Skiing is a great sport, but alas, it can be very expensive. Even my rich friends often dedicate a decent amount of time to figuring out how to manage the lifestyle on some kind of budget. It’s one of those things where it sometimes really helps to get a tip or two, hence this piece.
I’ve had this thing in mind for well over a year now. It’s based on conversations I’ve had with strangers on various ski lifts plus tips from my friends and classmates in the Pointer Brothers’ Ski Group. The Ski Group is an informal friend collective that I organized with my “brother” Brian, who was, in fact, my roommate throughout our firstie year at West Point. We use the group to plan ski trips, share tips and photos, etc. And now, well… here we are.
This piece is intended for young professionals just getting into the skiing lifestyle. If you found your way here, you’re probably a fellow West Pointer, and that’s great. However, it’s not a requirement or anything.
All are welcome.
If you’ve got tips, drop them below. As you’ll see, I started with my own thoughts and then added in the voices of the group as we went along.
First Things First: Find a Club
Skiing is a social sport, and with that in mind, it shouldn’t be a surprise to learn that many ski clubs started as local civic organizations. There are lots of them! My own small town in Connecticut has two, the Sterling Ski Club and the Sikorski Ski Club. Sterling has lodges near Mount Snow and Sugarbush, while the Sikorski lodge is near Okemo. Both are also part of the Connecticut Ski Council.
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| Sally & the kids at Sterling's Mt. Snow Lodge. |
The clubs are great. First, because staying at the lodges is vastly more affordable than trying to book hotels or VRBOs, and second, because they offer any number of discounted lift ticket programs, either through early season bulk-ticket sales, through recurring offers, or through Ski Council Awareness/Appreciation Days. Many clubs also organize special trips. These run the gamut from local bus trips to mid-Summer sojourns to ski in South America.
There was a time when Americans just did stuff because we enjoyed doing it, before everyone and their brother was trying to monetize their hobbies and turn them into micro-businesses. This is why we have non-profit civic organizations, a universally beneficial system that has -- unfortunately -- struggled against the sheer overwhelming commercialism of the modern world. It doesn’t have to be like that, though, and indeed, many of these potentially beneficial organizations are still around. You just have to know where to look for them. My club, the Sterling Ski Club, in particular is always looking for young families.
Families tend to take good care of the lodge.
The Connecticut Ski Council web page has a list of local clubs, and there is a similar umbrella organization in the City of New York. Your state probably has one as well.
Friends, if you really want to help grow the sport and save a little money at the same time, join a club.
Find the Right Pass
Vail created the Epic Pass system a few years ago and changed the sport forever, both for better and worse. The good news is that the various passes now make it relatively easy to ski a large swath of resorts as much as you want more or less all over the country. The bad news is that the skiing landscape is now divided into something like three walled gardens, and if a specific place isn’t on your pass, it can be hard to justify going there. This sucks! Plus, the skiing lifestyle in general is now more affordable than ever, and that’s good, but it also means that more people than ever are skiing more than they ever have previously. So the mountains can be crowded at times, especially on powder weekends.
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| With Brian at the top of the world in Breckenridge, CO. |
If you’re a military veteran, you pretty much have to buy an Epic Pass. Active duty and retired service members can ski the whole season for about the price of a single day lift ticket, while even five-and-fly vets like me ski the season for something like half-off the full-price Epic Pass. Even at full price, though, the Epic Pass isn’t a bad deal.
As of this writing, early-season prices are:
Epic Pass: $909
Epic Veteran: $519
Epic AD/Retired: $159
There are a bunch of other Epic passes available, depending on where you live, where you plan to ski, and how many days you’ll be out on the mountain. Unfortunately, it looks like they’ve done away with the Epic College Pass, but what can you do?
If you’re not a veteran, you might want to consider the Indie Pass. Currently, you get two days and two nights at all Indie Pass resorts for $279, which is not bad at all, especially if you like hitting a bunch of different resorts. Locally, this includes Berkshire East, Catamount, West Mountain, Jay Peak, Magic Mountain, and a bunch more. Couple the Indie Pass with Club Appreciation Days, Club Bulk Ticket Sales, regular Club discounts, plus midweek local mountain deals, and you can easily ski a whole season for about the same price of skiing Epic as a veteran.
