Best in the West Lift Ticket Deals (post turkey day)

Hey everyone,  hope you had a great holiday, it sure was nice to have some turkey, stuffing, and all things calorie-heavy last week.

While the east coast is still waiting on a cold snap and more snow, there are many areas out west that have great ski conditions, and below are some of the best discount lift ticket deals available this week.  There are a bunch of new resorts, and keep an eye on our site as more will be loading in the next week or two.

Colorado Lift Ticket Deals

• Arapahoe Basin lift tickets – Tuesday 12/01 for $20 (59% off)
• Copper Mountain lift tickets – Tuesday through Friday for $54.99 (15% off)
• Crested Butte lift tickets – All dates until 12/16 for $45.99 (22% off)
• Keystone Ticket + $15 Lunch Credit until 12/20 for $60 (33% off)
• Loveland lift tickets – All dates until 12/11 for $29.99 (35% off)
• Monarch lift tickets – Midweek for $43.99 (18% off)
• Ski Cooper lift tickets – All dates for the next few weeks for $34.99 (17% off)
• Sunlight lift tickets – Friday the 4th for $28.99 (42% off)
• Winter Park lift tickets – Friday the 4th for $75 (18% off)

Utah Lift Ticket Deals

• Brighton lift tickets – Most dates this week for $39.99 (31% off)
• Snowbird Early Bird Special – Most dates through December 24th for $39.99 (44% off)
• Solitude lift tickets – midweek for $49.99, weekend for $52.99 (19% off)
• The Canyons lift tickets – until 12/18 for $54.99 (30% off)

Idaho Lift Tickets

• Sun Valley lift tickets – most dates for $49.99 (11% off)

Wyoming Lift Tickets

• Grand Targhee lift tickets – most dates in Dec, $23-28.99 (42% off)
• Snow King lift tickets – Wednesday 12/9 for $15 (25% off)

New Mexico Lift Tickets

• Angel Fire lift tickets – most dates after 12/12 for $49.99 (15% off)
• Red River lift tickets – 12/4-12/6 for $35 (43% off)
• Sipapu lift tickets – Saturday 12/5 for $15 (62% off)

California Lift Tickets (including So Cal and Lake Tahoe)

• Alpine Meadows lift tickets – 12/5 and 12/6 for $49.99 (28% off)
• Mt. Baldy lift tickets – Tuesday 12/1 for $30.99 (43% off)
• Sierra Summit intro package – Saturday 12/5 for $57 (33% off)
• Homewood – Saturday 12/12 for $29.99 (45% off)
• Diamond Peak lift tickets – Saturday 12/12 for $39.99 (18% off)

Alberta lift tickets and British Columbia lift tickets

• Banff, Lake Louise, and Sunshine lift tickets – most dates through December for $66 (save 13%)
• Big White lift tickets – Saturday the 5th for $55 (18% off)
• Silver Star lift tickets – Saturday the 5th for $55 (18% off)

Have fun out there!

 

Twittering ski deals in your favorite region

Tweet Tweet!  With folks like John Stewart talking about Twitter, you know this thing has hit the main stream.  Many of you may remember the Liftopia Twitter account, which is gaining some momentum slowly in followers.  This is a great way for folks to find out about all things here at Liftopia headquarters… but what about deals in YOUR region.

I mean, it is all well and good if Liftopia has a lift ticket deal to Park City next week, but it doesn’t help you if you are interested in New York ski resorts, Michigan ski resorts, or any other place that doesn’t have easy access to ski resorts in Utah (unless you have a private jet, but something tells me if you do, you aren’t buying on Liftopia).
We wanted to come up with region-specific Liftopia Twitter accounts, so that if you only want to hear about deals in New Mexico and Quebec, you can do so.  Here is the list, and hope these help you find some more great ticket deals.

• Our main Twitter account: http://twitter.com/Liftopia
• Colorado: http://twitter.com/Liftopia_Co
• Lake Tahoe: http://twitter.com/Liftopia_Tahoe
• Michigan: http://twitter.com/Liftopia_MI
• Wyoming/Montana: http://twitter.com/Liftopia_WY_MT
• New Mexico: http://twitter.com/Liftopia_NM
• New York/New Jersey: http://twitter.com/Liftopia_NY_NJ
• Pennsylvania: http://twitter.com/Liftopia_PA
• Quebec: http://twitter.com/Liftopia_QC
• Utah: http://twitter.com/Liftopia_Utah
• West Virginia: http://twitter.com/Liftopia_WV
• Southern California: http://twitter.com/Liftopia_SoCal
• New England: http://twitter.com/Liftopia_NE
• British Columbia/Alberta: http://twitter.com/Liftopia_BC_AB
  

Enjoy!

