Australian Ski Field Prices and Lines

morse on 25/06/2023 - 14:44
Last edited 25/06/2023 - 14:57 by 1 other user

So I’m a long time skier and have skied in many places including Australia, Canada, USA, Japan, Europe and NZ.

I haven’t skied in Australia for over 15 years, (I think my last couple of trips were mount Hotham) and had heard things had gotten bad with lines and prices, but saw this, thought ‘no way’.

Is it really this bad? Seems crazy that they sell so many tickets at such a high price. I remember it being bad in the 00s with long lines a front valley, but this picture looks extreme.

I’ve heard that a lot of USA resorts are now super expensive too.

How’s the skiing/boarding in Australia these days? For those who partake in it

Sports & Outdoors Ski

Comments

  • Pcosmic on 25/06/2023 - 14:46
    +1

    It's always been expensive. What're you on about?

    • morse on 25/06/2023 - 14:53

      Yes always expensive, but it seems likes it’s gone up steeply lately. Seems crazy when it’s also crowded with long lift lines and short runs.

      I’ve been going to treble cone and cardrona in nz mostly over the last 10 years and it’s significantly cheaper. The major resorts in the USA have doubled since pre pandemic.

      • [Deactivated] on 25/06/2023 - 15:00
        +3

        We have friends who are avid skiers & they make an annual pilgrimage to NZ due to better snow conditions than Aus.

        • morse on 25/06/2023 - 15:29
          +1

          Yep, that’s pretty much what we do (that darn COVID business certainly put a dampener on things for a couple of years), keen to get to Japan again too.

        • bamzero on 26/06/2023 - 10:16

          Except this year. Early in the season but only The Remarkables open so far.

          Was supposed to be going to Whakapapa, but just a nice view of rocks at the moment

      • Pcosmic on 25/06/2023 - 15:02

        Good ol media. It's doom & gloom news everywhere, hence the perception. It is relatively expensive as always

        • morse on 25/06/2023 - 15:33

          Yeah, that’s what I figured. News.com.au no less. I still don’t see the value proposition of going on a weekend though.

      • afoveht on 25/06/2023 - 15:16
        +1

        Yeah it's become insane. I don't go regularly any more - often a few years in between and shorter stints too. But every time I think how on earth did it get this expensive.

        • morse on 25/06/2023 - 15:30

          That’s what I was thinking. I can’t figure out if I’m just getting old or it’s substantially more expensive.

          • afoveht on 25/06/2023 - 16:48

            @morse: It's expensive. Throw in paying for kids and it's next level.

      • Ghost47 on 25/06/2023 - 15:20
        -1

        People need to find a way to pay off the huge amount of debt they are in, if they own a business it's called raising prices.

        • morse on 25/06/2023 - 15:32

          Totally, and running a ski resort is an expensive operation with limited sales period. I guess I just don’t see the value for the consumer with those massive lines.

          • Ghost47 on 25/06/2023 - 15:34
            +4

            @morse: Yeah fair enough. Sadly those lines don't really shock me, I haven't been to the snow in years now but the last time I went here in Vic it was extremely busy. Our population is booming and people like to go skiing and snowboarding even when the cost is becoming more prohibitive.

            It's like going to a night food market, it sounds like it'll be fun but then you end up waiting in queues for 20-30 minutes to spend $20 bucks for a BBQ beef rib and that's supposed to be a fun time? Yeah no.

            • morse on 25/06/2023 - 15:39
              +1

              @Ghost47: Yep it is exactly that. Sydney’s population is massive. I’m from there and not long before I left I was feeling the same with events where it’s good if it’s not insanely crowded, but if everyone shows up at the same time it’s miserable. I must admit I love my lower key GC life now, even though it has neither the proximity to the snow or as many food and entertainment options.

              • Ghost47 on 25/06/2023 - 15:46
                +1

                @morse: Even though Sydney's population is now lower than Melbourne's in my experience it feels 2-3 times as congested, I think because of how landlocked the city is. Sadly I think every city will become more and more congested starting with the two biggest cities then Brisbane and Adelaide and Perth thanks to immigration.

      • AustriaBargain on 25/06/2023 - 19:01

        Hasn't skiing always been a rich person hobby? Spending time at a ski resort wasn't something the average kid did when I was a kid.

        • morse on 25/06/2023 - 19:23
          +1

          I was exposed through friends a little bit wealthier than my family as a teenager. Also got involved through school (public), youth camps and then paid my own way. So not wealthy, though I was probably in the poorer end of skiers in my day. I even camped in tents and later shared units so it was $20-40/ person /night in the late 90s-00s. Most young people who work in ski fields are also not necessarily well off. There’s always ways to get cheap lift tickets if you’re on the in, but I don’t necessarily get it if you’re a middle class punter in the queues these days.

