Season Passes

A season pass is one of the smartest things you could possibly spend your money on. Most resorts offer an unlimited season pass for access to the mountain any time you want, regardless of Hallmark holidays or dead presidents’ birthdays. If you’re looking to save a bit of coin and don’t mind a few blackout dates, look for a tier two pass that won’t allow you on the hill when everybody and their mom is skiing—not the worst thing. A pay-as-you-go pass is great if you want to skip the ticket line in the morning but don’t plan on getting to the hill frequently enough to justify a full pass. If you’re a wanderer, one of the multi-resort passes will get you shredding at resorts around the country or even the world.

Multi-Resort Passes

Epic Pass
Adult 13+: $709
Unlimited skiing at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Canyons, Heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood, Afton Alps, Mt. Brighton, Arapahoe Basin, and Eldora. Also includes five days at Verbier, Switzerland and Les 3 Vallées, France, and five consecutive days at Arlberg, Austria.

Epic Local Pass
Adult 19+: $549
Teen 13-18: $419
Unlimited skiing at Breckenridge, Keystone, Afton Alps, Mt. Brighton and Arapahoe Basin; includes limited restrictions at Canyons, Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood, as well as 10 days at Vail and Beaver Creek with holiday restrictions. Restrictions for those resorts are 11/29 – 11/30/2013, 12/26 – 12/31/2013, 1/18/2014, 2/15-2/16/2014.

Tahoe Local Pass
Adult 19+: $459
Teen 13-18: $349
Unlimited skiing or riding at Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood, with holiday restrictions from 11/29 – 11/30/2013, 12/26 – 12/31/2013, 1/18/2014, and 2/15 – 2/16/2014.

Powder Alliance
Buy one unlimited pass to any included resort and receive three free days at the rest. Crested Butte, Snowbasin, Sierra-at-Tahoe, Stevens Pass, Timberline, Schweitzer, China Peak, Mountain High, Arizona Snowbowl, Mt. Hood Skibowl, Angel Fire, Bridger Bowl. Tickets are only valid on non-holidays, Sunday through Friday. Click here for applicable restrictions.

Tahoe Super Pass Gold
Adult 23-64: $789
Young Adult 13-22: $619
Unlimited skiing at Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows and season long access to Sierra at Tahoe. Plus, receive two free days at Whistler Blackcomb and 50% off at all resorts included in the Mountain Collective. Access to Sierra-at-Tahoe limited to Friday through Sunday, with holiday restrictions from 12/26 – 12/31/2013, 1/18 – 1/19/14, and 2/15 – 2/16/14.

Tahoe Super Pass Silver
Adult 23-64: $559
Young Adult 13-22: $409
Ski at Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows with holiday restrictions from 12/26 – 12/31/13, 1/18 – 1/19/14, 2/15 – 2/16/14. Season long access to Sierra-at-Tahoe from Friday through Sunday with holiday restrictions from 12/26 – 12/31/2013, 1/18 – 1/19/14, and 2/15 – 2/16/14.

Mountain Collective
Adult 13+: $379 (Limited stock)
Two days at Jackson Hole, AltaSnowbird, Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows, Whistler Blackcomb, Aspen/Snowmass and Mammoth. After two days, passholder receives 50% off lift tickets for the remainder of the season.

New England Pass
Adult 19-64: $1,055 (through Oct. 14)
Teen 13-18: $845 (through Oct. 14)
Hit Loon Mountain, Sunday River and Sugarloaf, for unlimited skiing as well as discounts at Big Sky, Brighton and Crystal.

Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus
Adult 18-69: $509
Teen 13-17: $379
Enjoy unlimited skiing at Copper and Winter Park/Mary Jane. Plus six days at Steamboat and three days at Monarch. Also enjoy five free days at Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand.

The Nor’Easter Pass
Adult 19-64: $1,129
Youth 6-18: $899
Unlimited skiing at Mount Snow, Jack Frost Big Boulder, Crotched Mountain, Attitash, and Wildcat.

Big 3 Season Pass
Adult 18-64: $1,919 (Regular Season Price)
Student 18-24: $1,499
Young Adult 13-17: $1,499
Enjoy unlimited skiing at Lake Louise, Sunshine Village and Mt. Norquay.

Lift Tickets

In this day and age, it isn’t unusual to see single day lift ticket prices in the triple digits. To ease the burden of pricey ski days, we turn to the solution to all of life’s problems, the Internet! Online resources like liftopia.com allow users to purchase date-specific lift tickets in advance, at discounted rates, for over 150 resorts in North America. If you’ve got a friend with a season pass, see what buddy lift ticket options they have, you may be able to score tickets for 25 or 50 percent off. Better yet, if you can befriend a liftie, shop tech, or any other resort employee, they might just have a couple of ticket vouchers lying around. Sometimes it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.

For more information regarding individual lift ticket and season pass pricing, follow the links below to the various regional ski trade organizations:

Colorado Ski Country
Midwest Ski Areas Association
Resorts of the Canadian Rockies
Ski Big 3
Ski Lake Tahoe
Ski Maine
Ski New Hampshire
Ski Oregon
Ski Utah
Ski Vermont
Ski Washington