Holiday lift ticket cheer (discounts)

So, here at Liftopia we like to explain to folks not only that we have great deals, but why we get them.  One of the most difficult times of year to get discount lift tickets ANYWHERE is during Christmas week.  We have been talking with many of our resort partners, however, and it turns out that many people spend Christmas Day celebrating and spending time with their families.  Soooo, we have some great ski ticket deals on lift tickets, skiing packages, and even some rentals thrown in there for good measure.

So why not celebrate and make it a white Christmas by getting out on the slopes?  Here are some of our best deals for the holiday week:

New York:

Windham Mountain – $28.99 on 12/25 – save 42%!
Greek Peak Learn to Ski/Ride – $19.99 on 12/25 – save 41%!
Whiteface – $47.99 on 12/25 – save 35%!
Whiteface Beginner Package – $77.99 on 12/25 – save 26%!
Windham Learn to Ski/Ride Package – $52.99 on 12/25 – save 20%!

Colorado:

Arapahoe Basin – $25.00 on 12/25 – save 62%!
Loveland – $25.00 on 12/25 – save 55%!
Ski Cooper – $33.50 on 12/25 – save 20%!
Keystone Lift Ticket + Ski Rental Combo – $106.99 on 12/25 – save 11%!
Durango 2-day pass – $119.99 starting 12/25 – save 10%!

New England and Quebec:

Ragged Mountain – $27.00 on 12/25 – save 54%!
Wildcat Mountain – $32.50 on 12/24 – save 50%!
Jiminy Peak – $35.00 on 12/24 – save 37%!
Crotched Mountain – $29.99 on 12/25 – save 33%!
Gunstock – $36.99 on 12/24 – save 32%!
Pats Peak – $28.99 on 12/24 – save 28%!
Bolton Valley – $28.99 on 12/24 – save 26%!
Jay Peak Resort – $50.00 on 12/25 – save 23%!
Waterville Valley – $54.99 on 12/25 – save 15%!

Mont Sainte Anne – $44.00 (USD) on 12/25 – save 16%!

Utah:

Powder Mountain – $45.00 on 12/25 – save 20%!
Park City Mountain Resort – $67.99 on 12/25 – save 20%!
Sundance Resort – $40.00 on 12/25 – save 11%!
Snowbird 2-day pass – $115.00 starting 12/25 – save 20%!

The Canyons – $59.99 on 12/25 – save 26%!

New Mexico:

Angel Fire – $49.99 on 12/24 – save 15%!
Sipapu – $32.99 on 12/25 – save 15%!
Taos Ski Valley – $56.99 on 12/25 – save 14%!
Red River Ski and Ride – $50.99 on 12/25 – save 12%!

West Virgina:

Canaan Valley – $19.99 on 12/24 – save 33%!

Michigan:

Shanty Creek Resorts – $19.99 on 12/24 – save 56%!
Caberfae Peaks – $14.99 on 12/25 – save 64%!

Southern California:

Mt. Baldy – $49.99 on 12/25 – save 22%!
Mt. Baldy Learn to Ski Package – $57.99 on 12/25 – save 16%!
Mt. Baldy Learn to Ride Package – $67.99 on 12/25 – save 14%!

California Lake Tahoe:

Boreal 2 for 1 Ticket Deal – $52.00 on 12/25 – save 50%!
Bear Valley – $46.99 on 12/25 – save 20%!

A snapshot of early season discount lift tickets…

Sooooo, since the season is off to a start, here are some of the latest and greatest deals on discount lift tickets we have on our site.

