobody]

Interesting. Adult day lift ticket at my home mountain here in Italy, provided with 100ish km of groomed runs - not counting the freeride/AT itinearies, range from 37€ now (but last week end and the two before that it was €33, since only the highest portion or "glacier" is/was open to skiers, and it will remain so until Dec 8th - official seasonal opening day for all the Italian ski resorts) to €45 depending on the period (pre or late, high season or just "season")

 

[Nobody]

BTW daily prices at Kitzsteinhorn (Kaprun, Austria) at the beginning of the month were in the range of 45, but I just bought a multi-day ticket, so the per day price was lower, obviously.

 

[Jacob]

I've been to Arlberg twice. Amazing terrain and terrific town. $62 for a daily ticket is an incredible bargain! How to they do it? Their economic model is obviously much different than ours in the states.

It's probably down to competition. In the Alps, there are a lot of ski areas in a fairly small amount of space. Also, a resort in the Alps isn't a single entity run by a single owner. It's usually a proper town or village, and the lifts, ski schools (note the plural), shops, restaurants, and accommodation are all owned and run by a number of different owners. So, a European ski area can't be run like a company town the way that a lot of US resorts are.

It also helps that the lift companies across the continent aren't all owned by a handful of owners that control the market, so they can't do the trick of offering multi-resort season passes and driving up window prices.

 

[Cheizz]

And I think the fact that in Europe, they only have to prep/control the groomed stuff and installations (and not all the terrain in between as well), saves the areas a few bucks in patrolling personell?

 

[Jacob]

And I think the fact that in Europe, they only have to prep/control the groomed stuff and installations (and not all the terrain in between as well), saves the areas a few bucks in patrolling personell?

Don't forget that US resorts are much, much smaller than the ski areas in Europe. Even if they're prepping and patrolling a larger percentage of their terrain, they still might be doing less prep work/patrolling per day than the big ski areas in the Alps.

For example, Vail has 31 lifts according to the resort site. The Arlberg area has over 90. Even if Vail is prepping/patrolling twice as much terrain per lift, they're still only doing 2/3 as much prep/patrol work as in the Arlberg area.

 

[Cheizz]

Yeah you're right. What's the point of skiing in the US? Small stuff

 

[Bad Bob]

Are European ski areas normally on public or private land? Who owns the land the lifts service?

 

[StephanS.]

Maybe also the income is different between US and Europe (expect Scandinavia and Switzerland )
At least skiing and lift ticket prices are not consider as bargain here in Austria/Germany....

 

[Seldomski]

My observations and conjecture from very limited experience --
1. European areas are well connected to the rest of the basic infrastructure. They are closer to population centers and port cities. This means the logistics of power, water, food, etc are all reduced. Railroads up to the mountains. Jobs are available nearby for offseason. Also, easier to get to resorts in general and so the 'captive audience' factor you have in US is not present.
2. Monopolies/one big company vs. many small operators. Negotiating power for the lift operator is much reduced.
3. Piste vs. off piste and liability. Rescue by patrol in US is foregone conclusion regardless of injury location, but in Europe you opt into specific insurance for off piste rescue. Furthermore, if you cause an issue offpiste (avalanche) you are personally responsible.
4. Much fewer staff on the mountain in general in Europe. If you want a guide, you pay for one separately. They don't hand hold you in Europe like in US. Signage in general is worse - the ski experience is not as customer oriented in Europe.
5. Guides/lessons etc are a separate expense and again not part of a 'resort.' More competition here again and if its a bad year for lessons, those companies just fail. The lift operators are not exposed to that risk.

Who pays for snowmaking in Europe? What about big lift projects? Is any of that state funded in Europe? Would love to see a full study on why specifically the day lift tickets are 25%-40% of the cost seen in US. Quick search shows that season pass prices are comparable.

 

[Bolder]

Liability is a key differentiator. Here we have to buy rescue insurance that isn’t covered by our French carte vitale or our supplementary mutuelle. And going off piste could void it. I’m sure that plus overall lower salaries here account for a big chunk of the difference. Plus as noted the whole idea of customer service basically doesn’t exist, in the sense that there’s no base lodge infrastructure.

OTOH ski lessons are dirt cheap bc they’re seen, rightly so, as an investment in the future generation of skiers.

 

[Rod9301]

And I think the fact that in Europe, they only have to prep/control the groomed stuff and installations (and not all the terrain in between as well), saves the areas a few bucks in patrolling personell?

Not true at all.

 

[Rod9301]

Are European ski areas normally on public or private land? Who owns the land the lifts service?

Typically, the town and the land, which is why there are so many benefits, like schools providing free season passes to kids.

 

[OldJeep]

Look like prices have gone up a bunch since the wife and I went to the Stubai Glacier nearly 20 years ago. But that was pre Euro adoption and the exchange rate was just crazy then.

 

[oldschoolskier]

Let’s put this a slightly different context, you can basically drive from the west end to the east end of Austria in about 10-12hrs so consider the selection, and competition. Add into that the population base that feeds that system (I won’t even get into the public transit availability which is fantastic).

In the USA or Canada, you’d be hard pressed to to be able to have that type of access.

Additionally, in Austria you start skiing days after you walk, in Canada it’s skates and a stick and in the USA it’s a pigski, glove or basketball.

 

[4ster]

US is extremely libelous, a culture of non responsibility has developed.
The cost of liability insurance is astronomical, perhaps this is a significant part of the equation.

 

[aubergine]

My observations and conjecture from very limited experience --
1. European areas are well connected to the rest of the basic infrastructure. They are closer to population centers and port cities. This means the logistics of power, water, food, etc are all reduced. Railroads up to the mountains. Jobs are available nearby for offseason. Also, easier to get to resorts in general and so the 'captive audience' factor you have in US is not present.
2. Monopolies/one big company vs. many small operators. Negotiating power for the lift operator is much reduced.
3. Piste vs. off piste and liability. Rescue by patrol in US is foregone conclusion regardless of injury location, but in Europe you opt into specific insurance for off piste rescue. Furthermore, if you cause an issue offpiste (avalanche) you are personally responsible.
4. Much fewer staff on the mountain in general in Europe. If you want a guide, you pay for one separately. They don't hand hold you in Europe like in US. Signage in general is worse - the ski experience is not as customer oriented in Europe.
5. Guides/lessons etc are a separate expense and again not part of a 'resort.' More competition here again and if its a bad year for lessons, those companies just fail. The lift operators are not exposed to that risk.

Who pays for snowmaking in Europe? What about big lift projects? Is any of that state funded in Europe? Would love to see a full study on why specifically the day lift tickets are 25%-40% of the cost seen in US. Quick search shows that season pass prices are comparable.

Lift ticket prices are indeed lower, but its a different service package.

When I was hauled down the mountain at Zurs after an Achilles rupture, I received a bill from ski patrol for $250ish.

This was inbounds, near the base too. I wasn't doing anything funky.

I paid it ... and got my leg repaired the same day.

Getting that surgery reimbursed from my US based employer healthcare insurance administrator was a 6 month nightmare though!

 

[Sibhusky]

But I bet the hospital bill was smaller.