        • kiitos on 26/06/2023 - 08:10

          User name doesn't check out

    • AustriaBargain on 25/06/2023 - 19:00

      Yeah there's a reason Facebook doesn't even bother showing me ads for ski fields/lodges/etc. Can't get blood out of a stone.

  • FocusRider on 25/06/2023 - 14:51
    +2

    Don’t go on the weekend pretty simple.

  • Ghost47 on 25/06/2023 - 15:16
    +1

    It won't be anywhere near as good as Japan or Switzerland. As mentioned by FocusRider just go during the week when it's not school holidays and it will be a lot more bearable, unless of course you love being surrounded by people waiting in queues.

  • dtc on 25/06/2023 - 15:52
    +5

    Thredbo lift tickets were $109 in 2009 (just a figure I happen to know) and are $199 today. If they went up just by CPI inflation they would be around $160-165; but obviously ski field inflation is very different to CPI (eg lots more power, wages, materials) so probably around $180 to $200 isn’t an unreasonable increase

    So tickets today are not incredibly more expensive than in 2009 in real terms. However they were still very expensive in 2009 so that doesn’t really help!

    • morse on 25/06/2023 - 16:21

      Thanks for the comparison! I was hoping someone would remember previous pricing.

  • ozbargainsam on 25/06/2023 - 19:28
    +1

    It's stupid how expensive, inconvenient, and how few choices there are in-village which lead to massive mark ups in-season. I went to Perisher late August last season: $220/day lift tickets on the weekend - crazy. And the lines were massive.

    I've stayed at places <2 mins walk from lifts overseas (Snowmass, Whistler, Niseko) and they were cheaper than equivalent places in Jindabyne (if they even exist). And the quality of the snow is no comparison.

    I'm going again this Friday for a week to Perisher (school holidays, yay), but at least this year I have an Epic pass (bought at the lowest price). So let's see how the lines go.

    • morse on 25/06/2023 - 19:30
      +1

      This is exactly what I was talking about! Wishing you great snow and sweet turns!

      • ozbargainsam on 25/06/2023 - 19:32
        +1

        Thanks! Hoping most of the mountain's opened up by Saturday - which looks likely.

        • wittyusername on 26/06/2023 - 15:22

          How much did you lock in the Epic Pass for? I had one last year I swear for $799, but this year the cheapest I saw was $999. Which after seeing $650= for 4 days skiing I'm regretting not getting a bit.

          • ozbargainsam on 26/06/2023 - 17:08

            @wittyusername: $949, which I locked in in Feb. No idea how much it was for the same days if booked earlier but the last week of school holidays is $1270 if booked now, which is a bit over $300 savings.

  • thirtysixd on 25/06/2023 - 21:24

    Just go to NZ or Japan

  • Hardlyworkin on 25/06/2023 - 22:23

    Long lines and high prices at ski resorts the world over isn't something new, just News.com sensationalism rather than journalism.

    • morse on 25/06/2023 - 23:09

      I dunno, I think perhaps Australia is the worst for this despite the sensationalism. I wonder if our snow going population relative to our skiable terrain, and cost to quality of experience is most disparate , especially post pandemic.

  • H3R34TH4C0MM3NTS on 25/06/2023 - 22:41
    +2

    The Article says $234 for a single day lift ticket on a Sunday ??? WTF and that doesn't include getting there and all the other expenses. F3CK that obviously skiing in this country is no longer for the casual visitor. Sure the Value Proposition is just no longer there unless you have too much money to spend anyway. Time to find new hobbies or visit Hokkaido in Jan or Feb.

  • Scot on 26/06/2023 - 20:32
    +2

    Hi guys
    Do you know about
    https://www.epicaustraliapass.com.au/epic-australia-pass
    Really good valve if you ski a lot

    • Scot on 26/06/2023 - 20:34

      Sorry just saw already posted

  • BenMHarvey on 06/07/2023 - 07:55

    Unfortunately the prices do feel steep but as mentioned above they've always been higher.

    I always found it cheaper to get to NZ and do the club fields over there was always a cheaper and better experience in my mind.

    I previously did the 5 day any day pass for perisher as I found that to be better value as well could pick and choose the prime days rather than trying to scalp a pass when the Sunday was going to be crap.

  • raiamino on 10/07/2023 - 20:27
    +1

    Epic Pass is $900 or so, maybe $950 when it first releases, same as skiing 6 days. Plus you get 6 half price tickets for friends/family and then you get to ski all over the world. Single day tickets are for the unprepared. Although it only gets you Falls, Hotham, and Perisher. If you want Thredbo and Buller you need the Ikon Pass which is around $1200.

