How much gear do day ticket window skiers buy?

[Quandary]

Main point is still that even in places where those are good, folks who ski less than 5 times a season are facing that super high price, MUCH higher at destination places that DO accept those passes at the window...

I guess if in todays world, and ignoring the cost of Six Flags, Disney, Universal, a movie, a gallon of gas, etc., you think its unreasonably expensive to ski Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone, Beaver Creek, Park City, Stowe, Wildcat, Whistler etc for under $85 a lift ticket than ya its expensive for those folks.

 

[Dave Marshak]

I guess if in todays world, and ignoring the cost of Six Flags, Disney, Universal, a movie, a gallon of gas, etc., you think its unreasonably expensive to ski Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone, Beaver Creek, Park City, Stowe, Wildcat, Whistler etc for under $85 a lift ticket than ya its expensive for those folks.

How do you get an $85 lift ticket for any of those places? Last year we paid >$100 bundled with lodging 6 months in advance at Steamboat. A couple of added day tickets were almost $200.

dm

 

[Quandary]

How do you get an $85 lift ticket for any of those places? Last year we paid >$100 bundled with lodging 6 months in advance at Steamboat. A couple of added day tickets were almost $200.

dm

Sorry I rounded, $86 per day for 5 day "pass".

https://www.epicpass.com/passes/epic-day-pass.aspx?days=5

 

[mikel]

^ Yep, same with lodging. I think I just got an email yesterday for the lodging offers. People are often asking for best deals. Now is the time for best deals on lodging at Breck.

I think walk up ticket prices are insane yet I have posted pic's, more than once, of the walk line at Copper. Walk up looks far from dead on some days. Big lines. I guess I struggle with this because of the 4 pack and 5 pack pricing for different places. The days of the $165 4 packs are gone but the current pricing is still tons better than walk up.

Gear? Events like the ones coming up this weekend here in CO have those $299 specials. Powder Daze, Powder7, Epic Mountain Drop huge sales are well attended. I know, not everyone is in CO but you can still take advantage online.

 

[crgildart]

Sorry I rounded, $86 per day for 5 day "pass".

https://www.epicpass.com/passes/epic-day-pass.aspx?days=5

This entire thread is about the walk up ONE DAY price.. not people who travel to ski an entire week. Tell me what a walk up one day ticket goes for at those destination resorts please.. "day ticket window skiers". Still big lines even at the ridiculous prices they ask.. But many have walked away from that as "too much" and not vested enough for multi day passes or mega passes.

It's essentially the occasional skier and the never evers who might be considering giving skiing a try for one day. Those are the folks who look for the one day walk up ticket (and lesson/rental for the never evers). Those cheap lesson and rental packages seem to have also gone away..

These are not people who post or even read Sli Talk.. None of us are in the above categories...

 

[fatbob]

This entire thread is about the walk up ONE DAY price.. not people who travel to ski an entire week. Tell me what a walk up one day ticket goes for at those destination resorts please.. "day ticket window skiers". Still big lines even at the ridiculous prices they ask.. But many have walked away from that as "too much" and not vested enough for multi day passes or mega passes.

It's essentially the occasional skier and the never evers who might be considering giving skiing a try for one day. Those are the folks who look for the one day walk up ticket (and lesson/rental for the never evers). Those cheap lesson and rental packages seem to have also gone away..

These are not people who post or even read Sli Talk.. None of us are in the above categories...

This is exactly the point - it's not about people thinking and planning for skiing in August or ahead of pass deadlines. It's about those who think one day once snow is on the ground or a friend has got back from skiing or is going and asks them if they want to go. The industry has certainly bifurcated to extract the maximum tariff from those people for the worst experience. I think I told the story here once of a college kid I rode a chair with in Vail. He'd lucked out by getting a invite to a buddy's uncle's condo or somesuch but then found that in a 3 day stay he could only actually afford to buy a ticket one day. The kind invite became something socially difficult.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

The second group will buy relatively inexpensive overstock gear from online stores or ebay and consider it a durable purchase. Or already have made the purchase so pull out those barely used skis and boots out of the closet for the next 10years. Those $299 boots and $299 skis you see on discount liquidator sale are getting bought by someone.

