So, instead of raging all day long against Vail or Peak or Alterra, why not just go ski somewhere else. For starters, it seems like a much more constructive and healthy option than to keep going round and round. If I don't like Peak then I wont go to Mount Snow. I will go to Jiminey Peak instead. If I dont like Vail, then I wont go to Stowe. I would ski at Sugarbush or Smuggs instead. And if I were not a fan of Alterra, then I would not ski at Loon and ski at Cannon.
Living in the DC area, Peak has a monopoly on reasonable day trips. All other ski areas in PA, MD, and WV are more than 2 hours away (closer to 3 hours or more).
My family of four has had Advantage Cards for the past 10 years, which got us 40% off tickets all season long. We do about 5 one day trips a year to these areas and a couple of longer weekends to other areas (Canaan, Gore, Colorado, VT). I paid approximately $1000 in tickets for the four of us including the purchase of the Advantage Cards. Next year to ski the same will cost over $1400.
What does this mean for my family. Not really sure. I know I will ski less at the Liberty, Whitetail, and Roundtop next year. We will try to do more weekend trips to other areas, but will need to figure out how all the extra costs of lodging/food/gas/dog sitter and other kids events and sports will influence our number of ski days. What I do know, is that it will cost us more to ski next year than it did this year.
I really feel this is a very bad for the overall health of the sport. For where I live, there is now not a place for a family to be introduced to the sport in a reasonable way. I see families going skiing one day a year, but not more due to the costs. Most people are not going to drive 3 hours each way for a ski day.
Add in the Timberline fiasco, and it has really become a bad time to be a Mid Atlantic/DC area skier.