 Poster: A snowHead
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Yup - she was borderline ecstatic when she found a flight just over 700 to go to Kuala Lumpur this June for Christmas and then taking the train from there into Thailand and then on to Vietnam and Cambodia or sth. like that.
(sorry for threat hijack)
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I'm off to Japan for £650 (ish) return. When I started, stop sniggering at the back, it cost nearly that to get to Saltzburg and back 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Skiing - a rich persons sport?
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It's not made me rich
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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As I was coming out of Snow + Rock London Bridge, yesterday, I was accosted by a tramp. He said 'Any change?'
I said 'No, I've still got the big house and nice car'.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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We've never had much money, we just had to choose what to go without, like fancy TVs and stuff, we rarely have a summer holiday but then again me and mum aren't the type who jet off and sit on a beach all week, we'd get bored in 5 mins.  We budget on our food, turn lights off to keep bills down, get all the ski gear in sales, book very cheap appartments privately (and a night in a youth hostel in chamonix this year, good deal), get some cheap flights and as a result just about afford one week per year.
In the beginning, we made it a family holiday to the Auvergne in France where there are 2 tiny ski resorts, so it was cheap and there was something for everything as none of my family skied.
Later on, mum made sacrifices like no holiday etc to help me afford the end of season bash with snowHeads which is amazing of her especially as we don't have much to start with, and the bashes have been awesome.
Tesco clubcard vouchers can be used for ski time in the Xscapes by the way!
Traditionally skiing is stereotypically seen as a rich person's sport and I think this comes from history when it really was, sure there are loads of rich people who ski now and you see it in the media like the princes on their ski holiday, but it's accessible to the 'working class' too if you know how and where to make the savings and are prepared to do so and maybe make some sacrifices...
v1cky24, if you want any help or advice on making it cheaper, just PM me or Ruth_de_Luge (tis my mother  )
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Locality plays a part. The majority of ski areas around the world cater primarily for locals and day-trippers and for people for whom snowsports is a regular part of their normal life rather than a once or twice a year holiday abroad their outlook on snowsports a whole and the cost of it will be considerably different.
For someone in Scotland a day on the slopes is really in a similar league (pun intended) to going to an SPL football match, which only lasts 90minutes and the queues for refreshments are always horrific and the pies usually make the Glencoe Plateau Cafe look like a Michelin star candidate. 
A season ticket for Aberdeen FC is £405, for 18 home games, so about 27hours of watching absolute mince!  An all Scotland National Season Pass is £399 or a CairnGorm adult Season Ticket is £265, some season ticket holders did almost 70 days last year.
They say football is a working mans game, well on these figures why should skiing not be? Of course if you look back at the origins of commercial snowsports in Scotland, the fact is that far from being a toffs pastime, it was very much a classless activity which was actually largely driven forward by the working class, it was largely Clydeside ship builders in the form of the Creag Dubh Mountaineering Club that established Glencoe and were instrumental in the development of CML, where Creag Dhubh members provided a line of general managers, starting with Bob Clyde, Tom Paul and ending with John Maclean in 2000.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Winterhighland, Excellent analogy. Until last season I had an Arsenal season ticket costing £1200 (proably better value than Aberdeen  ). Although the club has a lot of, in Roy Keane's words, prawn sandwich supporters there are a lot of working class followers who must struggle financially to follow the team. I bet a lot more people make sacrifices for football than skiing nationally.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Oh dear, I hate these threads, they always spawn assertions that 'My outside loo - which I have to use the other 51 weeks of the year, if I want to have a week's skiing - is totally scuzzy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.' What is not in doubt is that, whichever way you hack it, skiing is an expensive hobby.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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crazy_skier_jules,
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Skiing is expensive but it doesn't have to be as expensive as stuff makes it out to be, I think
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Yep, I'll grant you that. You just have to harden your heart against the insults you attract when you continue to wear a perfectly serviceable fartbag!
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You know it makes sense.
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Hurtle, stick with it girl, for soon the fartbags shall rise to rule...