Utah Ski Resorts
Snowbird: $39.99 (36-44% off) from now until Dec 25th.
Park City: $29.99/$39.99 first couple weeks of Dec
The Canyons: $43.99 (about 40% off) most dates in Dec

NY/NJ
Windham: $23.99 (54% off) Dec 7-25th
Whiteface: 31-37% off all of December

New England
Smuggs: $28.99 (34% off)for Turkey day weekend and many deals in Dec
Ragged: $23.99 (51% off), Turkey day weekend through Dec 24th
Crotched: $39.99 (22% off) Turkey day weekend
Gunstock: $15 (69% off) first weekend in Dec
Waterville Valley: 31% off most weekdays, 12-14% off weekends in Dec
Wildcat, $28.99 (55% off) most sundays all season

New Mexico
Sipapu: $4.99, this weekend…
Taos: 14% off starting Dec 20th
Angel Fire: 15% off starting Dec 20th

Colorado
Crested Butte: 17-19% off first two weeks in Dec
Ski Cooper: 14% off weekends in Dec
Keystone, lift ticket + rental package: $99, now until Dec 13th
A-basin: 10-20% off most dates

MI
Caberfae Peaks: $12 first weekend in Dec

PA
Shawnee Mtn: $21.99 (56% off) first weekend in Dec

Sipapu, NM opens this weekend, ski for oh, $4.99 on Liftopia

Sipapu is one of our newest partners this season, and they just loaded up some early season deals.  To start out with a bang, they have tickets for their opening weekend (this Sat/Sun) for $4.99. Buy your Sipapu lift tickets on Liftopia, and have a great weekend.

I wish I were in NM so that I could jump on this deal myself.  They have some more crazy deals throughout Nov and Dec, so keep checking back.

Have fun!

Some press from our friends at Firsttracksonline.com

It is always great for us to have some exposure in the “dedicated to ski” media space, so we are very happy about a great article written in First Tracks Online this morning.

It does feel like we are building some momentum for this season, but we still have a lot of work to do to improve our site (and more importantly our lift ticket deals).

The folks at First Tracks are based out of Salt Lake City, and just to rub it in my face, they sent over some photos they took of opening day at Snowbird…

Not bad for opening day...

How jealous are you?  If you have been out on the hill already this year, feel free to send us some photos and we will post them up for you.

Remember, Snowbird has an early season special on Liftopia, $39.99 for lift tickets (40+% off) until December 25th.  They can sell out, however!

Arthur Frommer knows his stuff…

…so it is an honor for us to have him do a quick blog post about us, stating “The ski season is about to begin, and Liftopia is the most exciting new ski website I’ve seen in years“.

We will keep working hard to improve the site, but it is fun for us to have someone like him stumble upon what we are doing.

Late season Loveland, Arapahoe Basin, and Snowbird lift tickets

And you thought the season was over!

We have some great deals out there at the handful of resorts that are still open. And we’re pleased to announce that we recently added Loveland in Colorado to our list of resorts that sell discount lift tickets.

Loveland is just around the corner from Arapahoe Basin, so if you can, get up there for a weekend and try both out. In addition to these Colorado resorts, the amazing amount of late season snow in Utah has allowed Snowbird to extend their season until at least Memorial Day (with rumor having it that they could be open through the 4th of July holiday…).

Here are our best deals for this weekend:
Arapahoe Basin on Saturday, May 3rd for only $23.99

Loveland on Saturday as well, for just $33.99

Snowbird this Saturday for only $39.99

The snow will be gone before you know it, so be sure to take advantage while it is still here. Have fun out there!

Superbowl Sunday – Fewer Skiers, Bigger Discounts

The weekend of the Superbowl is a notoriously slow weekend in the ski industry. To try and entice you guys and gals to get off the couch and onto the slopes, our resort partners are offering some killer discount lift tickets. Here are some of our best:

This Week (mid-week deals to warm you up):
Mountain Creek – $24.99/Day (you save 49%!)
Pats Peak – $22.99/Day (you save 40%!)
Bolton Valley – $21.99/Day (you save 31%!)

Saturday 2/2:
The Canyons Resort Park City – $55.99/Day (you save 29%!)
Mt. Baldy – $41.99/Day (you save 29%!)
Mountain Creek – $49.99/Day (you save 19%!)

Sunday 2/3:
Wildcat Mountain – $24.99/Day (you save 58%!)
Bolton Valley Resort – $24.99/Day (you save 55%!)
Whiteface – $45.99/Day (you save 31%!)
Gunstock Mountain – $42.00/Day (get it? $42 for Superbowl 42? anyways, you save 29%!)
Waterville Valley (new resort!) – $51.99/Day (you save 15%!)
Park City – $66.99/Day (you save 15%!)

