I bet a lot of the families getting days in are sacrificing any notion of retirement or a financial safety cushion to make it happen for themselves and their children.
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A lot of the issues you cited are NYC specific affordability issues and NYC specific geographical issues with proximity to and demand for skiing, and aren’t really germane to the point I was making. But sure, I’ll play.Your from new york area.....where are these cheap ski mountains? And how close does everyone live from one? And how much cheaper are they on weekends and or holidays? Families new to skiing are not privy of this and just how much differences in money are we talking about?
Living in/around or near enough NYC there isnt much choices at all for a reasonable/practical day trip. And anything within a practical drive (say Poconos or Catskills) is around the same expense weekends and holidays when most people will be able to go. Its also for the most part an overcrowded zoo.
Most first time families in this area will find a huge expense regardless which hill they go to. Its got to be close enough to drive to in a reasonable time frame. probably 2 hrs about at most may be 2and half.
The lift tickets are outrageous. Forget golf...its not relevant.
Lift tickets, rentals, gas tolls, food, proper clothing, perhaps lessons, etc etc,,,its an expensive daunting task. And at first it comes with little to no reward vs the expense and task involved. Very many one timer families never go back. It takes experienced dedicated parents (like I did) to get the kids hooked. It also takes a lot of time and money. This idea that skiing is cheap is just wrong. It never really was. It was never the poor mans sport so to speak. Yes maybe the ski bum with no family but not for the average family.
And the price of tickets that gone up since covid seems to never have come back down. Its a bad scenario. The resorts dont care because they are getting the fees. Prhaps much has to do with all the money so many collected during covid but eventually that will dissipate and only the more financially sound families will be able to afford it. When the demand drops the prices will again too imo.