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Hurtle wrote: |
| What is not in doubt is that, whichever way you hack it, skiing is an expensive hobby. |
I think winterhighland's post has just disproved the absolute expense. I'm sure there are plenty of skibums around the world skiing lots for very little (& probably spending more per day on alcohol than their amortised cost of skiing) though arguably thats pushing a hobby into the realms of lifestyle. Its definitely expensive the way Brits generally do it - one week trips, busy "name" resorts, new kit to try to compensate for the lack of skiing time, wanting to get the kids into it young etc
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Poster: A snowHead
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crazy_skier_jules, LOL. I found my old Nevica Fart Bag at the weekend, when getting stuff out of the loft for a trip to Hemel.
Electric blue with a fluro pink flash across the top of the arms. It cost a fortune. It looks so hideous I could never throw it away for fear of someone finding out it was mine.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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bar shaker, as I do have to keep repeating on here, mine is NAVY BLUE. All over. 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Skiing certainly wasn't anywhere near being a possibilty when I was younger. My parents took the five of us away during the summer hols, and that was all we knew and/or expected. Then work came along, closely followed by mortgage and (step)kids.
We had our first skiing holiday 3 years ago, more or less a spur of the moment decision, but something that I'd thought about for quite a few years ("I wonder what it would be like, could I do it and would I enjoy it?") and it was only really then that we could afford it.
I sometimes wish I'd discovered the joys of winter skiing holidays earlier in my life - we'd be better at it - but mrs Spurs and I are loving learning and improving together.
We're taking our son and his fiance this year - they've had the 'ski in a day' at Tamworth and can't wait to get on a mountain. They're skint, having just got their own house, so we're paying.
When daughter comes back from New Zealand next year, we'll pay for her and her boyfriend to go with us (she did the 'board in a day' and has had a couple of days on the slopes down-under)
It's flippin' expensive but something we want to do. At least they'll know what it's like, and when we can no longer afford to sub them they can decide their own priorities.
For me, you can keep your sun loungers in Majorca....give me snow!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
soon the fartbags shall rise to rule..
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I think this is dead right. Even the fantastic colour ones. especially the fantastic colour ones.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I suppose we can look at it in two stages
(1) Stage 1 - Do people need to be rich to have a holiday?
(2) Stage 2 - Is skiing more expensive than the normal summer holiday?
One can say it takes spare cash for anyone to go on holiday but as we know holidays are not exclusive to only rich people.
In the second stage the main difference between a normal summer holiday and a skiing holiday is we have to pay for the ski pass for the privilege of using the lift system. It is up to the skier to arrange the accommodation, transportation and food to be comparable in both winter and summer holidays. The ski pass cost can amount to 20 to 33% of the holiday expenditure. Whenever I drive up to ski an week end in Scotland it has been one-third on food, one-third on accommodation and one-third on ski pass if I ignore the fuel cost.
I suppose the gears for skiing is more expensive too but over a long period a skier should have built up the equipment to reduce the need to hire them.
To start as new then the shock of extra cost on ski pass, lesson fee, hire charges etc could be overwhelming.
Taking a longer view I reckon skiing has to be 25 to 40% more expensive than a normal holiday in my case, as I do DIY holidays in both summer and winter.
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saikee, I think you're probably right, the liftpass is the main 'extra' expense over and above a normal holiday, although I think a portion of this is for a lot of people cancelled out by 'unplanned' spends on a summer holiday, which they don't factor in when booking it - boat trips, donut-rides, sight-seeing, public transport (normally free in ski resorts) etc. I bet a lot of people would probably spend about a third of the value of a liftpass on those kind of things if on a summer holiday.
Answers to your two questions are I think 1) no, 2) somewhat, but not drastically.
D
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It doesn't need to be expensive. I've just booked 12 days in Tignes, full board in Mountain Sun's hotel for £850 each including flights, lift pass, the lot. My 14 day summer holiday was to a nice 4* hotel on Kos and cost £1400 each.
I could ditch the summer holiday but 2-3 winter trips are essential, even if one is only a long weekend.
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It's actually really hard to find really nasty one-pieces. I really want one and am always looking out on ebay.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Its all relative. There are plenty of hobbies that cost quite a fair bit. Its just that skiing tends to be abroad. If you only went mountain biking in the alps every summer. Im pretty sure it would be of similar cost to skiing. If you lived with a big fat snowy mountain on your door step im sure it would be a lot cheaper. obviously.... But as other people have said i dont think its a rich persons sport, its just where your priorities lie. Dont have a sky+ subscription with sports and films at £50 a month. Theres the £600 for your holiday....
