Industry News
A daily lift ticket exceeded $200 at ten ski areas during peak season last year, with one resort charging $249. Two hundred and forty-nine bucks! Last season, only the top three exceeded $200. A psychological barrier has been passed.
- Related: Dissecting the $200+ Lift Ticket
Skiing isn’t a cheap sport, but it is something we all love to do—and most of the readers on this website aren’t the kind of people who walk up and blindly pay the window price when they want to go skiing. But some people do exactly that. Otherwise, resorts wouldn’t get away with charging those high prices. Call it an ‘ignorance tax.’
See below for the nine most expensive lift tickets last season—aka nine reasons you should get your hands on an Ikon Pass or Indy Pass this year.
9 Most Expensive Lift Tickets In The USA Last Season:
1. Deer Valley, UT: $249
2. Beaver Creek, Vail Mountain, and Steamboat Springs, CO: $239
3. Park City, UT: $229
4. Breckenridge, CO: $219
5. Big Sky, MT: $218
6. Northstar California, CA: $209
7. Telluride, CO: $205
8. Aspen Snowmass, CO: $204
9. Keystone Resort, CO and Heavenly Resort, CA: $199
Remember the $6.00 daily lift ticket at Alta back in 1971. Great deal to say the least. Multiply that dollar amount times “40” and you hit just about today pricing $240.00. Thing about the inflationary pricing on that. Wow!!!
I just want to take my kid skiing once a winter as vacation like my dad use to. No chance of that at over $200 a day, plus gear, plus food plus travel. I get there are deals but finding is not practical or easy. Season pass holds no value to a weekend dad kids trip. Developing a love for the outdoors and skiing will die out for another generation if no one in middle class can afford to introduce them to activities. It was a nice dream while it lasted.
And then if you want access to the peak you add the $80 tram pass on at Big Sky making it a cool $295.
Steamboat was charging $245 during the xmas holidays.
It’s time for Vail Resorts to create a new Epic Pass that matches the Ikon Pass! Let’s race to the top instead of being alone in the race to the bottom. Let’s restore world class skiing to Vail and Park City with fewer crowds and safer skiing.
They have lost their way.
I boycotted destination resorts last season due to day ticket prices. If you don’t buy mega resort iKon pass now forget it. I have season pass at local resort for $479 for season. That’s pretty much my bar, if day ticket is 1/3+ the cost my pass I’m not going. On the bright side it has me checking out some local smaller resorts I’d never been to with day tickets less than $65. Scored two amazing pow days with no crowds, both during holidays. Stoked! Next year Indy Pass looks like the way to go.
Those are some crazy numbers! It’s always been expensive, but the deals have always been out there too. Finding them is part of the season to me. I got a $199 M-F season pass at Snowbowl Arizona (near my home), a 4 day pass online at Breckenridge avg $81 a day, and Wolf Creek’s day rate is $83. Good deals and a good season.
You missed Steamboat… On average was number 1 or 2.
I would like to see the top ten most expensive golf courses to play. They take a lot less investment, no high speed lifts and take a lot less land. And who pays list price to tow tickets?
I did about 42 days on my Ikon Pass this year and averaged about $24+- bucks a day. These were at Jackson, Atla, Aspen & Deer Valley as well as a few others. Everyone can hate the Ikon Pass all they want, I friggen love it!!!!!
A few years ago I rode the lift with a guy complaining about how expensive lift tickets were. Turns out he was on a 2 week trip and paying window price every day. Definitely ignorance tax. I explained to him about ski passes or at least advance purchase lift tickets. He literally had no clue.
A few years ago “the ski industry” was “dying.” Only baby boomers skied and (sniff sniff) soon they and the resorts would be gone. Really? Two factors account for the obscene day ticket prices. First, artificial snow is a lot more expensive than the real thing. Two, casual skiers were reportedly skiing just a few days a year. Enter the multi-resort pass. For the price of their usual low number of day tickets “concientious shoppers” could buy a pass good all over the place. Result massive crowds. The “ski industry” is still “dying.” Now it is being loved to death.
High prices thanks to people suing ski resorts without warrant. Take responsibility for you own actions.
Indy Pass $199 for the whole year.
I get an Epic Pass or another pass every year so still manage to ski quite a bit. Still I do find I’m much less willing to try other resorts lately because the day rates at even smaller resorts has gotten out of hand.
There are deals to be had online though if you know where to look. A few years ago I was able to ski both Alta and Solitude for less than $60. Because of the strong dollar Canadian resorts can offer some of the best values around.
Skied 48 days on my Epic pass at 3 of those which averages out to $18.75 a day. Great for me, but terrible for the casual skier who just wants to ski a couple of days a year without the big commitment of buying a pass. Luckily there are still plenty of places for people on a budget to go, but it sure discourages non-passholders from skiing the major resorts. Since most people at these places are dedicated avid skiers, that results in powder-frenzy crowds on powder days and pretty empty slopes when it hasn’t snowed recently. It’s a big change from 20 years ago when resort attendance was more evenly spread out.
I recently found a day ticket from Alta that I kept as a memento. $6.50 in 1974. The ticket specifies “Price $6.22. Sales Tax $.28”
Wow!
A season pass OR you could travel to the other 100 great smaller(cheaper) mountains around the country. I actually have an Ikon but we also have a 9 yr old and the lessons are what would kill us at a place like Vail. Even though Vail mountain is one of our favorites, because I lived there and know it well, we rarely go.
Guess you won’t see me in the Western US any time soon!
Not a great list to be on.
Well if I don’t get that 25% pay raise I was expecting no more skiing for me.
Oh stop it, you know just to get a season pass
Join a ski club and get group discount tickets!