Crazy Lift ticket Prices!!!!

[randoskier]

Why do lift tickets cost so much in the USA? After all most of the resorts are on our land- leased US Forest Service land.

Killington 22 lifts, 3,000 ft verticl drop: 1 day adult pass = $!50 ($170 weekends)

Dolomiti Superski: 450 lifts 7,775 ft. vertical drop 1 day adult pass $61 (regardless of day) kid under 17 = $43

Winter Park Colorado: 23 lifts, 2,220 ft. vertical drop 1 day adult pass = $129

St Anton, Arlberg Austria: 88 lifts, 4,944 ft. vertical drop, adult 1 day pass $61

Espace Killy (Val d'Isere + Tignes): 82 lifts, 6,233 ft vertical drop, 1 day adult pass $71

Hmmmm something is fishy ????????

https://www.dolomitisuperski.com/en/Exp ... /Ski-areas

[corlay]

I was at Killington this past Tuesday (after the Nor'Easter finally gave the East Coast some significant snow...)
'Boarding, not skiiing - with my adult kids.

We paid $119 (adult), and $96 (18 and under) for Lift Tickets.
Purchased a few days in advance, online.
It was a GREAT (but very cold, windy) day, and worth the price of admission, to me.
We had an absolute blast.

I guess the prices you quoted were for an Adult on the Weekend, not purchased in advance?

Interestingly enough, I did not see a single free-heel skiier on the mountain that day - which surprised me.
Especially with all of that fluffy, white powder...

[bauerb]

kids are being priced out of skiing, unless they are enterprising. I have heard of teenagers driving to resorts in the afternoon and waiting in the parking lot for people leaving for the day, and offering a few bucks for their RFID day passes. I have heard from some of these kids that they always get tickets this way.

[spopepro]

Lift ticket prices are why I am here. I quit alpine skiing when I was an undergrad and couldn't justify the cost. Went from XC skiing, to backcountry XC and then steeper stuff. I wouldn't do any lift service today if I didn't get such a deal on my annual pass.

As to why the USA prices are double that of europe... I think USA ski resorts have a dramatic preference towards getting people onto season passes over single day or short term tickets. If you look at the season pass costs they are similar or equal (again recognizing that the uptick in price for USA passes increases much more as the season approaches... but the early sale prices are the same).

[randoskier]

I was at Killington this past Tuesday (after the Nor'Easter finally gave the East Coast some significant snow...)
'Boarding, not skiiing - with my adult kids.

We paid $119 (adult), and $96 (18 and under) for Lift Tickets.
Purchased a few days in advance, online.
It was a GREAT (but very cold, windy) day, and worth the price of admission, to me.
We had an absolute blast.

I guess the prices you quoted were for an Adult on the Weekend, not purchased in advance?

Interestingly enough, I did not see a single free-heel skiier on the mountain that day - which surprised me.
Especially with all of that fluffy, white powder...

$119 for a ski area with only 3,000 ft vertical and only 22 lifts is a horrendous rip off.

[connyro]

it's not just the big resorts with ridiculously high day-pass prices. The rinky-dink hill 10 minutes from my house is getting $58 a day. On the other hand, season passes are somewhat reasonable.

[randoskier]

I was at Killington this past Tuesday (after the Nor'Easter finally gave the East Coast some significant snow...)
'Boarding, not skiiing - with my adult kids.

We paid $119 (adult), and $96 (18 and under) for Lift Tickets.
Purchased a few days in advance, online.
It was a GREAT (but very cold, windy) day, and worth the price of admission, to me.
We had an absolute blast.

I guess the prices you quoted were for an Adult on the Weekend, not purchased in advance?

Interestingly enough, I did not see a single free-heel skiier on the mountain that day - which surprised me.
Especially with all of that fluffy, white powder...

$119 for a ski area with only 3,000 ft vertical and only 22 lifts is a horrendous rip off. St. Mortiz is super expensive and it is $87 for a lift ticket- vertical drop 4,931 ft.

[randoskier]

it's not just the big resorts with ridiculously high day-pass prices. The rinky-dink hill 10 minutes from my house is getting $58 a day. On the other hand, season passes are somewhat reasonable.

Why is this so in America?

[Montana St Alum]

Why do lift tickets cost so much in the USA?

I do not know the answer.

Maybe there are too many attorneys here.
The U.S. is litigious, so maybe some of the cost is resort insurance and legal costs.
It's also possible that too much money is chasing an industry that has become monopolized by Vail and Altera, which is scary because they are gobbling up Canadian resorts as well.

They may be driving people to buy season passes as well. An Ikon pass, or an Epic pass can be had at a fairly reasonable price.
The Ikon pass was $899 for early season renewal. That's unlimited skiing at 15 resorts plus up to 7 days at an additional 28 mountains. There are elderly/military/nurse/student/etc. discounts as well so the per day cost can be pretty low.
My Deer Valley pass was pricey, but I'll get that down to about $25 a day.

But the bottom line is, I'm a bit perplexed by it as well.
I don't understand how families can afford to go on ski vacations anymore.

[fisheater]

it's not just the big resorts with ridiculously high day-pass prices. The rinky-dink hill 10 minutes from my house is getting $58 a day. On the other hand, season passes are somewhat reasonable.

Why is this so in America?

I bet insurance expenses are higher. Do European resorts make a lot of snow?