Blackcomb Mountain

My wife and I are avid skiers. I'm from cold country (Denmark), and she spent half her life on the mainland, which enabled her to work as a ski instructor. Whereas we might have once logged nearly 100 snow days a year, these days, it's not that easy getting to the slopes. Life on a tropical island thousands of miles away from the nearest ski resort makes it a little hard, y'know?

Last December, we spent our annual ski trip in beautiful Whistler, British Columbia. It cost the two of us $4,000 US for a five day stay. Hefty? Sure, but it was ok when we were DINKs (double income, no kids). Unfortunately for our wallet, that's changing. So we're more mindful of money.

Headed down Cruiser Bumps on Blackcomb Mountain. My favorite run!

Here's what I found with a little research: strategy is everything when it comes to planning a ski vacation. Remember, you're not just considering the price of the lift ticket and ski rentals. You're factoring in air, ground transportation, and food.

GO OFF SEASON
Obviously, the Christmas holiday is going to be the busiest time. Try not to ski between December 25 and January 2 (as well as around the holidays for Martin Luther King, Jr. and Presidents' Day). Those are the priciest times for skiing, as well as (ugh) the most crowded.

The best time for winter travel is in the dead of winter, after New Year's and before Presidents' Day. School's in session, and people are staying home because they're broke after the holidays. Hotel rates during this "hidden" low season are about 20% lower than in peak season.

March is another good option, because that's coming up on late season. If you're lucky, you'll get a spring storm, which can add some nice, fresh powder.

THE COSTCO EFFECT
Buy in bulk. A multi day lift ticket can get cheaper the more days you add on. At Northstar at Tahoe, a one day lift ticket (in regular season) costs $69 this season, but a multi-day pass costs $61/ day.

Buying in bulk can also refer to group discounts. At many resorts, special rates are available for groups. Northstar at Tahoe requires 20 or more people, and advance reservations.

If you travel with others, you can also save on lodging. A condo is often cheaper than a hotel, and allows you to save on restaurant bills by cooking your own meals. We are fans of the Residence Inn Marriott in Whistler, which included a free daily breakfast with the condo rental. It's a newly built, ski-in, ski-out building, with an outdoor hot tub, and a rental shop downstairs. It's convenient, comfortable, and attractively priced. I highly recommend it.

Purchasing packages can result in a lower cost, too. "Save up to 20% when you buy lift tickets online with accommodations, rentals, or ski school lessons," according to the Whistler Blackcomb website.

Big White in Kelowna, Canada, offers a couple of kama'aina packages. A mid-January deal includes return airfare with Harmony Airways from Honolulu to Kelowna, 7 nights on-mountain accommodation, and a 6 day full mountain lift pass from US$987 per person.

BUY AHEAD
There seem to be a slew of deals (most of which require planning ahead) that each resort offers to make itself more attractive. For instance, Northstar at Tahoe offers lift ticket discounts if you buy through retail partners around Northern California. If you've got a friend, or if you travel often to California, this would be feasible for you.

The Village at Squaw Valley offers a fourth night and fourth day of skiing free through March 30, 2007- with certain restrictions.

Or, see what the hotel can do for you. We bought through the Residence Inn Marriott and saved a few bucks a day on the lift tickets. You have to purchase this three days in advance to get the deal.

CATCH THE SHUTTLE
Forget the car rental and save on gas and parking. It might be easier to catch an airport shuttle to the resort. The Colorado Mountain express charges $73 per person one way to take you from Denver International Airport to most places in Vail Valley and Beaver Creek.

Perimeters Whistler Express costs $67 CAD one way from Vancouver to Whistler. The Greyhound Ski Express is even cheaper, if you're willing to ride a bus. This ski season it's $19.93 CAD for an adult, one way ticket.

Once at the resort, many ski villages are relatively accessible by foot. Whistler Blackcomb and Big White are great examples of that. If you are too far from the main village in Whistler, you can catch the hotel shuttle to the action.

SHOP AROUND
Look at each resort's website for sales and promotions. The home page of most websites will try to hook you in with mention of some kind of deal. If you scroll down under the "Rates" section on most web pages, you'll see a section dedicated to "Deals" or "Specials" or some such.

Each place has something different to offer. Our favorite slopes are at Whistler Blackcomb, but we enjoyed Northstar at Tahoe more than we expected. While it doesn't have much by way of black and mogul runs, it did have a fun snowboard terrain park, including big half pipes, and some nice ungroomed runs through the trees which challenged us in a different way. We were thrilled to discover it offers a free one hour lesson every afternoon to anybody who wants it.

Fascinated with the terrain park at Northstar at Tahoe

Once we figured this out, we tried to make time (and energy) every day to attend a clinic. On one blizzardy afternoon, I ended up being the only one in class! What a score, since a private lesson there costs $120 an hour during regular season. All I ended up paying was a $12 tip to the teacher, who, by the way, was excellent.

Hope this helps, and have fun on your snowy escape!

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