Category Archives: lift tickets

You Get a Car! You Get a Car!

Posted on by
Reply

By SkiMum Paula

fullsizeoutput_496e

Oprah had the world on its feet at the Golden Globes.  The excitement on the morning news shows the following day was infectious.  Even my teenage daughter was howling in a voice an octave lower than her own, “You get a car! You get a car!” while devouring her pancakes.  She was a newborn when the giveaway aired in 2004, but still understands the magic and joy it inspired.  “That must have made the car maker famous,” she continued.  I cocked my head and smiled.  Like other childhood beliefs, I didn’t have the heart to tell her that Pontiac (awesome trivia/HQ question, by the way) went bust just a few years later.  Sometimes, the delight is more important than the detail.

What does this have to do with SkiMums?  Well, some would claim that many Wednesday mornings with fellow Mums feel like an episode of Oprah’s eponymous show.  Smart, active women sharing the slopes with other fascinating (and often, very funny) women.  It’s unclear whether it’s a girl power vibe, an adrenaline rush or the feeling of playing hooky, but Mums describe feeling electrified, inspired or just themselves on Wednesdays. “Ski therapy”?  Perhaps.  More likely, Mums are giving themselves a moment to recharge in order to charge ahead.

SkiMums also get FREE stuff.  Sadly, not cars.  The Bird, in particular, does this not because Mums are cheap (although we do love a great deal); it recognizes how important and influential we are.  Mums buy a lot of season passes, lessons, camps, ski team equipment, condos, spa packages, dinners and more.  We post pictures on social media influencing more people all over the world to discover the fun in our backyard.  When some suggested several years ago that Snowbird was too advanced and not as appealing to women, it started providing SkiMums group lessons to make sure we felt confident on the front and back of Hidden Peak.  Mountain School still sends its best women instructors each January to get intermediate-to-advanced SkiMums skiers — and, for the first time, snowboarders — to tackle different aspects of this unique terrain.  The Bird has also invited some daring Mums (read: pretty fast skiers on pretty dark runs) to ski Fresh Tracks, going up the Tram with Ski Patrol at 7:30am to do laps before the public opening.  In the summer, SkiMums have had the best deals on Snowbird’s All-Women Mountain Bike Camp which, we like to believe, they created because of clamoring by the Mums (“Teach us how to ride The Wasatch Crest and Big Mountain Trail!”).

This is what I know is true: SkiMums started as and remains a community, not a club, made up of incredible Wasatch Women who share a passion for the outdoors and want to share that feeling with others.  We laugh and cheer and, often, discover something new.  Such delight will get you much farther than any car.

 

Lift Tix for Less

Posted on by
Reply
img_5543

Red Lens at Snowbird by SkiMum Margit

Lift ticket deals area available at Utah ski resorts if you know where to look. Locals ski dozens (some hundreds!) of days a year, and most snowboarders do it without having a job. Just joking, just joking! For the rest of us, here’s how—

  • For 5th and 6th graders, there is NO BETTER DEAL than the SkiUtah Passport, which gives 3 lifts tickets PER RESORT (42 days!) to 5th graders and 1 lift ticket per resort (14 days) to each 6th grader for just $45 (even less before January 31st). You must purchase this online in advance. Allow a couple weeks depending on time of year.
  • Buy a season pass. Before you scoff, check out the early bird deals at various resorts and SkiMum Richelle’s post about economies of scale. For example, the Family 4-Pack at Snowbird (2 Adults, 2 K-12 kids) purchased in early August 2016 was $1999 and came with great lodging deals, Wasatch Benefits, which included Mountain Collective (half-off at a list of resorts worldwide; I use it at Jackson Hole), 3 lift tickets for Alta AND 3 lift tickets for Deer Valley for all four people plus other goodies like rental, clothing and food discounts. If Alta is typically $96/day (adults and kids over 12) and Deer Valley is $128/day (adults), the math looks pretty good for a week long trip and makes it easy to come back for a quick weekend or two! Note that there are some blackout dates on the Wasatch Benefits lift tickets (but you’re not skiing during those pricey times anyway, right?). The Epic Pass is another unlimited, very budget friendly option that will put an adult on the slopes of Park City resort and all other Vail-owned resorts for just over $800. No, you don’t need to create a spreadsheet to figure all this out, but it’s a great way to get the hubby involved, I’ve learned.
  • If you have a friend skiing the same resort another time during the season, consider doubling up on transferrable pass or punch card. You can buy a transferable 10-to-Share Card at Snowbird (there are others available at other resorts), use a few days and leave it for another friend or relative to when she visits. At $589 (chairs only; $689 with tram), this worked out to $59/day. It’s even cheaper during early bird pricing. Just make sure it’s a transferrable pass.
  • There are no, none, nada discount lift ticket in Park City stores. So, find them elsewhere. Salt Lake City ski shops – even grocery stores – have discounts on lift tickets but not always for all resorts. Call ahead or look online to check on discounts for Park City and Deer Valley resorts, in particular. Locals Tip: REI is on the way to Park City from the SLC Airport, has discount lift tickets, ski rentals and great gear, and all the money you spend goes toward your co-op rebate. Cha-ching!
  • Some resorts, including Snowbird, have great advance purchase deals online, and if you’re visiting someone who has a season pass, they likely can get a Friends & Family discount at the lift ticket counter for you. Locals Tip: Deer Valley, which caps the sale of tickets, will offer advance purchase (but no discount) the day before. On a powder day, this is key.
  • Package lift ticket deals are around, including the Salt Lake Super Pass, that gives adults lift tickets for 7 out of 14 days for all four Cottonwood Canyon resorts (Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude) for $540 ($78/day). It also comes with a number of other lodging and rental discounts.
  • Liftopia has discount lift tickets for the resorts, but you have to choose your dates (guaranteeing that your kid will be sick or winds will close lifts on that day). Great deals, but choose carefully.

Any other deals? Feel free to share them in the comments section.