Have you seen what lessons will cost this year?

[Slim]

I will be going to West Yellowstone for the week of Thanksgiving. Hope to hit Big Sky for 1 or 2 days.

I thought this would be a great time to take a lesson.

I knew that lessons in the US are super expensive (and not because the instructors are earning so much).

But I didn’t count on it being this amount of crazy:

$1222 !!

oh, and that’s with a $200 discount for booking online

 

[fatbob]

Shut up get your credit card out. You;re lucky to have the privilege.

#137 on the list of how the US ski industry is premium pricing itself out of a future. As long as suckers pay they'll keep doing it. Someone else's problem if 20 years down the line no customers are coming through.

 

[johnnyvw]

I'm assuming that's a private lesson. Although they didn't state how long the lesson is, the group lessons are all day at $295, which to me is a bargain price. So I'm assuming all day, which really isn't terrible. Plus you can have up to 5 people.

 

[Brian Finch]

So, at what point do instructors (hey you PSIA!) step up to the plate and say "we need a more equitable system...... a la private ski schools in EU!". Currently, we have VR, Alterra & Pwder monopolizing what 90% of the ski schools with extremely watered down talent and no consumer protection / choice.

 

[Slim]

I'm assuming that's a private lesson. Although they didn't state how long the lesson is, the group lessons are all day at $295, which to me is a bargain price. So I'm assuming all day, which really isn't terrible. Plus you can have up to 5 people.

Yes, that’s for a private lesson, “all day”. yep, thinking 4 people.

Note that a ski lesson “day” is 6 hours, including a lunch break.

I have done these in the past, at ~700/day.

Group lesson is $307 per person, so for 4 people that’s $1228, which is even slightly more, and you have an even larger group (it doesn’t say, but often 6 people)

How is that a bargain price?

 

[Slim]

I just remembered this analogy:
My oldest child just got driving lessons, which happen to also be 6 hours (no lunch break). Of course, this is 1:1, pure private.

I assume, that like a skischool, a driving school must also carry liability insurance.
Then there is the equipment, the driving school has to purchase and maintain a motor vehicle.

Now lets look at the cost for this instruction:

$375

 

[fatbob]

Are driving schools operating in a competitive environment i.e. there is more than one per town? Are the barriers to sole trading instructors low or high?

Are student drivers perceived by the industry as bottomless cash cows?

 

[Philpug]

My issues is as much in that you have no control or say is what you get for that $1,200. You could get a first year LI or a 30 year LIII. Talk about a crap shoot. It it like walking into a ski shop to buy skis, they are all $1,200 but you don't know if you are buying a beginner ski or a race ski.

 

[Eric@ict]

My issues is as much in that you have no control or say is what you get for that $1,200. You could get a first year LI or a 30 year LIII. Talk about a crap shoot. It it like walking into a ski shop to buy skis, they are all $1,200 but you don't know if you are buying a beginner ski or a race ski.

My wife and I have instructors we use each year. We call them and they put us on their schedules. On the Epic page on FB, I see people asking all the time about private instructors and there are many instructors on the site you can contact. They have no issue telling you what their abilities are and you hear good and bad about them. So its a sounding board, not sure if that's good or bad.

 

[rustypouch]

My issues is as much in that you have no control or say is what you get for that $1,200. You could get a first year LI or a 30 year LIII. Talk about a crap shoot. It it like walking into a ski shop to buy skis, they are all $1,200 but you don't know if you are buying a beginner ski or a race ski.

That's why you should talk to the booking agent about finding someone suitable, or better yet, get recommendations and ask for a certain instructor.

Plus, it helps us out. Most places have a commission/bonus structure in place for when an instructor is requested.

But in Canada, things are cheaper, and I could suggest someone at Lake Louise.

 

[Philpug]

That's why you should talk to the booking agent about finding someone suitable, or better yet, get recommendations and ask for a certain instructor.

Plus, it helps us out. Most places have a commission/bonus structure in place for when an instructor is requested.

But in Canada, things are cheaper, and I could suggest someone at Lake Louise.

But the vast majority of vacationers have no clue.