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No, it isn't a rich person's sport. Some of the people who do it would like to believe it's exclusive, but it's about the same price as any other hol I think. Certainly the standard 'vulgar crimson-faced bellowing Brits' type of holiday that you get in Thailand is dearer, and those people certainly don't scream 'upper middle class' at me. They usually scream 'oi, get your eyes off my bird, you caaaant' at me.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Before the age of 14 I never spent more than the odd idle Sunday teatime when Ski Sunday was on thinking about what it would be like to go skiing. Then in 1991 I got a freebie with my French penfriend - a week in La Bresse in the Vosges - not even a blip on the radar of the huge ski factories. I was absolutely hooked, and managed to get out there with him twice more, but then the long uni and post-uni years followed and it wasn't until 2004 that I had the disposable to do skiing on my own dollar.
Not being one to scrimp and save for anything, nor go without whilst I'm there, it's taken as read that my winter week will cost just as much as the fortnight in summer - and to be honest I'd not like to go without either, to the extent that I suspect I'd whack it all on credit card if we found ourselves short of money one year. So if I accept that our outlay on holidays swallows up at least five grand a year, then that just means I *have* to make my bonus every year, and try to grab a couple of extra commission payouts each year too. That's my motivation for working hard in my job right there, so everyone wins.
But in absolute terms? Skiing is not a huge outlay all told. We spend £2500 a year on booze, £4000 a year on my car (just to own it, not to run it - that's a further £1500 on tax, insurance and servicing alone), and £3000 on nursery fees for Tommy. We budget for all of these - why should skiing be any different?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I'm not sure looking at it as a hobby is the best comparison, looking at it as a holiday (which is is for almost all of us) makes more sense. I think the big part of it is that most people are unwilling to sacrifice a summer holiday for a winter one which leaves just the people with enough disposable cash to do both.
Resorts in Bulgaria becoming more mainstream has made skiing much more accessible financially.
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| v1cky24 wrote: |
I've made an observation about the type of people I know who ski (which I might add is very few - I've only just taken it up because I've always wanted to do it). They all seem to come from families who are really wealthy and have high paying jobs, expensive cars and big houses etc. My parents could certainly not afford to pay for me to go skiing when I was younger, although it might be different for kids like me now with schools offering trips etc
I'd never thought about this before, but obviously, skiing is an expensive hobby. None of my friends say then can afford it, even though they would like to try it. I guess living in the middle of the UK doesn't help in that it will generally mean a flight to get to a ski area etc
I'm not meaning to embarrass/cause offence with this, just wondering what peoples thoughts were? |
The average British vacationer spent a grand total of around £1,000 on skiing / boarding in 2008.
That represents roughly 5 - 30% of the average person's annual discretionary disposable income.
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You know it makes sense.
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Most of us have been going on summer hols forever. We have T-shirts, swimmys, shorts, sunglasses etc.
Going on a first skiing holiday means a whole new wardrobe for most poeple.....socks, gloves, salopettes, jacket, glasses, goggles etc etc...
We've all got all these things, so don't factor them into the cost of our trips, but for a newbie it's a lot of money over and above the actual cost of the holiday.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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v1cky24, yes it is a rich person's sport but fortunately you don't have to be rich to do it.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Is skiing a rich persons sport !!. Not necessarily but rich people do tend to prefer the finer things in life, hence the reason why they go skiing.
It all depends on what equipment etc you want to buy and where you want to go. Personally I would sooner slum it in a budget hotel in Les Menuires and go twice than go 4* in Courcheval.
When I was packing the car up at Xmas I was mentally adding up the cost of all the equipment going into the car. We are a family of 4 and I was astonished that it came to somewhere between £8 - £10k and most of it had been bought within the last 2 years. Add to this, that it was 6th trip in 2 years and it doesn't take a genius to work out where most of my disposal income was going. For example did I really need a 2nd pair of Oakley Wisdoms with Hi Yellow lenses, No but it didn't stop me shelling out £80 for them earlier this week.
