The cheaper resort options in Banff look pretty damn good to us!
Skiing and snowboarding are expensive sports, simple as that. Living in a ski resort year round means our staff have picked up a lot of simple tips on how to stretch that dollar further and here are just a few.
Season Pass:
If you know you want to go ski somewhere for a week well in advance you should look at the resorts early bird season pass prices. With the price of day tickets getting higher and higher each year its pretty surprising how quick you can make it worth your while to have a pass. Take our summer base of Mt Ruapehu in NZ for example, its $120NZD a day for a ticket but if you bought your pass well in advance you could score it for only $250NZD, if you do one long weekend on the hill your already saving yourself money. Having a season pass often gets you a little discount on mountain food, rentals lessons and much more.
4 months of this for only $250?!?!?!
Find a day ticket deal:
If you are wiling to put in a little effort its pretty easy to find a discount on day tickets. For example if you head into any Costco store in western Canada you can pick up cheap day tickets at most ski resorts. A full day ticket at Lake Louis will set you back $109CDN on the day or $79 if you buy ahead at Costco. There are also sites like www.liftopia.com where you can buy day ticket on the cheap for resorts all over the globe.
Pack A Lunch:
As you can imagine shipping food up a mountain takes time, effort and money, which you the consumer end up footing the bill for. The simple solution is to pack a lunch. For the price of an on mountain burger and fries I can make lunch for 3-4 days and it’s going to be way healthier as well. In resort grocery stores are also pricier than in a city so if you are driving to the resort for a week consider packing a cooler of goodies for the week.
This probably cost you less than $5 to make or $20 to buy in resort
Ski Cheaper Resorts:
All of the big name resorts are going to be the most expensive ones to ride at so why not look outside the box. Within a 2 hour drive from Banff in Canada you can ski at 7 different resorts with day tickets ranging from $75 a day right up to $120 a day. Cheaper resorts will likely have cheaper accommodation as well.
Don’t Ride in the Holidays. If you are travelling internationally you can choose whole countries that are going to have better rates. Cant afford a trip to Switzerland? Why not head a few countries over and check out Bulgaria or Andorra where everything is a fraction of the cost.
Holiday weeks at resorts:
Riding during the holiday season is without a doubt going to cost you more as resorts know they can drive up the price. Avoid this period if possible and even better look at skiing in the fall or spring. We can still get an epic dump of snow in Banff right through the end of May and if you want to ski early season in France we have lots of great chalet deals going. You should also double check what the school holidays are in your destination of choice and avoid that period.
Another reason to not ski during the holidays
Work at a Resort or in the Ski Industry:
Staff perks at resorts or ski shops can include perks like;
-Free season Pass
-Discounted food
-Free passes at partner resorts
-Cheap or free lessons
-Gear discounts
-Free mountain transport
The perks of working in a resort aren’t just financial
This is hands down the best way to make shredding more affordable and its one we can help with. Check out our range of courses that help you get employment in the ski industry like our November instructor courses in Banff or the New Zealand internship program.