Race to $300? Sky High Lift Ticket Prices at the USA’s Top Resorts

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A thread posted by The Storm Skiing Journal & Podcast to Twitter a couple of days ago lists the most expensive peak walk-up lift ticket prices at resorts across the country. A fantastic resource here (by The Storm Skiing Journal & Podcast) of the cost of every lift ticket in the USA.

Only three years ago we were criticizing these companies for breaking through the $200 mark––that now appears to be the norm. The race to $300 has begun… who’s your money on?

Consider also that Steamboat Resort offers a ‘First Tracks’ add-on for $55, potentially taking a day’s skiing to $324. And a day at Big Sky Resort, MT, is $225, but if you want to ride the tram, it’ll cost an extra $45.

Will you usually pay $269 to ski? No, not usually. It is important to note that although that price figure seems daunting, there are many easy ways to save money by either booking in advance, online, in a package deal, multiple-day ticket, not during a holiday, or any combination of those five. If you’re walking up to a window and paying those prices, you’re doing it wrong.





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7 thoughts on “Race to $300? Sky High Lift Ticket Prices at the USA’s Top Resorts

  1. My season pass at Manning Park was $99. I do have a Mountain Collective pass so I can visit some of the pricy US resorts.

  2. P.Tahoe? Thats short for Pffft Tahoe. It will always be Squaw Valley in ski history such as the 8th winter olympic games, etc etc.

  3. Actually, the biggest reason is to push people to purchase a higher-priced item ahead of the season (season pass) and encourage purchases of day lift tickets ahead of time to hedge against poor snow/weather conditions during the season. It’s an insurance strategy to prevent the historical ups and downs of resort revenue caused by uncontrollable factors (weather). Additionally, the season pass purchase leads to people going to the resort more often in order to “get their money’s worth,” which results in more ancillary purchases by consumers in nearby restaurants, activities, and hotels.

  4. Two elements of this pricing scheme: 1) The resorts want to mine your data by pushing you online to buy tickets. 2) The resorts don’t want the expense of paying cashiers to handle walk-up purchases.

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