 

[ilovepugs]

IMO the best value for ski lessons that I’m aware of is at Mad River Glen. Under $300 for 2, two hour private lessons.

Second best value is booking a private with Barbara Ann Cochran for $99/hour.. but you’re limited to the slopes at Cochran’s. Heh.

 

[Wade]

The big resort, US prices are insane. I usually wind up doing a day or two of lessons / guided skiing with my family on our Presidents week trip, because a) the trip is usually insanely expensive anyway, b) we usually learn something about our skiing and the resort c) we get to cut lines on busy days, and d) it always winds up being a great experience. I never just call up for a reservation - I always have a referral and know who we'll be skiing with. It's worth it to me for those couple of days per year, but I still choke on the number a bit.

By contrast, in Revelstoke last year, the full day privates were approx. half of what the US costs are. We had such a good time with the guide (a level 4 instructor) that we wound up booking a few more days and in the end, we did 5 guided days. That included a big pow day when the line at the base was 90 minutes+. My wife was on a conference call for work when my son and I headed up with the guide. We got to the mid station and we got a message that my wife's call was done and she could come and meet us, so instead of going to the top of the mountain we skied down to pick her up. Because of the line at the gondola, no one was skiing the lower mountain and risking getting stuck down there for an hour and a half. We skied 3,000 vertical feet of completely untracked pow without stoping to go and pick up my wife. It was one of the most memorable runs of my life.

 

[mikes781]

I’m planning a trip to Aspen/Snowmass in March and looked into a private lesson. It was around 1200 for a full day plus tip. If I had a group to split that with and an instructor in mind I might think about it but I’m sure the other guys I’m skiing with won’t be interested at that price. I may end up doing a group lesson but would prefer to get set up with an instructor that came recommended from someone.

 

[Philpug]

I may end up doing a group lesson but would prefer to get set up with an instructor that came recommended from someone.

There are a lot of Aspen area instructors that we can recommend.

 

[BS Slarver]

@Slim, welcome to the Biggest skiing in America and some of the most expensive !

I guess I’m out of the loop on SS pricing, are you sure that’s not for a guide ?

The weather here isn’t ramping up like last year so far with 23 or so days till you arrive so you might want to do a 1/2 day or even group, this might even get you a private ?

let me know when you your inbound and I’ll try to help with intel if I’m not sleeping from too much turkey.

 

[dbostedo]

are you sure that’s not for a guide ?

Mid-winter, tram guides appear to start at $1375 (more on weekends).

Private lessons, per the website (also more on weekends):

And that's not including tax (4%) which brings it to the $1222 mentioned earlier.

 

[Seldomski]

Price of everything feels like it has doubled versus ~8 years ago for destination ski trips. Ski school is just part of that. Prices seem be accelerating faster than inflation for luxuries. I dont have any hard data for this, just my personal experience. Maybe we're just getting worse at looking for deals and more IDGAF when on vacation...

 

[crosscountry]

By contrast, in Revelstoke last year, the full day privates were approx. half of what the US costs are.

I found that out too.

These days, I'm not too much into lessons. I just ski. But at Kicking Horse, in a whiteout, paying for a lesson got me a "guide" service to all the runs I couldn't see, and some tips on how to have fun on the insanely steep "regular black" runs at Kicking Horse, in a whiteout. For the much reduced price of ski school in Canada, I'd just reserve all my lessons till I go to Canada.

Hopefully, they won't follow their American neighbor and raise their price to the sky.

 

[Slim]

We have done private lessons in the past with our friends and family. First 2 times we lucked out, and got a great L3 instructor.
Later, I knew to have a look at who we get, including asking here for recommendations.

The $700-800 we paid a few years ago already had my friends in Europe gasping for air, but with 4 people, and some high quality instruction (not to mention getting more laps and finding the good runs on Presidents’ Day) It was worth it.

But $1222 (or an even worse cost for a group lesson) for a ‘Day’? No matter who the instructor is, that’s really hard to justify for something that’s just fun.

And then there is the fact that the instructors are are not making this.
I would have a bit easier time swollowing high rates if it was instructors charging that, pointing out they are spending time and money honing their craft, and have to cover the high cost of living in a mountain town in a small number of teaching days.