Such a deal
Now’s the time of year where every Colorado Ski resort is offering up discounted passes. In the old days, there were barely any discounts – then ski resorts discovered that if they sold thousands of passes in advance at reduced prices, it really didn’t matter if it snowed or not: they already had their money and were earning interest on it. This development really changed the realities of skiing in Colorado particularly in Summit County. These days everyone has some sort of pass and while it means cheaper riding for all involved it also means more crowds and tremendous traffic – a mixed blessing to say the least. Tomorrow the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Expo comes to Denver, pretty much the last chance to get discounted passes for the season as a lot of the sales end this Sunday. It costs $12 to get in ($10 with this coupon) included with your ticket is a one year subscription to Ski, Skiing or Transworld Snowboarding Magazine. While most of us serious skiers and riders have already gotten or renewed our passes, if you haven’t this is the place for some one stop shopping. There are the usual suspects; Vail Resorts passes (which by the way – even if you don’t buy a pass you should pick up their SKE card as it’s free and provides direct to lift access which is handy on a powder day). Intrawest passes and Aspen Mountain with their Classic Pass will also be there along with a couple of others which you will not find elsewhere including a three day picture pass to Eldora (last year $79 – they don’t advertise this anywhere and only sell it at Denver locations) and Lovelands Unrestricted 4-Pak which is only $109 at the show (usually $119) and you get actual lift tickets that you can do whatever you want with. Last year I also bought a Telluride Card for $45 which entitled me to one free day plus further discounted tickets but unfortunately did not get to use it. The offerings change from year to year so don’t know who/what else might be available but almost every Colorado resort makes an appearance not to mention numerous Canadian and Alaska ski/cat and heli ops – it’s a good place to meet those kind of folks if you’re thinking about heading north. They also have a full gear and clothes sale but not sure you’ll find anything there that you couldn’t find at any Colorado Ski and Golf location. And don’t worry – even if you can’t make the show and didn’t pick up any passes there are always day tickets that you can buy at King Soopers or Safeway or pick up a Gold C Book from your kid’s PTA fundraiser or at Safeway but whatever you do if you live in Colorado you should never pay full price for a lift ticket – unless you feel your local ski hill needs some extra help…