Saturday 2/2 or Sunday 2/3:
Ragged Mountain – $37.99/Day (you save 32%!)
Arapahoe Basin – $46.99/Day (you save 19%!)
Powder Mountain – $45/Day (you save 15%!)

As always, to take advantage of these deals, just go to Liftopia.com.

It’s Official – US Ski Lift Tickets Most Expensive in the World

Here’s the inside scoop on an upcoming press release – you heard it here first.

***

For the seventh consecutive year, independent ski area research company Snow24 plc, based in Scotland, Great Britain, has published its exclusive comparison of six-day lift ticket prices worldwide. As in previous years, US resorts lead the world in headline lift ticket prices with Vail selling the world’s most expensive peak season six day lift ticket at $552. The cheapest ticket found was offered by Parque Caviahue in Argentina, at only $28.70 for six days.

The World Lift Ticket Price Report, sponsored by Liftopia.com, compares the high season, non-discounted prices of ski passes at more than 550 ski areas in 40 countries* around the world in US Dollars, as well as in European Euros and British Pounds.

Although Vail has topped the price table for some years, a basket of 50 US resort prices has for the first time seen the average price of a US ticket drop from the most expensive in the world to fourth place behind Australia, South Africa and the world’s first indoor ski resort, Dubai. The low value of the Dollar also means that for international guests, US skiing is the most affordable in recent memory, and The World Lift Ticket Price Report shows how prices in Europe and North America have moved closer together as a result.

With the Canadian dollar now virtually equal in value to the US Dollar, the price advantages of travel to Canada, which a few years ago meant substantial savings, have now apparently vanished. The Ski Big 3 Pass that covers Sunshine, Lake Louise and Mount Norquay resorts around Banff is one of two Canadian ski areas in the top 10 most expensive. Unlike Vail, which offers discounts of up to $235 for advance internet buyers visiting low season, the price for the Ski Big 3 ticket only drops a few dollars outside high season, making it the Northern Hemisphere’s most expensive lift ticket outside holiday periods.

“It’s important to note that few people will actually pay these maximum prices,” said Report Editor Patrick Thorne, “Though US resorts come out as the world’s most expensive on paper, the reality is that places like Vail have the most sophisticated pricing models with dozens of price combinations and many ways to pay much less. A recent report in the Vail Daily News said that while Vail had the most expensive day ticket of $92, in reality last winter it averaged $47 per day ticket sold. In other parts of the world prices are often set at one rate all winter, so even though you may get a better price at the ticket window during high season, you’re less likely to find much of a saving off of that at any time.”

Evan V. Reece, co-founder of Report sponsor Liftopia, Inc., agreed. “There are ways to save on lift tickets if one is flexible and knows where to look. Skiers and riders can find substantial savings by traveling during off-peak times, or by booking a package deal. If someone is willing to commit in advance to a specific date, they can often find lift tickets up to 60% off at an increasing number of resorts through Liftopia.com as well. Resorts use the platform to safely discount their unsold inventory, attracting incremental business and helping folks ski more than they would otherwise.”

On an international level, formerly expensive ski nations like Germany and Japan are now amongst the most affordable, and Switzerland has relinquished its position as Europe’s most expensive lift ticket. Remarkably the most expensive lift tickets for single resorts in Europe are to be found in Spain, where price inflation has taken the cost of a six day pass at the continent’s most southerly ski resort, Sierra Nevada, to $320.

Amongst the world’s cheapest destinations, at less than $150 for six days, were resorts in Iran and the former Balkan war zones of Kosovo, Macedonia and the 1984 Winter Olympic city of Sarajevo. Smaller Canadian resorts also made it in at the bottom of the price scale – giving the country the greatest range in ticket prices – with Mont Habitant in Quebec coming in at $149.90. It has three lifts including a quad chair.

The average world six-day, high-season, lift ticket price is: $258.00

The average US six-day, high-season, lift ticket price is: $365.73

“Overall ski resorts offer excellent value for money in all price bands,” said Patrick Thorne, “If you think about the increased power costs worldwide, exacerbated by the need to spend ever more on snowmaking to ensure maximum opening, increasing labor and insurance costs, and the endless battle to remain competitive in a global market, it’s remarkable that price inflation is kept so low.”