I always thought Jackson or Whistler were the most expensive until i started looking into Aspen/Snowmass. Lodging is around 300 a night.
If you want expensive, look at Vail, Beaver Creek, or Breckenridge. Aspen has less expensive options(Pokolodi and Wildwood at Snowmass, St. Moritz, Inn at Aspen, Tyrolean in Aspen) and it's not only the lodging that runs the bill up. Food is a big one as well. On mountain food at Aspen is expensive but good, and it's cheaper than Vail. Over Christmas, our lift ticket walkup rate was $179 and Vail's was $209. Our lessons are about 15% less than Vail's.I always thought Jackson or Whistler were the most expensive until i started looking into Aspen/Snowmass. Lodging is around 300 a night.
Do you know what is expensive? Ignorance. If you are going to a resort, do your research, spend some time educating yourself on what your options are. Plan ahead. Look at a pass like the Ikon or Epic pass, you will pay as much for a seasons worth of skiing at dozens of resorts as a 5 day pass at some of the resorts mentioned. With options like AirBnB and VBRO you are not limited to going through the main switchboard.
BTW, Whistler is about $300 a night for almost all lodging.
. The best thing about that trip was it has easily allowed me to justify western trips to my wife.
Well, we have 4 mountains. Aspen is glitzy. Highlands is not. Snowmass is in-between. I don't find much difference in the "vibe" of Snowmass from Breckenridge, but it sure skis better with far fewer people.I see things slightly differently in regard to cost. In my book, "expensive" is often determined by the clientele. While it is true that some mountains charge more for essentials (tix, food, etc), the definition for me as a middle-class guy is more about the ancillary tone at a mountain. For ex., Brighton is not all that much cheaper for essentials (tix, food) than Deer Valley (and one might well argue that DV food is objectively worth more). But what makes DV and "expensive" mountain in my view is the clientele: often made up of wealthy folks who don't really care about or register cost in their mind.
I agree w/Phil and others that you can ski "expensive" areas relatively cheaply; I skied Aspen last year on the MC pass and stayed at an AirBnB for $100/night. But I doubt I will ever go back -- the ritz and glitz and general tone at the mountain and in town was of rich, privileged, self-absorbed folks. In my book, that's an "expensive" area -- in order to really fit in, you have to have lots 'o $$$.
You can def get better than those prices. If you are ok with basic accommodations , I’ve booked places btwn 100-200 a night.
My trips to Utah have actually been more expensive than the few times I’ve been to aspen/Snowmass.