How much money did you spend on ski vacation?

[Jersey Skier]

It's a ski vacation if my wife comes. That will include a day at the spa, a day of dogsledding, snowmobiling or some other non-ski activity and nice dinners. If it's solo or with my son it's just a ski trip. Ski and pass out. Burgers, bbq and beer.

Last year's gathering to JH was less than $1500. Ski vacation, more like $5-7K for a week.

 

[BC.]

I don’t like to track expenses...too depressing....but I do know that it is damn cheaper when I go by myself (with ski buds) than when the whole family goes.....both are totally worth it....but solo is a whole hell of a lot cheaper.

 

[crgildart]

When I'm on vacation I don't want to know how much money I'm spending. The point of vacation is to get away from real world problems, like money.

So then how much DID you spend? Sunset review figures LOL

We drive.. Go in with 3-4 other groups on a slopeside or walk to house and fill up the couches.. Also, scout troop would get a resort bunk house..
Lodging being about $50/night per person give or take.
Food is groceries and a kitchen with the shared ski house, pretty much same as it costs at home.
Lift tickets
Some resort shop swag, stickers and hats and stuff.

Lift tickets are the most expensive part.

 

[crgildart]

I don’t like to track expenses...too depressing....but I do know that it is damn cheaper when I go by myself (with ski buds) than when the whole family goes.....both are totally worth it....but solo is a whole hell of a lot cheaper.

THIS LOL!! Mom thinks the vacation is all about eating out at restaurants (albeit ones we don't have back home) and shopping for stuff we don't have room to pack.

Just going skiing or camping with the kids is way cheaper... although I do admit I like renting a nice RV sometimes.

 

[Beartown]

My 2019-20 trips:

-Steamboat with wife (6 days skiing)
airfare $365
slopeside lodging $1790
2 group lessons $265
who knows on food? Ate lunch in room every day, went out every night.
total: $2420 plus meals

-SLC with buddy (8 days skiing Alta/SB/Brighton/Solitude/DV)
airfare $600
cheap cottonwood heights hotel $1000
car $400
gas/groceries $90
ate out every night
total: $2090 plus meals

-Steamboat with 4 other dudes (6 days skiing)
ski in/out condo $973
airfare $492
car $129
gas/groceries $100
ate out most nights
total: $1694 plus meals

-Winter Park with wife (6 days skiing)
airfare $175
slopeside lodging $2082
2 lessons $268
lunch in room every day, ate out every night
total: $2525 plus meals

-Big Sky with buddy (6 days skiing)
airfare $502
slopeside hotel $1236
car $240
Dan Egan Steeps Camp $900
ate out for every meal
total: $2878 plus meals

Had Ikon pass for $900, so my total outlay for destination skiing 32 days was about $12,500 (plus meals). Worth every penny!

 

[Jim Kenney]

So then how much DID you spend? Sunset review figures LOL

We drive.. Go in with 3-4 other groups on a slopeside or walk to house and fill up the couches.. Also, scout troop would get a resort bunk house..
Lodging being about $50/night per person give or take.
Food is groceries and a kitchen with the shared ski house, pretty much same as it costs at home.
Lift tickets
Some resort shop swag, stickers and hats and stuff.

Lift tickets are the most expensive part.

On my longer trips (a few weeks to a few months) the lift tickets are the least expensive part. Motels, condo rentals, and dining-out become the big factors. But then I grew a family member to mooch from and eliminate some of that

My favorite lift ticket deal that I ever got that was available to the general public was about 7-8 years ago with Vince and Marcus in Vermont. We skied three week days at Mad River Glen when conditions were really good. We used liftopia for three-day tickets that cost us $75 each.

 

[slowrider]

I drive in a big circle of 500 miles. Hit every mom & pop resort in that distance. Estimated cost $500.00. With 6 local resorts I don't get out much.

 

[Moose32]

Not the question, but when you go to Europe and meet Americans, the conversation always gravitates to how cheap it is. Lift tickets at Kitzbuhel or Schladming at about $65 USD a day...compare that to a day ticket at Aspen or Vail.

Daily Lift Tickets (as of last year):
Vail: ~$209 USD
Wilmot: ~$65 USD
Kitzbuhel: ~$65 USD

Maybe I need to look at US pricing again for 20-21 season since the CEO of Vail Resorts (for example) is committed to making skiing accessible to everyone.

 

[Seldomski]

Increased lodging, dining, and ski school costs to keep the wife happy* on ski trips are priceless and do not count against the total budget for any ski trips.

*See also Happy Wife Care and Feeding Guide, sections 2 through 45,981,231 , especially all prime numbered pages and sanskrit footnotes, except for beige text but not tan or bone colored text. This post is in violation of said guide.

