Buy Your Ski Season Pass Early
Many ski areas sell season passes in the spring at a much cheaper price than they will sell them for next fall and winter.
Some ski resorts that sell season passes for next year at a discounted spring price allow you to use the pass for the duration of this year's skiing. Others tack on a minimal fee for the rest of the spring skiing days, if you buy next year's ski pass now. Either way, if you really like a particular ski area and ski it often, a season pass is the way to go.
Calculate the Costs
It doesn't take many ski days to cover the cost of a season ticket. Most areas offer a menu of passes from a pass which includes every day of the season to a pass with limited blackout days, like holidays and school vacation weeks. The more blackout days the cheaper the season pass. These options allow you to choose the best value for your work/play calendar.
There are season passes available on a family basis and on an individual classification, usually from senior to child. If you do the math and figure out the time spent on the snow for everyone in your family, you may save more individually than on a family ticket.
Consider Transition Years
Make sure you consider transition years i.e. the years going from child to junior, from junior to teen and from teen to adult. I say this because one year I bought a season pass for my daughter during the spring sale a week before her she turned 13. Between the spring price and the legitimate child (12 and under) ticket I saved several hundred dollars over the course of her skiing that year. The same would hold true for the teen to adult transition year.
Shop, Save and Ski
If you are torn between two resorts you love, consider buying a season pass at both. Based on your work/play ratio, get the least inclusive cheaper pass at the resort that has the highest daily rate and the non-limited ski pass at the cheaper resort. This works best if you need to consider kid's school breaks, because you will have one unlimited area while the other is blacked out and selling tickets at high holiday rates.
Two or More Ski Passes for the Price of One
Some areas that are part of multi-mountain corporations offer season passes good at all or most of their properties. Some other areas partner up with other resorts and offer passes for both ski areas at a reduced price. There are often sales affiliated with gasoline or retail outlets and, of course, check out online savings for multi-day tickets. Spending a little time researching and you often find an area where you won't have to pay retail prices.