This was what we did before Vail bought Mount Snow, and in many ways I miss it. Granted, skiing Epic is easier, but figuring out and planning around the club days was an inviting challenge, and exploring all the different independent mountains was a Hell of a lot of fun. It’s worth noting, too, that most of the Ikon Pass mountains still participate in Club Appreciation Days and Bulk Ticket sales whereas Vail wants you to buy a pass, full-stop.
Finally, New York State has its NYSKI3 pass, covering Gore, Whiteface, and Belleayre. A lot of the guys I work with ski on the NYSKI3. It’s $859 for an unlimited pass or $699 if you’re not skiing high-traffic days. Active duty and retired military ski for $479.
Reciprocal Passes
Brian adds, “Check out the relationship between resort passes, especially small resorts. I got a smoking deal on a Monarch Military pass this past year ($129) that reciprocates with every small and mid-sized resort in NM, CO, UT, and MT. It offers three days at Copper, Cooper, A Basin, Silverton, Sunlight, etc., on top of unlimited days at Monarch.”
That is an amazing deal.
Free Parking
Brian again, “Do a little research and there’s almost no need to pay for parking. There are a few exceptions, of course.”
This depends a lot on how willing you are to take a shuttle bus and/or walk as well as on how willing the resorts are to enforce their parking prices. Many places put up a pay-to-park sign that points to an app with no real enforcement mechanism.
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| With Rob and Josh on the gondola up to Killington, VT. |
Gear
When I floated the idea for this article to my friends, several said, “Buy used gear!” Which, okay, but I honestly have no idea where to go for used gear that I trust, save maybe one of the local places in West Dover, VT, just off Mount Snow (more on that below). If you show up any time from late March to May, you can probably find some former season rentals and/or demos that are in decent shape. I wouldn’t do that, though, unless I had a pretty good idea of what I was looking for, and I don’t know that I would buy used gear online. Speaking personally, I would much rather buy last year’s gear — new — at an end of season sale.
Having said that, it’s important to note that my kids are both in college. So they’re not still growing or anything.
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| Full "ski banana" at Breck last year. |
I’ve had good luck over the years buying closeout inventory, i.e. last year’s models, -- new -- from both Evo and Level 9 Sports. I bought my Helly Hansen jacket from Evo in May of 2021, literally for half price. My Arbor A-Frame came from Level 9 back in March 2020. I got such a good deal on it that I paired it with top-end bindings and still stayed under $650 all-in.
In terms of brands, Arctix makes probably the best truly cheap gear out there. Their stuff is really cheap, and friends, they make truly excellent budget snow pants. I bought a pair of yellow snow pants from them through Amazon last year for $48 — because who wants to pay a lot of money for freaking yellow snow pants? — and against all odds, they’ve become my favorite pants. They don’t have vents, but they’re thick and warm, and they’ve got tough material construction.
I’ve never worn Arctix’s $90 ski jacket, but if I had to buy something for a first lesson, I’d probably start with that jacket and the cheapest pants I could find.
Dope Snow also makes a line of affordable pullover ski jackets and hoodies that I really like. Their stuff runs from $150 to $250, and with that price point, it’s now everywhere on the slopes in New England. I bought one of their ski hoodies recently ($169) for warm, bluebird days, and I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s perfect for days when you want minimalist insulation.
I don’t think Dope was trying to introduce their gear as “affordable,” per se -- their advertising certainly doesn’t scream “cheap!” -- but they’ve put it out there at a price point that’s scored a hit with the college set.
Finally, I don’t know when Champion devolved to become a Walmart-level fitness brand, but for what it’s worth, they make totally serviceable gear at extremely reasonable prices. I mean, you can absolutely pay $300 for an alpaca wool base layer, and in some conditions, that might even be appropriate. However, if you team a $20 Champion athletic shirt with a simple t-shirt and a lightweight vest, you’ll be fine -- and nicely layered, too.
