Skiing on the Cheap

As lift ticket prices continue to rise (I've heard that Vail will be over $100 for a 1-day lift ticket during the 09-10 season) more and more people are re-considering if they can afford to ski. The good news is, there are still ways to afford to take your family skiing for the weekend.

Two of the main skiing deals are the Colorado Gems card and store discounts.

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"The Colorado Gems are some of the state's best hidden treasures - 9 resorts off the beaten path, where you'll find shorter lift lines, smaller crowds, down-to-earth prices, and a great family atmosphere. It's where you don't need a homing beacon to keep track of your kids. It's what we in Colorado call quaint. It's what you will call perfect."

These 9 Gem resorts are: Echo Mountain, Eldora, Arapahoe Basin, Loveland, SolVista Basin, Ski Cooper, Monarch Mountain, Powderhorn, and Sunlight.

With a Colorado Gems card, you receive various discounts at these resorts. If you buy the card early enough, I have been told that it is free. However, I was a little behind on things this year, so I had to pay $10, but it was still a good deal.

Discounts include:
A FREE day at A*Basin, Monarch, and SolVista (restrictions apply).
Discounts on lift tickets at all 9 resorts.
Stay and Ski discounts.

I only used my Gems card once this season, but it was worth it. This past Sunday, I took a nice little drive down to Monarch Mountain for closing day and used my free ticket. In the morning I enjoyed a good 6 inches of powder while everyone was still at church. Now, I wouldn't call this powder epic considering that there was crusted-over-spring snow beneath it... but I can't complain too much either considering that I was riding powder on the last day [Yes... I hated powder at the beginning of the season... However, now that I have mastered the art of getting up without completely sinking, I am beginning to find it rather enjoyable]. In the afternoon, the temperature warmed up, and turned the snow into the consistency that one would expect to see on closing day- wet, mushy, slow snow that can cause even the most seasoned skiers and riders to look like a bit of a fool at times.

Around 3pm I decided that it was time to head back to Leadville. On the way back, I made a short detour through Salida to stop at Absolute Bikes to get a free water bottle (When I got my lift ticket that morning, I was given a coupon for a water bottle). Then I continued on to Leadville.

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Grocery stores, gas stations, and ski shops are all good places to look for discounted lift tickets.

King Soopers (also known as City Market) and Safeway offer discounted lift tickets to Copper Mountain, Breckenridge, Keystone, Vail, Beaver Creek, and Arapahoe Basin.

In Summit County, ABC Ski and Sport, Blue Valley Ski Rentals, and Pioneer Sports offer discounted lift tickets. Depending on what store you go to, there are discounts for Copper Mountain, Arapahoe Basin, Ski Cooper, Loveland, Keystone, and Breckenridge.

When you buy 10 gallons of gas at a participating Phillips 66 gas stastion, you recieve a "Buy One, Get One Free" coupon for a lift ticket.

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Buy a season pass now. Steamboat, Copper, and Winter Park ski passes are currently on sale. If you buy by April 19th, $49 down will set you up for a $399 adult season pass with unlimited days to Copper and Winter Park/Mary Jane and 6 days at Steamboat. Passes to individual resorts (Copper only, Winter Park/Mary Jane only) have not yet gone on sale.

Speaking of season passes, your season pass may offer you free or discounted lift tickets at "sister" resorts.

For example, with my season pass (Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus), I can buy up to 4 half-price lift tickets to Copper per day. I also had 2 free days at Whistler Blackcomb (they also had lodging and air discounts) and 2 days at Taos. Season pass holders also receive rental, ski school, tubing, and food discounts.

While $399 might seem like a lot, if you go during peak season, you only have to go 4 times to pay for the pass.

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Other ideas include:
-Bring a sack lunch with you so that you do not have to buy lunch at the mountain
-Take up snowshoeing or XC skiing
-Ski local
-Look at skiing during the week or in the evenings when lift tickets are often cheaper.
-Look into "Womens Only" nights or Children's programs. I worked at a ski area last winter in South Dakota that had a program called 5th Grade Fridays. Every Friday, 5th graders could get a lift ticket, rental, and group lesson for $5. I have also heard of ski areas where if you buy a lesson package you may be elgible for a discount on a season pass either that year or the next year.
-Look into "free" lodging options such as friends and family that live near ski areas.

You can also try doing an internet search for "Discounted {insert state or ski are} lift tickets"