NBC has written an article exploring the high price of skiing today.  Is it too high?  Have the middle class been priced out.  Will skiing and snowboarding soon be for the super rich only?  Rob Lovitt of NBC thinks so.  Here’s an excerpt of their article:

High peaks, lofty prices: Skiing increasingly pricing out middle class

by Rob Lovitt

The price of the sport is getting so steep that some believe it may be becoming the exclusive domain of those whose pockets are exceedingly deep.  

“You have the haves and the have mores,” said Douglas Quinby, principal analyst at PhoCusWright, which conducts market research on the travel industry. “When you factor in the airfare of the typical ski trip, the accommodations and the length of stay, you’re talking about a pretty significant penny.”

Coupled with lift tickets that can top $100 per day and clothing and equipment that can cost thousands, it’s not surprising that both the industry and its fans are concerned about the sports’ long-term viability for those of more modest means.

Skiing, of course, has never been considered an inexpensive activity, but the sport has seen a significant upward shift in visitor demographics in recent years.

Last year, 54 percent of skier visits, defined as one skier or snowboarder riding for one day, came from households earning more than $100,000, according to the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA). That’s up from 48 percent five years ago, a 12.5 percent increase.

In contrast, visits from households earning less than $100,000 during the same period slipped from 52 percent to 46 percent — an 11.5 percent decrease.

“They’re chasing existing customers who have the money to spend rather than going after new customers,” said Roger Marolt, a lifelong skier and Aspen resident. “They’re creating all these expensive amenities to attract them, which drives the price of skiing up even further.”

The average weekend lift-ticket price last season was $85.52, which was actually a bargain compared to the $129 you’d have paid if you walked up to a ticket window at Vail or Beaver Creek last Christmas. This year, Deer Valley, Jackson Hole, Park City and Sun Valley have all joined Aspen and Vail in charging $100 or more for a lift ticket during peak periods.

Such prices clearly play into the perception that skiing is the exclusive domain of the well-heeled, but it’s also true that few people pay such stratospheric rates. More than half of so-called ski travelers (as opposed to day-trippers) now buy their tickets at least a week in advance and just under half buy them online, garnering potentially significant discounts by doing so, according to Quinby’s research.

In 1978, there were approximately 700 ski areas in the U.S.; last year, there were only 477.

Read the Full NBC Article Here:

High peaks, lofty prices: Skiing increasingly pricing out middle class