  • 2ndeffort on 18/07/2023 - 00:27
    +2

    I'm a ski tragic, have been for decades. I've skied all over the world but here in OZ I'm a lodge member at Mt Buller. I was up there over the weekend. The demographic here is changing. There are still vestiges of the old Ski culture we imported from European immigrants decades ago but things are changing.

    I became a lodge member back in the early 00's mostly because, with a young family and a mortgage, staying at the snow was just too expensive any other way. We found a lodge with a membership structure that didn't involve buying equity in the place off someone else, just an affordable joining fee, annual fees and a compulsory working bee over summer and I've been a member ever since. Skiing is now a pretty cheap holiday for me here in Oz:

    • I buy seasons pass in the September of the year before during the early bird period for $800 or so. I can ski every day of the season if i want to plus i get all sorts of discounts on other stuff. I also don't feel pressured if i am skiing and it rains or something else happens, I don't feel pressured to get the most out of an expensive day lift ticket.
    • I have all of my own gear, i don't have to rent anything. I take my gear and kit with me when i go skiing overseas in Feb each year as well. All of my kit I have bought during end of season sales either here in Oz or mail order from OS.
    • I keep all of my gear at the ski lodge either in lockers or on the lockable racks provided to members. I don't have to cart my gear to and from the mountain, it lives up there and an added bonus is that if i go up solo for a week I don't pay for the expensive oversnow rideshare shuttles from the carpark to accommodation. I carry a small bag of basics and another bag of food and I can walk up the hill from the carpark to our lodge. All my ski gear is already in the lodge and I normally take some booze up to the working bee in summer and leave it in my locker also so i dont have to pay the high cost on the mountain at the lone supermarket.
    • I take my own food and can cook myself breakfast and dinner at the lodge to avoid having to go out every night and pay ski resort prices for dinner.
    • Accommodation at our lodge for members is about $60 a night for a bunk, half price for kids. I keep sleeping bags in a locker at the lodge to avoid having to cart them up and back.
    • I've made great ski friends at the lodge, many are instructors and better skiers than me. I just go for a friendly ski with one of the resident level 3 instructors and effectively get free ski lessons whether I want them or not (ski instructors can't help themselves from telling you what you are doing wrong). I've even been on overseas ski holidays with other members of our lodge.
    • My kids snowboards and gear is also stored on the walls up in the lodge.
    • I've even gone up over summer for cycling and other activities.

    One of my sons is a snowboard instructor. We didnt send our kids to elite inner city private schools, they just grew up boarding on the hill, they never did the racve squad or any of the other programs the rich kids did. They had some lessons and then just basically learned with some ski kids they made friends with up on the mountain. My son the Snowboard instructor met his partner whilst he was working up there, he is now back to part time because he has a proper job back in Melbourne but for a uni student life instructing was great for him. he cant go 10 steps on the hill without bumping into someone he knows.

    The demographic on the hill is changing and not for the better. Last weekend there were loads of non-skiers everywhere. People in designer clothes wanting to take selfies of themselves at the snow. Sometimes they pickup other peoples skis/bords that have been left outside a restaurant etc for a photo/insta snap. People dont like others touching their stuff and it will eventually lead to trouble.

    Some of the non-skiers were trying to toboggan, snowball fight or build snowmen in areas on the ski runs. This is going to lead to disaster as learner skiers barely able to control themselves are going to hit some unsuspecting kid. The carp ark had people having picnics etc with stoves they brough from home.

    If there is a bad snow year folks are crammed onto 1 or 2 viable runs. Often these are the beginner areas as the mountain makes most of its money from newbies trying out the snow. You can see from above they dont make much from the likes of me but people that pay full price for everything and dont know what they are doing get ripped left right and centre up there. When there is little snow everyone gets crammed onto 1 or 2 runs and it is a disaster for lift queues.

    I try to get a week in Mid August each year. Midweek the lodge and the runs are much less crowded and mid August is normally the most reliable for snow.

    • morse on 18/07/2023 - 02:54
      +1

      Your lodge sounds great! I’ve stayed in places like this in the past as well as club fields in NZ and yes definitely more affordable.

      I agree with you re culture. I think people go to almost tick it off their list, so it’s crowded and I don’t think an enjoyable experience. That and the Australian population has grown way more than the ski resorts have expanded.

    • bamzero on 18/07/2023 - 18:43

      Was at Buller last week, the sightseeing lift makes them good coin too. The village shuttle driver was saying they took $45k from it the previous weekend.

      And yeh some of those sightseers think it's a good idea to stand in the middle of the run to get their insta's.

      Being from WA any ski trip is expensive unfortunately.

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