Skiing USA on a Budget
From WikiSki
This report on how to ski the US on a budget is copied and pasted from a thread on the ski forum so it may need some editing. It was written in early 2006 so the prices may have changed as well.
A car is not needed to ski many of the best resorts in the US so if you are too young to rent or don't have much money to spend then I wouldn’t bother. Sometimes it is a bit of a pain without a car but you can still be reasonably flexible if you are following the snow. For the best skiing conditions my advice is not to book anything and keep an eye on the snow forecasts and reports. Not booking anything could even extend to not booking your domestic flight in the US until the day before you fly there. If that is not possible then the safest bet is to fly into somewhere like Salt Lake City as it is very central and you can get to many great ski resorts within a day without a car.
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Colorado
Colorado can be fun but if you really want to ski the US cheaply then my advice is to skip this state altogether. Lift tickets are expensive, accommodation is expensive and food is expensive. But some of the resorts have excellent grooming and are probably great for families so if you are really wanting to go then don’t write it off completely.
Vail and Beaver Creek - I had a great time at Vail and BC but I wouldn’t have gone there it I had to pay for it myself (thanks Dad). If you are not after really extreme terrain then Vail is great. It is huge, the grooming is excellent, the back bowls are awesome for any powder hounds that don’t need 45 degree slopes to be happy and from what I have heard (I am under 21) the nightlife is very good. Beaver Creek is much smaller but has perfect grooming and it has some really nice and long gladed double black runs. You can get to Vail by greyhound from Denver or Salt Lake City if you are coming from that way. Another option is to catch the Colorado Mountain Express from the Denver Airport for US$68 which drops you off at your hotel. There is a good bus system in the Vail/Beaver Creek/Avon area so a car is definitely not needed for those resorts.
The two cheapest places to stay that I know of are the Comfort Inn in Avon which is about a 10 minute bus ride to Beaver Creek and a 30 minutes to Vail and the roost lodge which is in Vail. By booking on the Vail website we got a room in the Comfort Inn for US$110 a night and the rates for the roost lodge are here - http://www.roostlodge.com/rates.cfm
Lunch prices at Vail are ridiculous. A hamburger and chips (no drink) will cost about US$13 so you have been warned. The cost of lunches add up so taking a roll or something with you will save a lot of money.
It is US$81 for a day pass at Vail and Beaver creek but there are a few ways to pay less than that. One way is to join Peaks which you can find on the Vail website and pre purchase a multi day lift ticket. Note that Vail owns Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, A-basin and Heavenly. Now if you buy say the 6 day Vail ticket then you can ski at any of those resorts (except heavenly) on any day. But if you are planning on skiing Breck/Keystone or A-basin for as many or more days than Vail and BC then you are better off buying a multi day ticket for Breck/Keystone or A-basin as it is cheaper and lets you ski up to half of the days at Vail or Beaver Creek. Another way to save money is to buy the perfect 10 pass for US$420 which lets you ski at any of those resorts including Heavenly at any time over the season. So if you plan on spending 10 days at those resorts in Colorado or 7 days in Colorado and then 3 days at Heavenly then that is the pass for you.
Breckenridge looks alright but if I had a choice of going to a Utah resort or Breckenridge it would be Utah especially because of the price differences and Utah’s big dumps. There is a semi hostel type place to stay at in Breckenridge which is the cheapest option in Breckenridge. I can’t remember the name but just have a search on the net. If you have a car or even if you don’t have a car and you want to ski a few resorts around the area then Frisco isn’t a bad place to stay as it is located kind of in the middle of the resorts.
Copper Mountain and Winter Park – Now these are the cheapest options in Colorado if you are wanting to stay in one or two areas for a couple of weeks. Copper Mountain is meant to have some great bowl and glade skiing and I have heard Winter Park isn’t bad either. During the US summer, off of www.passwagon.com you can buy season passes for Copper Mountain or winter park for around US$250 and combined for something like US$300. I can’t help you with cheap accommodation at those places but I am guessing they will be at typical Colorado prices. Staying in Frisco may be the cheapest option for skiing Copper Mountain.
