 Poster: A snowHead
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I've just been going through my figures for the lift tickets we bought over the last few days while skiing in Utah, and I thought you might find this useful information. Now, we didn't buy at the resort, but at Canyon Sports, about 5 minutes from out hotel, and on the way to the resorts, so got discounts ranging from £2.32 at Alta to £8.12 at the Canyons. The following are for 1 day passes, not multi-day...
Alta = £26.09
Canyons = £31.89
Deer Valley = £39.43
Snowbird = £26.09
Solitude = £25.51
For comparison, according to their websites:
Chamonix = £30.89
St Anton = £27.73
Val d'Isere = £28.08
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Doesn't surprise me lots of competition in the SLC area but obviously with Deer Valley keeping things a bit snooty. Mid-week, non-peak pricing? I paid $73 a day at Mammoth at Xmas (no discounting because peak season & no local competition) Still good value compared with subsequent trips to Europe with no fresh.
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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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Not quite sure that is a true reflection...the terrain served and the amount of lifts in the european resorts would make the european prices positively cheap I would think
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fatbob, not mid-week, or non-peak - actually the standard pricing for the high season.
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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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From memory it's only in multi-day passes the EU versus US price gap shows up? Does anyone have a 1 week pass comparison? aj xx
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JT, and the reliability/amount of snow, and the crowds at the lift queues? 
As I say, I was just letting people see that US lift prices are not the extortionate levels that the sometimes appear to be.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Mon 13-02-06 23:24; edited 1 time in total
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ajhainey, not to hand - we were travelling to various resorts, wanting to get a taste for them, and those 5 were all within about 40 minutes drive of our hotel, so we had the opportunity to go where we wanted, and when.
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Wear The Fox Hat, but only if you are changing resorts on a daily basis.
e.g Wengen
1 day 56 chf or about £26
1 week 284 chf
1 month 473 chf
or for the season 820 chf or about £380
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| ajhainey wrote: |
| From memory it's only in multi-day passes the EU versus US price gap shows up? Does anyone have a 1 week pass comparison? aj xx |
Deer Valley website quotes $390 (£224) for a six day pass (not sure if that includes sales tax). Espace Killy six day pass is €192.50 (£131.50). Not sure how many lifts there are at Deer Valley, but I guess fewer than Esapce Killy, so on a cost/lift basis the US resort looks poor value for money. Of course, such bald comparisions hide lots of detail which might be important, so take this with a pinch of salt.
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D G Orf, that's what I was pointing out - you CAN change resorts, and move around. But I don't want to get into the argument about always skiing the same place, or country!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Wear The Fox Hat wrote: |
| D G Orf, that's what I was pointing out - you CAN change resorts, and move around. |
Not quite sure I understand that point? Is that the same for most ski resorts: with a car you can easily get to the nearby ski stations?
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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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rob@rar.org.uk, if you take your €192.5, that works out at about £22 per day. As you can see, that's not much below the £25.51 per day for Solitude (and a 2 day pass for Solitude is £24.12 per day).
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| rob@rar.org.uk wrote: |
| Wear The Fox Hat wrote: |
| D G Orf, that's what I was pointing out - you CAN change resorts, and move around. |
Not quite sure I understand that point? Is that the same for most ski resorts: with a car you can easily get to the nearby ski stations? |
rob@rar.org.uk, arguments are made here that US lift prices are very high, what I've tried to show above is that they aren't particularly high, and if you are someone who likes to explore different places, they can work out at a similar level to European resorts.
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You know it makes sense.
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yeees - but espace killy is one of the biggest resorts in the alps. Somewhere like aspen, or whistler would be a fairer comparison than solitude?
I get your point about being able to move around, but I still think on average us resorts are pretty pricey...
aj xx
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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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Wear The Fox Hat, that's fine if you are only skiing for one day when you go away. But most snowHeads ski for more days than that in any one trip, so it's much more realisitc to compare how much money you spend overall on lift passes for your ski trip. On that basis, a six day pass (or six one-day passes) is probably a better yardstick than a single day ticket.
When I skied La Rosiere & La Thuile a couple of weeks ago the day ticket cost me (after discounts and e-pass refund) 19 Euros (£13).
Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Mon 13-02-06 23:53; edited 1 time in total
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Poster: A snowHead
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ajhainey, Espace Killy certainly is one of the biggest, but it doesn't have the snow record or quality that you get in Alta, nor do you get to ski straight on to most lifts, with no waiting around, surrounded by pushy germans.
Snow levels
Val d'Isere:
Bottom of the slopes (1850m.) 65cm
Top of the slopes (3000m.) 76cm
Alta:
Mid Mountain: 322cm
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Mon 13-02-06 23:53; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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rob@rar.org.uk,
I like this place the more and more I hear about it ...will have to get round to skiing it soon
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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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| Wear The Fox Hat wrote: |
| ... if you are someone who likes to explore different places, they can work out at a similar level to European resorts ... |
You don't need a daily commute by SUV to explore different places. Any of the large ski domains in Europe will give you multiple villages and a variety of ski terrain to explore, but you travel around by ski rather than car. The fact that you can do this on one multi-day ticket makes it good value compared to buying multiple one-day tickets for seperate resorts.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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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| JT wrote: |
rob@rar.org.uk,
I like this place the more and more I hear about it ...will have to get round to skiing it soon |
It's €151 (£103) for a six day pass at Ls Rosiere/La Thuile.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| rob@rar.org.uk wrote: |
| Wear The Fox Hat, that's fine if you are only skiing for one day when you go away. But most snowHeads ski for more days than that in any one trip, so it's much more realisitc to compare how much money you spend overall on lift passes for your ski trip. On that basis, a six day pass (or six one-day passes) is probably a better yardstick than a single day ticket.. |
OK, so, it's £12 cheaper on a 6 day lift ticket to ski in Espace Killy than in Solitude. (based on the numbers quoted above)
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Wear The Fox Hat, out of interest, how much skiing does Solitude offer in comparision to Espace Killy?
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Linds,
You would probably be on that lift 7-8 times a day anyway...so they have to put a pretty girl there or you would get bored 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| rob@rar.org.uk wrote: |
| Wear The Fox Hat, out of interest, how much skiing does Solitude offer in comparision to Espace Killy? |
292cms at the minute, in comparison to 76. That's quite an important difference.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Wear The Fox Hat, well I thought it was a small resort, but less than 3m skiing is worse than Milton Keynes. No wonder people move around to different resorts so much 
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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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rob@rar.org.uk,
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| Wear The Fox Hat wrote: |
292cms at the minute, in comparison to 76. That's quite an important difference. |
No it isn't. You're forgetting to factor in the cost of getting there. It's not all about lift pass prices. When I work out price comparisons I personally work out the entire cost of the holiday and divide it by six to get a price per day on snow. That includes flights, accomodation and food etc.
Don't get me wrong I'd like to ski North America one day, but there's a hell of a lot of Europe left for me to discover on my door step before I do.
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You know it makes sense.
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On a sensible note what is the cost per day of a ski holiday... my last one cost me £120 per day which I thought was quite good all things considered..and I only know that because I have just got all the bills in....car breakdown excluded...!!
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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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| markP wrote: |
| Wear The Fox Hat wrote: |
292cms at the minute, in comparison to 76. That's quite an important difference. |
No it isn't. You're forgetting to factor in the cost of getting there. It's not all about lift pass prices. When I work out price comparisons I personally work out the entire cost of the holiday and divide it by six to get a price per day on snow. That includes flights, accomodation and food etc.
Don't get me wrong I'd like to ski North America one day, but there's a hell of a lot of Europe left for me to discover on my door step before I do. |
mark, I was just commenting on lift ticket prices in this thread, as it has been commented on here before that US prices are extortionate.
As for price of the trip, yes, the flights to the US are more expensive, but not prohibitively so, in my opinion.