Used Gear
Katie says, “Used gear - Ski Sundown usually does a ski swap every fall. You can buy used gear or trade items. Not sure if other mountains do this [Editor’s note: they definitely do].
“Growing up my town library in MA had a ski swap every summer. Awesome for kids because they grow so dang much. As an adult I’d opt for new gear since my feet and ski style aren’t likely to change too much.”
Eric adds, “Summit County race team ski swap, Larson Sports Denver ski swap… Point is, you have to find these random ones for cheap gear.”
Brian says, “Powder7 is a great little shop out of Golden, CO, that has a phenomenal inventory starting in April when they resell the various resorts’ demo gear. Expect 50-60% savings on skis plus free bindings.
“I may have a slight problem because I buy from them. A lot. Like every year. For my growing boys, Jen, me, and my friends.
“Completely unrelated… if someone needs some boots or skis, I have 12 pairs that I could make available in almost every size.”
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| Matt & Matt at Breck. |
Ski Boots
Brian says, “The one place NOT to skimp is on your boots. You date your skis and marry your boots. Go to a local boot fitter, spend time. It should take 3-4 hours to get the right fit in the right pair.
“There are no ‘good’ boots for everyone. All of our feet are different and try several. Any good boot fitter will start with a few good options based on your foot shape, but will ask you to walk around with a different boot on each foot for several minutes. Heat molding matters and can dramatically shorten the break-in period, but you have to start with a pair that fits YOUR foot. Then get a pair of custom insoles. Your days on the hill will be much more enjoyable.”
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| Apres ski with Matt, Amber, and Matt at Breck. |
Lodging
Eric says, “Number one: start early. Passes, lodging, and gear all go up when the first snowflake falls.
“RedWeek.com helps you locate other people’s unused timeshares, maybe with no cleaning fee or taxes. You can also negotiate with VRBO/AirBnB owners at the last minute to find better deals if you’re committed to looking. We’ve given deals on our rental and gotten deals from others. Owners want whatever revenue they can get, within reason, but it can be a gamble.
“If you can, don’t ski while school is out. Resorts and airlines know the second your kid gets out of school.
“Never ski Christmas to New Years. Go MLK, Presidents, Easter.”
Heh. I love to ski Christmas Day, and I *never* ski MLK or President’s Day weekend.
On the rare occasions I try one of the long weekends, I always, always hit a small, local place like Ski Butternut or Magic Mountain. The big resorts will be JAMMED.
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| With Sally at Mt. Snow. |
Helmet Speakers
Helmet speakers are the new hotness. My kids both tend to ski using their regular earbuds, but I personally find real helmet speakers much, much more comfortable. Because I’m bald, my head tends to get cold without a helmet liner, but helmet liners make regular earbuds uncomfortable, and here we are.
Most new helmets these days come speaker ready. There’s a zipper or something in the earpiece. Even my helmet, which I bought several years ago, came ready-made with space for speakers.
I bought Aleck speakers. The new model runs around $150, but the original is still available for just $59. The newest ones have some interesting features, including both an intercom and a Find Your Friends feature, but that stuff is only useful if everyone in your group is using them. By comparison, the originals are straightforward Bluetooth speakers. I’m the only person I know using the Aleck system, so the original model has worked fine for me.
Pack a Lunch
Food on the mountain is not cheap. I personally tend to stuff my pockets with granola/breakfast bars, ski a bunch, and then sit down with some fries and a beer at the summit lodge late in the day. However, if Sally and I are skiing together -- especially if we also have the kids with us -- she always packs a cooler. By comparison, my buddy Brian usually just skis with a bunch of sandwiches in a little backpack. In fact, most of the truly serious skiers do some version of that and never buy food at the lodge.
Anything is fine. The point is, do yourself a favor and bring some food out there with you.
Eric adds, “You can get free cups and hot water at lodges. We bring our own cider and hot choc packs for kids.”
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| The West Point Class of 1995 & family at Mt. Snow, apres ski. |
That’s it. Enjoy the season, friends. And if you have some tips, please feel free to add them in the comments below.
Thanks!
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