Utah
For anyone who loves deep powder then Utah is for you. Alta and Snowbird are steep and deep but unfortunately being right next to Salt Lake City can be busy on powder days. Solitude gets great snow as well and powder can be found days after it has snowed. Brighton gets good snow, has a decent terrain park and is a great spot to access some crazy backcountry lines but the inbounds terrain wouldn’t keep you excited for all that long. Now you can ski all 4 of those resorts without a car and accommodation is really cheap. The weekly rate at ‘Studio 6’ for a nice room with a full kitchen/bathroom is US$35 a night. Daily rates are something like US$49 a night which is still cheap for what you get. From there you can catch a bus to Alta/Snowbird/Solitude/Brighton for $3 each way but if you are lucky enough and Studio 6 has the discounted tickets with them then they include the bus fair. But just so you know, Alta takes about an hour, snowbird about 50 minutes, solitude is about 40 minutes and Brighton would be about 50 minutes. By car it is quite a lot quicker but that costs a lot more so it is up to you. Studio 6 is a 10 minute walk from a supermarket, restaurants, internet and a lot of other shops. Other cheap accommodation options in the suburbs where the busses run to the ski resorts are the ‘extended stay motel’ and the ‘Majestic Rockies Motel’. That is off the top of my head so that may not be their exact names. You can get discounted lift tickets from many ski shops and other places and the prices range from about US$40 to $50 which is a lot cheaper than in Colorado.
Snowbasin is a great resort but not really doable at the moment without a car. If I had a car I would still stay at Studio 6 and just do day trips there (it takes about an hour). Snowbasin doesn’t get as much snow as Alta/Snowbird and the quality isn’t quite as good but it does last a lot longer and it can definitely have bigger dumps at times when the systems come from a certain direction. It has great terrain for everyone and the lifts/facilities are sensational.
Powder Mountain is a resort where you can find powder for even longer but like Snowbasin, you will need a car to get there. I would do this as a day trip by car if you want to find powder many days after it has snowed. It would take a good 1 hour and 20 minutes from Studio 6 though so leave early.
I don’t know much about Park City/The Canyons/Deer Valley apart from the fact it is more expensive than Alta/Snowbird/Solitude/Brighton and the terrain and snow isn’t as good as at Alta and Snowbird. Park City is more of a ski resort town though unlike the Salt Lake City suburbs which don’t have great atmosphere/après ski. I am not saying don't go there but they seem to be like the Colorado resorts.
Wyoming
Only really two resorts to consider here, Jackson Hole and Grand Targhee.
Jackson Hole has a lot of extremely good things about it but it also has a lot of really bad things as well. Jackson Hole gets a very good amount of powder, its terrain is amazing, it is the most boarder friendly resort I have ever been to, it has access to some great backcountry, powder can be found inbounds all day and with some hiking more than 1 day and from what I have heard its nightlife is pretty decent as well. BUT… it basically faces south east so a lot of the terrain especially the lower slopes get hammered by the sun so the snow can be terrible if it hasn’t snowed for a while, the lift lines on powder days are horrible, the tram always has at least a 30 minute wait all day and the lift tickets (unless you are under 21) are almost as expensive as in Colorado. Jackson Hole is another resort which can easily be done without a car so that can save you money. To get to Jackson Hole you can either drive or catch a shuttle (leaves at 1pm daily) from the Salt Lake City airport for $68 each way.
Now I can’t help you too much with accommodation as I only know of the cheapest options. I stayed in the bunkhouse hostel in the town of Jackson Hole for $25 a night. There is a bus stop across the road, it costs $3 each way and takes about 30 minutes. Barely anyone stayed there so it was kind of private but it definitely is nothing special. Another cheap option is staying at the Hostel X at the base of the ski resort. You can get a private room with a king or bunk bed for US$58 a night or US$70 for 3 or 4 people in a room. So that is a really cheap option if you are a couple, a family or just have some friends with you and you can walk to the lifts. Lift tickets are around US$70 for an Adult but I think I paid $56 as I was under 21.
Grand Targhee is a resort which gets more snow than Jackson Hole, the quality is better and no one goes there. The terrain is ok but nothing compared to Jackson Hole. It is good to go to on big powder days or when you are just sick of Jackson Holes negative points. Grand Targhee can also be done without a car by catching the Targhee Express from Jackson Hole and the cost is very reasonable. I would only ever do day trips from Jackson Hole as it wouldn’t keep me interested for that long. I think it takes just over an hour to drive and I assume longer on the bus but you will be there by when the lifts open.
Montana
Prove me wrong if you can but I don’t think you can ski Montana/Idaho without a car. So I am just going to give advice assuming you have a car. On average, the Montana resorts get less snow than Utah and Wyoming and can get cold like in Canada. So it is not usually the place to go for deep powder but there are no crowds and the resorts aren't expensive which is good.