I have explored a lot of Europe, and continue to do so, but from my experience of skiing both Europe and the US, then I would say that you should try it some time (and not just wait until you've skiied everywhere in Europe)
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Poster: A snowHead
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There's no doubt lift ticket prices in the USA are expensive. I think Aspen is over $80 US for a 1-day ticket and even Stowe is $75 or so -- though we got 6-day tickets for about $35/day. I suspect a couple of things are at work. One is that I suspect liability insurance is a huge burden for US ski resorts, some folks here will file a law suit for almost any reason. Additionally, if you get hurt on the mountain you'll be rescued, and it won't cost you any money. If you go out of bounds and the State thinks you've acted recklessly, they might go after you, but if you're in bounds you'll be rescued, no questions asked. Oh, I forgot good old American greed. I've priced lots of trips. From the East Coast, Utah offers the best value, and if you're willing to give up some convenience, you can stay in the suburbs of Salt Lake City and ski reasonably inexpensively. And even with the exchange rate, we can visit many destinations in Europe as or more inexpensively than what it would cost us to visit resorts in the Western USA. We're going to Saalbach later this month, a trip to Steamboat in Coloarado would be very comparable in terms of costs.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| JT wrote: |
| On a sensible note what is the cost per day of a ski holiday... my last one cost me £120 per day which I thought was quite good all things considered..and I only know that because I have just got all the bills in....car breakdown excluded...!! |
Just looking at my figures for this past trip, it has worked out at about £156 per ski day:
Break down:
To/from airport/parking: £40
Flights: £420
Accomodation: £420 (based on me & Spyderjon sharing a twin room)
EpicSki Academy: £475 (inc lift passes, instruction and banquets)
Other Lift passes: £178
Food & Drink, etc: £360
Car Hire: £140
This gave me 13 days on the slopes. If, instead of going to the ESA I had just bought lift tickets, then the rate would be £129 per ski day. (we didn't use the car in the first week, so could have saved more money that way too)
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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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The biggest eye opener for me over the last two weeks in Utah about skiing in the US v Europe was the easy access to off-piste (or off-trail as it's called over the pond) skiing in the US.
Yes, when comparing pisted/groomed runs the US resorts may be smaller on average than European resorts but in Europe one really should have a guide for off piste as even 'adjacent' to the piste is not safe. In the US we had the best part of a week of powder & I could ski anywhere within the resort boundary in relative safety, with any dangerous areas (cliffs etc) being roped off. I now see why the US resorts quote thier skiable areas in acres rather than just the cumulative km's of the pistes.
A professional guide for 5/6 days would add a fair chunk to the price of a European holiday, even when split between 3/4 people.
And then in the US there's the Denny's apple pie which, as they say in Utah, is "mighty fine".
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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spyderjon, hawt-damn, you just reminded me about one tiny figure I left out of my pricing for the trip, which potentially takes the price to over £2500 per day...
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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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There's only one answer to all this for fanatical skiers. Emigrate (whichever side of the Pond takes your fancy). My last 7 seven days skiing have cost me £4.73
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Surely you need to factor in snow quality into the equation? we just came back from a weeks boarding/skiing in Laplagne on the concrete/ice slopes with patches of plaque de terre (earth) showing through and stones on many runs, a weeks pass with 1 day "discovery" in les Arcs, around £160. but I'd rather have nice fluffy snow and pay 30 quid more for the week. 
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| spyderjon wrote: |
| Yes, when comparing pisted/groomed runs the US resorts may be smaller on average than European resorts but in Europe one really should have a guide for off piste as even 'adjacent' to the piste is not safe. In the US we had the best part of a week of powder & I could ski anywhere within the resort boundary in relative safety |
How do US resorts secure their in-bounds off-piste terrain? Do they blast more dynamite that European resorts?
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Okay Fox. I hadn't realised you were just comparing lift ticket prices in isolation. The prices you talk about don't seem vastly different. But the prices for the more 'popular' destinations in North America, and I include Canada here obviously, are definitely much more expensive.
When you factor in the higher cost of travel I can't personally afford to go.
If we go back to the cost per day I've managed several trips at around 100 pounds per day which I reckon is pretty good going.
I'd rather do 2 weeks on okay snow than 1 week in exceptional snow for my money. But then I enjoy skiing in Scotland more than I do the Alps...
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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WTFH, Only £360.00 on food and drink!!! £27.00 a day. You must have been going easy on the beer. I just spent £250 for 6 days in Italy and we were half board!!
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Everyone is comparing North America to France, what about Austria? They've had lots of snow this season, good value lift prices, free transport between resorts covered on that lift pass, good hotels and food and best of all, apple strudel! Only 11 sleeps to go!
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FAQ
now what was her name L............... 