 

[Errand Wolfe]

Did a quick add up of costs on last Christmas trip. Moab 1 ->Flagstaff 3 ->Durango 2 ->Alamosa 1
Used points for some of the hotel nights and reciprocal days at AZ Snowbowl and Purgatory, skied 4 days total 2 AZ Snowbowl, 1 Purg, 1 Wolf
Had to buy 4 hotel nights ~500, fuel ~360, food/booze~350, Wolf Creek lift ticket ~80, some stickers and a pin ~30 I split the hotel and fuel with my girlfriend so total of 250+180+350+80+30
Roughly $900

 

[Après Skier]

@Moose32 Lodging and drinks are usually less expensive as well. Dining prices are on par with the US with one key difference: the mountain food in Europe is really delicious. The downside to the Alps is the off-piste skiing often involves hiring a guide which is fun but not cheap. Resorts in Europe can be crazy-busy so plan your trip to avoid school holidays. Personally I am wary of lower-elevation resorts and prefer more snow-sure high-elevation areas such i.e. Val Thorens. Although the lower-elevation villages are quaint and charming it’s a 13-hour flight for me to the Alps and after traveling so far I get cranky when there is not enough snow. Insider tip: Club Med in the Alps is a food and drink extravaganza with daily ski lessons (more like a free ski guide) included. Just check the TripAdvisor reviews because not all Clubs Meds are created equal.

 

[KingGrump]

Increased lodging, dining, and ski school costs to keep the wife happy* on ski trips are priceless and do not count against the total budget for any ski trips.

*See also Happy Wife Care and Feeding Guide, sections 2 through 45,981,231 , especially all prime numbered pages and sanskrit footnotes, except for beige text but not tan or bone colored text. This post is in violation of said guide.

Get to the root cause of the issue rather than just treating the symptoms. Shudda married a kick a** skier at the first go around and let her take care of you.

 

[Moose32]

@Moose32 Lodging and drinks are usually less expensive as well. Dining prices are on par with the US with one key difference: the mountain food in Europe is really delicious. The downside to the Alps is the off-piste skiing often involves hiring a guide which is fun but not cheap. Resorts in Europe can be crazy-busy so plan your trip to avoid school holidays. Personally I am wary of lower-elevation resorts and prefer more snow-sure high-elevation areas such i.e. Val Thorens. Although the lower-elevation villages are quaint and charming it’s a 13-hour flight for me to the Alps and after traveling so far I get cranky when there is not enough snow. Insider tip: Club Med in the Alps is a food and drink extravaganza with daily ski lessons (more like a free ski guide) included. Just check the TripAdvisor reviews because not all Clubs Meds are created equal.

I have skied Kitz (~5 days), Schladming (~2 days), Grindelwald (~10), and Wengen (~20 days). All of your points hold true for my limited sample size.
Seems off-piste is limited there. Lot's of folks, including me, on 165 SL skis.

 

[Choucas]

I'll done a vacation ski trip from the US east coast to the west or Europe every year since 1967. Sometimes 2 or 3 or more. I did it on the cheap for the majority of those years. I have been working hard to break the cheap habit. Europe remains my go to for the size of the areas, the variety, the lodging, and the food. If it was just about the snow, I'd go to western US or Canada. To me, Europe provides the best all around value, particularly lodging and lift tickets. I now stay in 4 stars instead of no stars. I hire guides as needed. No more hard rolls, cheese, and salami in the backpack for lunch. Air fare is higher, and it's a bit longer ride from the US east coast than the US/Canada west.
Re: @Moose32's comment on limited off piste in Europe. It is unlimited if you know where to go and/or have a guide. The best off piste stuff is often in the "smaller" areas some of which are bigger and badder than places like Jackson . Yes, the piste skiers are all on sl's and carvers, which are a lot of fun on the groomers. I did get to the Dolomites in January 2020, but the 2020/2021 season will be my first miss in all those years.

 

[Eagle93]

My ski trips originate in MN and end somewhere in CO. Typically this is a 1x per year type of trip for me and various family members over the last several years. I'm going to include rough averages. We drive from MN to CO, particularly with multiple family members this makes it much more affordable and really doesn't add that much travel time, based on our location being 2-3 hours from airports and then avoids the rental car issue completely. Gas costs $300. Typically we'll spend one night in a hotel, usually somewhere in Nebraska on the way, cost $100.

Our trips usually involve us leaving on a Saturday and returning home the following Sunday, for 8 days total vacation. 2-3 days of travel, 4-5 days skiing, and a day or so of downtime, snowshoeing, shopping, etc. In the past, we've usually opted for a four-pack ticket somewhere and then sometimes added a single day at a different place. This year, we bought Winter Park midweek passes as a mostly comparably priced option, since four-packs aren't being sold. We'll ski at least five days. Cost $350-$500.

We'll rent a condo for our stay, sometimes slopeside, sometimes in the village, sometimes a little further out. Depends on the dates of the trip vs. cost. Typically, we're in the condo 6-7 nights and costs are around $1,000. Certainly, someone can spend less and they can also spend much more.

Food is a mix of condo cooking and dining out (other than this year). Cost varies as we've sometimes dropped $150-$200 on a celebratory or occasion meal, and we've also all dines on a $15 Stoufer's frozen lasagna.

