It’s that wonderful time of year when resorts are flooding your inbox with dire warnings that pass prices are set to increase, special offers on three packs that will never be seen again, and multi-million dollar upgrades to snowmaking systems…truth is, if you’re buying your pass now you probably waited too long, the three packs aren’t much better than a Liftopia deal unless you’re looking at holiday weekends, and snowmaking upgrades don’t always result in more snowmaking. Just sayin’. But the beat goes on, the marketing execs are wondering what other deal will make you pull the trigger, and the GM is telling some guy from mountain ops that he’d better paint that shed before the snow flies, we can’t have customers seeing it like that, etc. etc….through it all, the only thing that you can actually bank on, is that the clock on the wall keeps moving and the season will be here without fail. If you haven’t made a pass purchase, today is price increase day at a lot of mountains and on a lot of package deals. If you can’t afford a pass, no worries, you came to the right place. Stick with us through the season and we’ll help you get whatever deals can be had. First thing you’ll want to do is find the nearest showing of this year’s Warren Miller movie. Now we all know these aren’t really Warren any more, but it is his legacy, and it does kick off the season. Most importantly, it usually comes with all sorts of freebies. For example, Chicago area, let’s say you go Nov 2 to the Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove. Tix are generally about twenty bucks and you get an assortment of freebies and two-fers at Tyrol Basin, Treetops, Bohemia, Granite Peak, Indian Head or Blackjack, and Lutsen, plus an early or late season free ticket to Steamboat. If you catch the flick in Sacramento, the deal isn’t quite as good but definitely still worthwhile with a 2-for-1 to Squaw Valley or Alpine Meadows, plus the Steamboat thing. East coast? Head to Stamford CT on November 10 and you’ll walk away with freebies for Sugarbush, Windham, Smuggler’s Notch, two free days of spring skiing at Jackson Hole, and the Steamboat deal. Heck, this is worth doing even if you have a pass. Last year some of the shows featured free beer from Moosehead, which isn’t the world’s best beer but it’s still better than a kick in the pants.
Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows photo above courtesy Warren Miller. It seems like we’re pitching for WME but we really aren’t. It’s just a fun night out and a good way to get a couple discounts.