This. I know a lot of folks who only ski a few days a year and ski the same gear for 8-9 years. Clothing, they are more inclined to replace - partly due to changes in sizing over the years.

My son and his wife are still on the same gear as 7 years ago. They don't have time to ski more than a few days a year and the gear works fine. They mostly ski groomers and we maintain their skis since they leave them at our house. When he graduates dental school - and they start to ski more often (if possible) then they will both need some new boots. Until then, everything is good as far as they are concerned. They still have fun when they're out there.

 

[Quandary]

This entire thread is about the walk up ONE DAY price.. not people who travel to ski an entire week. Tell me what a walk up one day ticket goes for at those destination resorts please.. "day ticket window skiers". Still big lines even at the ridiculous prices they ask.. But many have walked away from that as "too much" and not vested enough for multi day passes or mega passes.

It's essentially the occasional skier and the never evers who might be considering giving skiing a try for one day. Those are the folks who look for the one day walk up ticket (and lesson/rental for the never evers). Those cheap lesson and rental packages seem to have also gone away..

These are not people who post or even read Sli Talk.. None of us are in the above categories...

Why would a never ever or someone skis once a year or once every couple of years ever buy equipment? That would make no sense at all.

The Epic day pass can be used at time during the year in a block once a week whatever the user choices. Additionally there are other lower cost pass options that make those that ski more days more affordable. So for the occasional skier who lives in proximity to an Epic resort or is going "out west" for a week the Day Pass is a reasonable price for skiing at high end ski resort. Smart pricing by Vail Resorts. If the occasional skier isn't the type to plan ahead, they pay full boat, their loss. I would suspect the occasional skier that plans ahead envisions themselves as a skier and would be more likely to buy gear. I would also suspect those that going skiing on a whim and pay walk up ticket prices are likely not gear buyers.

 

[crgildart]

Why would a never ever or someone skis once a year or once every couple of years ever buy equipment? That would make no sense at all.

It was someone who skis a couple times every over year.. not days in a row.. like 1-4 days sometimes more but rarely. Already discussed that owning gear is preferable to standing in line for an hour to rent on the busy days they do end up going.. A better question is why would someone who goes to 6 Flags or Disney World buy gear?

P. S. The Epic and IKON aren't even honored in the southeast resorts below PA.. Also already discussed..

 

[Seldomski]

Those cheap lesson and rental packages seem to have also gone away..

What makes you say this? Midseason, spur of the moment never-ever can still get a good deal on rental/lesson/lift ticket bundle. You can get these a few days in advance. If you walk up 'day of' wanting to do ski/lesson combo, you are either an idiot or have terrible friends. Seriously, you need to put at least a little bit of forethought into this sport and have the common sense to understand that purposely standing on a slippery, sloped surface for long periods of time is dumb and should be first experienced with some professional guidance.

My experience is based on skiing in CO/UT/NV/CA. Those that ski a few days a year and are cost conscious start planning their trips now, if not earlier, to get the maximum deals $$. The epic day pass was made for those people. I used to ski with a group of serious cheapskates and it was a game to see how little they could spend. For lunch, 3-4 of them share a bowl of chili and get a giant pile of crackers in the lodge. There was a time when you couldn't get lift tickets to Vail more than 2 weeks out (other than the epic pass).

If you are cheap and don't plan ahead, yes, you are screwed. But you were screwed before, just not as badly.

For gear - the few day a year person has a ski jacket, goggles, and pants that are 10 years old. They rent skis, boots, helmet (or don't use one). Mid layers and everything else is stuff that can be multipurpose use. All the equipment is bought from home, or if found on mega-sale at the resort. If there is a wardrobe malfunction, duct tape can be used. Last resort is buy stuff at the resort (again for cost conscious). You buy your jacket/pants in the offseason at Sun & Ski, Walmart, etc, or online for cheap. Or you borrow stuff from a friend who skis.