All-in-all, I'd say our average trip is around $2,500 for 2-5 people. Sometimes (mostly recent) it's just my son and I, other times, it's my wife, daughter, and a niece as well. This year's trip, just after New Years trip is shaping up to look like right around that $2,500 mark.
Condo in Winter Park $1,050
WP midweek passes $900 (one adult, one young adult)
gasoline ~$300
hotel on drive out ~$100
food ~$300?

 

[Nathanvg]

As expected, you can spend a wide range on ski vacations and I personally have spent vastly different amounts on various trips. I didn't see a lot of really cheap trips posted so a few examples from my last decade:

• Aspen on 130 per person per day, 390 total (3 ski days): $80 in gas, 50 lodging (3 nights @50 split 3 ways in Glenwood springs), 2 $75 discount tickets to Aspen, one $40 to Sunlight. Breakfast was including in lodging, lunch was sandwiches. Dinner was pizza one night and two decent restaurants. Maybe $70 total. This was a new years trip.
• Keystone/Breck on 158 per person per day, 633 total (4 ski days): 150 flight, $33 rental car (minivan at 200 / 6 people), 140 shared condo. I had Epic pass so probably equivalent to 240 on lift tickets but even those without epic only paid about 320 with discount tickets. Lunch was sandwiches, one dinner out and most other meals in condo. Maybe 70 total. this was a Feb. trip.
• Solo WP/Abasin/Loveland on 208 per person per day, 625 total (3 ski days): Flights were paid for by work but would have cost about 150, rental car 60, cheap hotel 210, discount end of season lift tickets 160. Cheap take out for dinner, sandwich for lunch, free breakfast, 45 total.
• A few other deals
  • Ski in ski out at snowmass in April. 100/day lift and lodging included was a screaming good deal. Total costs about 200/day (flew to DEN, cheap 2wd, dinners out)
  • ski in ski out at snowbird in January 150/day lift and lodging included was a good deal. total cost about 320/day (flew to slc, shuttle to snowbird, dinners out, 3 day trip made per day pricey)
  • Fernie presdent's weeknd. Flying to US and driving across saves cash and everything in canda is cheap once there. total costs about 320/day. Most of the cost was the $450 flights and big condo.

I've done many similar cheap trips. Sharing lodging, renting 2wd, packing lunches and lift ticket deals are the main ways to save. When I splurge it's usually for ski in ski out lodging, longer/remote flights, peak dates and upgrading to 4x4 due to forecast.

 

[Blue Streak]

Man, I live here, and I can’t ski as inexpensively as you guys. My hat is off to you.

 

[pete]

Our main family trip has been to Steamboat for the last ~20 yrs.

Missed one year due to a wedding, this year due to Covid. We used to fly when deals were more common but once our youngest started to go, which coincided with increased air fares that changed flying from under $1K for 4 to nearly $2K for 5 and limited bags so we now drive from Iowa.

Typically costs run mostly for 8 nights at the resort, 1 night in either Nebraska or Wyoming:

Travel (driving) $250
1 night hotel: $100
slopeside lodging $2500, 4bdrm 3 bath Condo with pool and hot tub (we use well)
2-4 lessons $268 (handy too as one can often pick up a add on lift for $35)
Lift tickets: Ikons at ~$630 each, I had full pass as I try and hit the boat twice.
Food/Meals: we typically eat in, but do several dinners out and lunches out so this isn't much an adder. Extra lifts add ~$250

(not counting meals nor lessons other than added lift costs of $70)

Avg for 5, 9 nights with 7 days skiing sits around around $1200 each. If I add in extra for meals out .. under $1300 each.

I could cut costs a bit but the unit is 60yds from the lift and large which gives us a lot of flexibility to add a relative from Fort Collins or elsewhere if they wish to stay with us.

 

[sbooker]

I'm from a sub tropical area of Australia. My wallet often regrets me falling in love with skiing.
I am one of a family of four but I'm the one responsible for paying for our ski trips. If we go in peak season (which lines up with my kids school holidays) I regularly spend over $20000 on a three week holiday. $8000 to $10000 can be made up by airfares.
Our skiing adventures have taken us to Japan, New Zealand, Canada, US, France, Austria and Italy. We always have a short trip locally during our winter but even that requires two hour flight and longish drive so that isn't cheap either.
Whilst expensive I wouldn't swap the holidays we've had for anything. The memories are priceless. My kids will often refer to "that time we got stuck in Sun Valley because of the blizzard" or "that time we skied in the Dolomites and got a photo with the World War One cannon" etc. We always bookend or breakup the skiing with a city break to the likes of Tokyo or Vancouver or LA or Munich. If it isn't a city break we'll do a visit to a national park like Yellowstone or Arches.
I plan on another ski holiday as soon as we are allowed to leave our island prison.

 

[Guy in Shorts]

Moving to ski country to save money skiing probably cost me about $1000 per day of additional skiing. What every money you have to spend to ski is worth it.