I am by no means rich, might be if weren't for the skiing though
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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v1cky24, is it a rich person's sport/hobby? only regards the cost of the initial holiday/s. but after that? if the bug has bitten you, it becomes a sort of investment, in that you re-use most of your equipment and clothing for a few years before replacing it.
if you're the type to replace your kit and clothes every season at full price, then you're probably rich or living beyond your means.
if you use stuff until it falls apart (and this applies in general anyways) and then find reasonable quality, end-of-season sale bargain replacements, you're probably not rich.
btw, with my background, no one could call me a toff (roflmao), or call me rich. i most definitely have to work hard and save hard to afford my snowboarding holiday every year. i honestly wouldn't bother with summer holidays, but my hubby doesn't do wintersports, so it's our only break together.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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My baby brother started skiing at around 14-15 years old... he got dragged up to the snow with one of his buddies from climbing club... they camped in tents and there were no lift passes as they climbed what they skied down... Some kind buddy lent him spare skis and skins....
By the time he was old enough to legally be a ski patroller he was - at Mt Stirling our XC 'resort'
By the time he died at 26 he had become (with another buddy) one of the first 2 telemark skiers to pass ski patrol at Thredbo on tele skis...
He had no spare money to spend on skiing - he was too busy becoming a qualified canoe instructor's instructor, becoming a climbing guide, etc etc.... It was all he could manage to scrape together the $300 or so to get himself to NZ for ice climbing... where he existed by visiting the samoan relatives first and being a 'camel'(eating everything put in front of him) and then living on rice,lentils and dehydrated vegetables for a few weeks while climbing...
Where there is a will there is way.... one part of which was spending a winter season living in a teepee in the middle of Australia's Main Range... walk out the door and ski every day... come home to eat and sleep.... trouble is a teepee and food for the winter is really heavy to haul through scrub to get into a good location... but if you want to ski - you can...
His other buddy actually had a drivers license with a ski run listed as his address - closest run to where he parked his car while camping for about 2-3 winters.... NSW police will not take a PO BOX for a license address...
Yes - skiing can appear a rich man's sport .... No it does not need to be...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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My weeks skiing with the family at easter will cost about £2500 with everything including spending. (two adults two kids) My 10 day holiday to Turkey in August is costing £4500!!!!! Ski holdays can often be cheaper than a summer hols but not with the same level of comfort.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I always wanted to ski, but as the eldest of 4 children, without well-off parents, there was no way I could have gone on the school trips. However, once I was working I decided to forgo other expenses, in order to save for a ski holiday. My first (a Thomson package - there was little choice to do anything else at that time) cost around £400 plus spending money, which was an absolute fortune to me, as I was taking home around £50 pw, but worth every penny I took a second job working behind the bar at the pub, to augment my skiing fund. I've skied every year since then, other than when either pregnant or with a small baby (although we did take our first born when he was about 18 months). Some holidays have cost more than others, but we don't spend a lot on going out, eating in restaurants, theatre trips etc., - it's a matter of choice. I do have friends who drive very expensive cars, spend £200 on a new pair of boots, and think nothing of forking out £50 per head for a weekend restaurant meal, but that's their choice. We'd rather go skiing
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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It's not only lift passes you need to pay for - equipment hire and lessons are also likely expenses for a first timer. And if you don't hire equipment then you're probably going to be buying it, so a capital outlay in the first instance. All those things make it different from a summer hol. Also what you wear when you ski is not generally (for many people) the kind of thing you have in your cupboard whereas on a summer holiday most people will have shorts/t-shirts general clothes. First timers have to consider items such as ski socks, fleeces, salopettes, goggles, gloves, helmet ect. Yes they can be borrowed but it's all a bit daunting just for a holiday. I accept that more people now do have outdoor gear which they wear off the slopes. But it's still expensive (and if you don't have the stuff a bit of a faff borrowing) to dress for a skiing holiday.
As a hobby though it's not that much more expensive than something like sailing. I guess it's the blur between hobby and holiday and the fact that from the UK you will need to travel some distance to the place where you can "do your hobby".
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I think we need a Venn diagram to show "All rich people can ski", "Some rich people do ski", "Some of us plebs do ski"!
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Depends.
If you live in Munich, Zurich its just a day out in the car or on the train Most folk would not go to the expensive areas, we take our own food , no hotel.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Smoking, right. That's a fiver a day. That money could easily get you a family ski trip, maybe two. Where you have a couple who both smoke, this quantity of money is huge (£3k+pa). Last time I checked, smoking wasn't the preserve of the rich. It's more a question of priority than raw income.
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I thought you lot were all loaded like me, but it seems most of you are just a bunch of pikey scratters.
Thats it, I'm off to the SCGB.
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FAQ
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