As the golden leaves continue to pile up beneath our feet and the temperatures gradually plummet, we have but one thing to look forward to: ski season (and then eventually summer again!). Skiing and snowboarding certainly isn’t a cheap hobby: there’s the costs of transportation, new snazzy gear, equipment tune-ups, and lodging rates. So we have compiled a list of the best deals in the country for this year’s ski season to help you get the freshest tracks for the lowest price. Plus, as reported by the UK’s DailyMail.com, ski goggle tan lines are “in” this season. Girls are actually going to tanning beds and getting spray tans with their goggles on (See image and link below). How bizarre.
Interested? Read more here. Or you can go out and earn your tan lines ladies! Check out these options:
1. Vail Resort’s Epic Pass
Adult $729/Child $379
Ideal for Colorado or Tahoe locals, Midwest locals with plans to also venture out west for ski vacations, and major destination powder hounds and jet-setters.
Includes unlimited access to:
Colorado: Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, Eldora
Utah: Canyons
Tahoe: Heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood
Minnesota: Afton Alps
Michigan: Mt. Brighton
ALSO: 5 free days at Verbier, Switzerland, Arlberg, Austria, and Les 3 Vallées, France
PLUS: 6 Ski-With-A-Friend tickets
2. Epic Local Pass
Adults $569/Teen $429/Child $289
Ideal for Front Range Colorado locals with plans to utilize restricted Tahoe days or Colorado vacation thrill seekers who enjoy the mountains of Summit and Vail County.
Includes unlimited access to:
Colorado: Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin
Minnesota: Afton Alps
Michigan: Mt. Brighton
Restricted days at:
Colorado: Vail, Beaver Creek,
Utah: Canyons
Tahoe: Heavenly, North Star, Kirkwood
PLUS: 6 Ski-With-A-Friend tickets
3. Rocky Mountain Super Pass
Adult $509/Teen $379/Child $269
Ideal for Front Range Colorado locals seeking access to various mountains or Colorado vacation thrill seekers looking for a variety of terrain throughout the state.
Includes unlimited access to:
Winter Park
Mary Jane
Copper Mountain
ALSO: 6 unrestricted days at Steamboat and 3 unrestricted days at Monarch
PLUS: 10 Copper Friends & Family tickets, 10 Winter Park Friends & Family tickets, 20% off at Woodward at Copper Lessons
4. Mountain Collective
Adults $379/Child $239
Not exactly a season pass, but a bundle of 12 tickets at some of the most exceptional ski resorts in our country.
Includes 2 days at:
Utah: Alta & Snowbird
Colorado: Aspen Snowmass
Wyoming: Jackson Hole
California: Mammoth, Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows
British Columbia, Canada: Whistler Blackcomb
PLUS: 50% off all additional days with no blackout days
ALSO: 20% off all lodging
5. The New Summit Pass
Adults $1349/Young Adult $749
Ideal for East Coast snow bunnies planning to take excursions to Canada or Colorado during the season.
Includes: all access to Stratton Mountain in Vermont
PLUS: 5 days at each of the Intrawest Resorts, including Steamboat and Winter Park (Colorado), and Tremblant (Quebec)
ALSO: This pass offers a discounted rate for “2nd Adults Living in Same Household,” which is good for spouses and children aged 29 or younger.
Additional passes worth looking into:
Utah: The Ski Utah Gold Pass is fully transferable between friends and family and is good at all 14 of Utah’s Ski Resorts for $3,999. Or the Ski Utah Yeti Pass is available for $599 ($42/day) and gives you one day at each of Utah’s 14 ski resorts (Alta Ski Area, Beaver Mountain, Brian Head Resort, Brighton Resort, Canyons Resort, Deer Valley Resort, Eagle Point, Park City Mountain Resort, Powder Mountain Resort, Snowbasin Resort, Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, Solitude Mountain Resort, Sundance and Wolf Mountain).
Vermont: The Judge Pass is $799 for adults and includes both Jay Peak and Burke mountains.
Contributed by Allison Cohn