Big Sky is a decent resort for everyone (expert terrain needs a big base though) but they get no where near the 400 inches of snow a season which they report. So deep powder is rare there but it is pretty big and very quiet. You can get a dual ticket for Big Sky and Moonlight Basin which is right next to Big Sky but I wouldn't bother. Maybe spend a day there but we enjoyed Big Sky much more than Moonloght Basin. Staying on the mountain is expensive but there are some cabins between Big Sky and Bozeman (on your left) which are really cheap and there is a lot of accommodation in Bozeman for around US$40 and some even cheaper. Bozeman is around an hour from Big Sky but it is a lot closer to Bridger so from there you can make the decision where to ski that day. That is quite good as Bridger Bowl is a funny little resort. Sometimes it gets bugger all snow when every resort around it is getting dumped on and then out of no where a meter of snow will fall in 24 hours when everywhere around it is reporting like 15cm. I think Bridger holds the world record for the most snow falling in 36 hours or something.
Big Mountain which is close to the Canadian border has great tree skiing and nice scenery with the snow ghosts but it can get very foggy. Powder seems to last there for a couple of days as it is deserted which is what I really like about it. There is some reasonably priced accommodation (ie. US$40 a night) in the town of Whitefish which is about a 20 minute drive from Big Mountain. Lift tickets are around US$40 odd dollars.
I haven't been to Montana Snowbowl so I can't comment but many people seem to like the small resort. There are many other small Montana resorts that may be worth a day or two as well.
Idaho
Schweitzer in Idaho is very similar to Big Mountain in all aspects. Great tree skiing, cheap, quiet and untouched powder can be found on steep areas many days after it has snowed if you know where to look. There is a lot of cheap accommodation in Sandpoint (about 25 minutes away) at around $40 a night and lift tickets are once again in the US$40 range.
California
The Lake Tahoe area gets a lot of snow (although can be heavy), has some great resorts and it pretty cheap so I would definitely go there. I didn’t make it on my trip but I will definitely go there in the future. Another good thing about it is that many resorts can be done without a car if you want to take the cheap holiday option or you are too young that is great. From what I can see, the best way to get there is to fly or catch a bus to Reno and then catch a shuttle from the airport to South Lake Tahoe. If you are coming from SLC, Denver or LA i would definitely fly to Reno as you can get flights a week or so in advance for around US$100 to $130 which is not much more expensive than catching a greyhound bus and then a taxi to the airport. There are two different companies taking you to South Lake Tahoe from the airport that run all day and well into the night for around US$20.
Heavenly looks like a pretty good all round resort and I heard it has some great tree skiing. Unfortunately Heavenly is owned by Vail so lift tickets at the ticket window are as expensive as in Colorado BUT… if you plan on spending 5 or more days there then you can buy a season pass for like $319 on the net before the season starts. This pass includes 3 days at the other Vail resorts (Vail, Breck,Beaver and Keystone) but there are blackout days
Thanksgiving: Friday & Saturday, November 25 & 26, 2005
Holiday: Tuesday - Saturday, December 27 - 31, 2005
Presidents' Weekend: Saturday & Sunday, February 18 & 19, 2006
Cheapest pass is a College Season Pass at US$249 but you MUST "After purchase you will need to pick up your pass in person at a Heavenly Season Pass office, at which time you are required to show a valid government issued photo ID and proof of full-time college student status - either a notarized letter from your registrars office or a currently enrolled college-issued schedule indicating full time status"
While skiing Heavenly you stay in South Lake Tahoe which is at the base of resort. Apparantly there are many cheap motels with great weekly rates. One that I found was the Motel 6 which is a couple of miles out of town but it is on the bus route so you don’t need a car. Weekly rates start at US$30 a night, nightly rates during the week are still US$30 but the weekends seem to be around US$59 a night.
Sierra@Tahoe has great tree skiing with less crowds than at Heavenly. Season passes are very cheap starting at around US$200 so if you ski 4 or more days there over your time in Lake Tahoe then it is pretty cheap. You can catch a bus there from South Lake Tahoe so it is another resort you can do without a car.
Kirkwood gets the best snow in the Lake Tahoe area and apparently has a lot of good terrain. A season pass is also really cheap (like US$250 again) and lift ticket prices are reasonable if you only want to spend a day or two there. It can also be done by catching a bus from South Lake Tahoe.
Now I am not sure how easy it is to ski the resorts around the northern half of the lake without a car. If you don’t have a car and want to ski Squaw for a day (it gets a lot of snow and has steep terrain) you can catch a paddle steamer across the lake which is something like US$150 including the lift ticket. Alpine Meadows and Sugar bowl (season pass like $250) are meant to be alright but I don’t know too much about them or how to do it without a car.
Oregon
I would skip it unless you are in the area for some reason. I really liked Mt Bachelor but it is a long way from anywhere. Mt Hood is average but worth a day or so if you are in Portland.
Washington
I have never skied in Washington so you may need to help here as well. Mt Baker gets a huge amount of snow and has some good terrain but from what I can see you need a car. I have heard that Crystal and 49 Degrees North aren’t too bad either.
I hope that helps a little. Feel free to add to or edit this.
