Aspen season passes = $1700 (OUCH!!!!!)

Aspen Daily News
Printed From: Aspen Daily

Preparing pocketbooks for ski season

Christine Benedetti - Aspen Daily News Staff Writer

Tue 08/15/2006 11:01AM

It may be mid-August, but ski season is creeping back into the conversations and minds of locals and visitors. The early purchasing session for season passes to Aspen Skiing Co.'s four areas started Monday and runs through Sept. 8, which makes it decision time for those determining how to fund their fixes. Early season prices for unlimited skiing and snowboarding are $1,649 and one-day-a-week and two-day-a-week prices hover around $800. An Aspen Chamber Resort Association discount, for employees of chamber members, can knock off several hundred dollars; a premier chamber pass, purchased super early season, is $1,179. For those willing to put in the effort, there are other, cheaper alternatives. Volunteering for SkiCo, in a variety of forms, is a popular way to pay for a pass. Boot-packing Highland Bowl, as in hiking up it repeatedly to make tracks for the onslaught of hikers to follow this season, is one way of working toward a season ticket. "As soon as the snow starts flying, they're out," said SkiCo spokesman Jeff Hanle. While a pass isn't handed to bowl volunteers on their first ascent, accruing time over weeks is the intent, and it is possible to earn an entire pass with enough hours. Mountain ambassadors can earn a pass by performing tasks such as greeting riders at the mountain's base, posting up in information booths and doling out cookies to hungry visitors. Monitoring the Town Race Series by checking gates and helping with course assembly for the winter's weekly event are other options. Likewise, working for the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club offers opportunities for volunteers to earn a season pass. Season pass-holder numbers are not released by SkiCo, but Hanle said the average premier pass holder hits the mountain 34 times each season. However, he added that there is a large number of pass holders on the slopes more than 100 days each year. An early season premier pass holder skiing 120 days will average to slightly less than $10 per day. A premier pass holder (purchasing regular-season prices) skiing 30 days averages to $66 daily. SkiCo offers 15 different types of season. And because SkiCo's mountains are in the White River National Forest, earning your turns -- hiking up on one's own accord -- is allowed. Vail Resorts has not released its 2006-2007 season pass prices, but last season's unlimited pass for its ski areas (Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone and Breckenridge) was $1,699 and its unlimited merchant pass -- similar to Aspen's chamber discount -- was $769. All Vail Resorts' employees receive a pass, and those participating in the Community Guest Service program (like Aspen's ambassador program) also earn a season pass, according to Vail spokeswoman Jen Brown.

christine@aspendailynews.com

PS: Now is the time to buy gear