Now if you are a sometimes skier that doesn't plan ahead, you are going to get fleeced with walk up tickets. Some can afford it and don't care. Others that care are in for a hard lesson and will adapt behavior for next season. It's a tax on people who don't have time or care to plan.

 

[DerKommissar]

Middle school ski clubs and spring learn to ski lift/lesson/rental packages were pretty effective marketing tools back in the day. Can't say that I've heard of either or met folks on lifts from those types of things within the past 5 years. Are they going away too?

We still take all the 6th graders from our middle school in Webster Groves (suburb of St. Louis) out to Hidden Valley. I have to say, it was not a fantastic experience for my daughter, but I'm sure it works for some kids. The after school scene for High Schoolers is fantastic here.

 

[crgildart]

Now if you are a sometimes skier that doesn't plan ahead, you are going to get fleeced with walk up tickets. Some can afford it and don't care. Others that care are in for a hard lesson and will adapt behavior for next season. It's a tax on people who don't have time or care to plan.

IDK. You can save maybe $10-$15 on a $150 ticket by paying for it online a couple days ahead of time. Again, if you only want to go weekends or holidays... as most of those couple times a season folks do it's way more expensive than it used to be to do that. regardless of how you try to plan it.

If you're retried and can ski weekdays that's a whole different matter.. easy peasy still, a little more crowded with the hybrid work model, but still way better..

 

[David Chaus]

So, does the single day walk up ticket buyer go to a mega-resort, or to a more local resort? If we're talking about more expensive single day walk up ticket prices, that's usually at marquee resorts. If someone has to travel a distance for a vacation trip ("holiday" for the Brits) at a marquee resort, they're usually going more than one day.

Local resorts may have higher single day tickets than in the past, but nowhere near the marquee destination resorts. I'm guessing the major resorts in CO and UT are the ones where we'll see the highest single day tickets, that actually might be paid by a local who doesn't have a pass of some kind.

As to what gear they might buy, however little they can get by with. I've had extended family in a nice neighborhood in SLC show me a couple pairs of skis they pulled out of a dumpster somewhere and asked me if I thought it would be good enough for them. And this is an accomplished architect.

 

[skibum4ever]

This thread led me to the following question. If I don't plan to ski this season, and haven't bought a pass, can I actually buy a one day Epic "pass" for $75 and use it to try a single day at Keystone in March? That's what it looks like but I can't believe it.

And if so, what will the price be next week or next month??.

 

[dbostedo]

...can I actually buy a one day Epic "pass" for $75 and use it to try a single day at Keystone in March?

Yes. Epic Day pass prices can be good. In this case Keystone, Crested Butte, and the Tahoe locations are the most affordable places. The other Colorado resorts bump this to $95. And you have to buy before Sept. 5th, which for a very casual skier is VERY early to plan.

Last season I skied 3 days at Vail and BC for under $100/day. But we had to plan and buy early.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

@skibum4ever That was my plan the year we came out to visit you. I waited a bit too long and the price went up by a lot. I don’t remember when it went up, but … don’t wait too long. Your buddy passes saved us from my lack of planning!

 

[skibum4ever]

@skibum4ever That was my plan the year we came out to visit you. I waited a bit too long and the price went up by a lot. I don’t remember when it went up, but … don’t wait too long. Your buddy passes saved us from my lack of planning!

I have a single ticket in my cart and will probably buy it today or tomorrow.

 

[Quandary]

P. S. The Epic and IKON aren't even honored in the southeast resorts below PA.. Also already discussed..

Why would anyone want to ski there unless you're on water?

 

[dbostedo]

Why would anyone want to ski there unless you're on water?

Some of us make do with what we've got!

 

[Quandary]

Ahh, but you don't really want to!