 Poster: A snowHead
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I've just been looking at lift pass prices for a couple of short trips I've booked for December and February and couldn't believe how expensive they have become.
A full three valleys pass is €60 per day!
We are skiing for three and a half days and it costing €200.
Thats a serious cost on what's supposed to be a relatively cheap four day trip.
Where in December would be cheaper?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well a four day pass for the Val Thorens area will be 190 euro, for Les Arcs 194 and I suspect many of the big resorts about the same. A mid sized resort such as Les 7 Laux would cost about 120.
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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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Don't buy a full 3V pass - the individual areas are cheaper for starters. Anyway in global terms 60 Euro is cheap I think Vail is now up to $175 for a walk up day pass in peak holiday periods,
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When you consider what your paying for....all those amazing new lifts and the maintenance of the older ones.... All those piste bashers and the drivers to work nightshift to drive them.
Snow making if the real stuff is a bit "thin on the ground" ... See what i did there. Safety' equipment and training for all the staff. Fuel to run the whole thing....not to mention they aren't exactly doing it in a major city with infrastructure.... Its up a blooming mountain.
Basically i think its still decent value
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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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Its one of the downsides of upgrading lifts. New chairlifts cost millions to develop and tens of thousands each year to maintain. Add to that the significant cost of snow making. Fan guns cost upwards of 30k euro and then there is the pipework, pumping and water costs, depreciation etc. It all goes against the lift pass price.
Perhaps there is room in the market for a budget skiing operator. A sort of Easyresort or Ryanski  Someone not relying on replacing Poma tows or fixed grip chairs with 6 seater 6m/s lifts ? I suspect some of the continental maintenance regulations may make it more difficult for the smaller centres to hold onto and maintain their older lifts or develop by using second hand lifts. It does perhaps raise issues about the sustainability of some ski resorts, particularly if skiing does a 'Golf' and younger people stop coming into the sport and existing skiers cant afford it any more ?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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+1 If you look at how may people work on the mountain the price is reasonable, Lifties, Pass sales staff, Piste security to mane but a few. There are 30 people working on Mont Chery in Les Gets alone.
How much per day would a fridge be??
Andy
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@anderoo, and Mont Chery loses around €800k a year...
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I hear what you all are saying about good value I suppose I was just thinking about cheaper options.
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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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An hour in a fridge is around £30. Even with the sterling slump, resort lift passes are good value. Think of what you get and the enormous infrastructure cost involved.
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Well if you order the Jungfrau Region skipass more than 21 days in advance you get a 20% discount on the normal adult price, so for example a 4 day Jungfrau Region skipass is 204CHF (approx £170 or 188 Euros at the current poor exchange rates of £1=1.20 CHF and 1 Euro=1.09 CHF) rather than 255CHF.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Peter S wrote: |
Its one of the downsides of upgrading lifts. New chairlifts cost millions to develop and tens of thousands each year to maintain. Add to that the significant cost of snow making. Fan guns cost upwards of 30k euro and then there is the pipework, pumping and water costs, depreciation etc. It all goes against the lift pass price.
Perhaps there is room in the market for a budget skiing operator. A sort of Easyresort or Ryanski Someone not relying on replacing Poma tows or fixed grip chairs with 6 seater 6m/s lifts ? I suspect some of the continental maintenance regulations may make it more difficult for the smaller centres to hold onto and maintain their older lifts or develop by using second hand lifts. It does perhaps raise issues about the sustainability of some ski resorts, particularly if skiing does a 'Golf' and younger people stop coming into the sport and existing skiers cant afford it any more ? |
IIRC. I was told (by an instructor in Les Arcs), that a High Speed chair cost about the same as a Jumbo Jet, to buy and install. That was a few years ago now, but it probably still holds.
I suspect a RyanSki resort might be rather busy for the next 3 or 4 years (maybe even 9 or 10). Those of us that have been about for over 30 years would feel quite at home.
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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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The new Montalbert Gondola cost Eleven Million Euro's last year, apparently its on a 25 year mortgage!
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| maddness wrote: |
I've just been looking at lift pass prices for a couple of short trips I've booked for December and February and couldn't believe how expensive they have become.
A full three valleys pass is €60 per day!
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Yes crazy isn't it. We might do one day per season in a big resort for a bit of fun but we can do a week in some of the local resorts for price of the 3V pass.
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You know it makes sense.
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@maddness,
1. Take pity on us poor Brits. With the Euro/GBP rate at the moment lift pass prices will seem even more expensive.
However
2. It'll add a bit to the overall cost but not much in terms of the total spend.
Rule 5 I think? 
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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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in fairness the weak pound Des make things far more expensive this year for you all.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@maddness, go somewhere smaller. Plenty of cheaper options about.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Altis, that's the plan for next season I reckon.
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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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Compared to a day at Castleford the 3V pass is still good value I think even with the fall in value in the pound. For a family going for a week to 3V the fact you can buy a six day pass for two adults and two children under age 18 and you all pay child price is a good deal I think.
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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: |
Compared to a day at Castleford the 3V pass is still good value I think even with the fall in value in the pound. For a family going for a week to 3V the fact you can buy a six day pass for two adults and two children under age 18 and you all pay child price is a good deal I think.
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ONLY if you have two children under 18
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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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@johnE, yes fair point. I think you can have up to four children and two adults.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Dave of the Marmottes wrote: |
| Don't buy a full 3V pass - the individual areas are cheaper for starters. Anyway in global terms 60 Euro is cheap I think Vail is now up to $175 for a walk up day pass in peak holiday periods, |
Thats because in US resorts they employ quadrupal ++ amount of people to man/ticketcheck the lifts.
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| Quote: |
go somewhere smaller. Plenty of cheaper options about
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+1. Why would you plan to go to one of the most expensive areas in Europe if you want a cheap trip?
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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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@ Clarky999.
Oh well, it sounded good at the time...the instructor was probably trying to give some (pre-Google) bs PR to the resort. I must admit, I've never looked into it. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks altis, that's a great guide.
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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've just had an email from the Grand Massif - their season passes are half price, if bought before 10 December. €485 for an adult and €285 for a child, which sounds very good value, to me. I normally only go there for one week of the season, but just in case it's relevant to anyone, the link is here:
http://www.skipass-grand-massif.com/en/Forfaits-Saison
Footnote - if I've missed anything stupidly obvious, I apologise and will go and stand in the corner.
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