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Many people love winter and can’t wait for it to kick into full gear. While those feelings might, for some, come from a desire to spend their days wrapped up in blankets enjoying hot cocoa or chili, for others, that love of winter stems from the start of ski season.
Skiing can be an exhilarating sport to participate in. But it also has the potential to be expensive. You have to get to a mountain or ski resort, pay for a lift ticket, rent gear if you don’t have your own, and, in some cases, pay for parking. All told, you might have to dip into your savings account in a serious way to get out and ski with your family this winter.
The good news, though, is that there are steps you can take to spend less on skiing. Here are some tactics to employ.
1. Ski during the week
If you’re looking to ski as a family, going during the week probably isn’t feasible unless you want to be that parent who pulls their kids out of school at random. But if you’re a solo skier with a flexible job, you may want to hit the slopes during the week and then make up the work on a weekend if that option is available to you.
Not only might you spend less on a lift ticket, but you may find that your go-to mountain is a lot less crowded on a weekday.
2. Don’t go for a hotspot if you’re a family of beginners or moderate skiers
A family of four might spend $1,341 for a single day of skiing in Vail, Colorado, or $1,167 in Killington, Vermont, according to lifestyle publisher Outside. Given that these are popular ski destinations, that’s not so shocking.
But your family may not need a popular ski resort if you’re mostly beginners or even moderate skiers. So before you bust your budget on a well-known mountain, see what it costs to ski at a nearby resort most people haven’t heard of.
3. Look at a series of day trips
The cost of lodging can make skiing even more expensive. Before you shell out the money for hotel stays, do some research to see if any mountains are drivable in a day.
For the most part, though, that probably means limiting yourself to 90 minutes of driving each way or less. Skiing can take a lot out of you, and you’re not going to want to face a three-hour drive home in the dark when you’ve spent the entire day on the slopes.
4. Buy your own gear secondhand rather than rent gear each time
The cost of renting gear can add to your credit card tab when you go skiing. If you expect to ski a lot this season or in general, consider purchasing gear to avoid having to pay a rental fee every time.
That said, new gear can be expensive, so you may want to buy yours secondhand. Sites like Facebook Marketplace could be a good source, and your local ski shop may even have some secondhand inventory it can sell you.
5. Consider a season pass
At Mountain Creek, a ski resort in New Jersey, an all-access season pass costs around $499. A daily ticket, on the other hand, costs $119.99. If you think you’ll ski four or more times this season, the pass makes financial sense in this example.
That said, if you’re going to buy a season pass, make sure to choose a mountain in relatively close proximity. It may be feasible to hit the slopes on multiple weekends when you’re talking about a mountain that’s 90 minutes away or less. But are you really going to make it over to a mountain that’s a five-hour drive numerous times? That’s questionable.
Even in a best-case scenario, you’re looking at spending a significant amount of money to go skiing this winter. But if you follow these tips, you may be able to lower your costs and enjoy some time on the slopes.
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