|
|
|
Resort |
Price |
Notes |
|
|
$3,855 |
Reasonable lodging is hard to find, but higher prices mean
lower crowds |
|
|
$3,033 |
Staying in nearby Snowmass may reduce costs |
|
|
$2,990 |
Pricey ski school makes the total price high |
|
|
$2,864 |
Expensive lift tickets and ski school drive cost up |
|
|
$2,846 |
Staying in nearby Ketchum may provide better value |
|
Grand Targhee |
$2,820 |
Choosing lodging at the newer facility raised what would
have been a value trip |
|
Northstar at Tahoe |
$2,779 |
Still a great option for Californians due to proximity |
|
Breckenridge |
$2,746 |
Advanced booking discounts are reflected in the price. Easy drive from |
|
Steamboat |
$2,744 |
Balanced overall costs. Great value for what you get |
|
|
$2,654 |
If not for pricey lodging, would probably be the best
value on the list |
|
|
$2,627 |
Lowest-price ski school of the bunch, and easy to get to
from |
|
Keystone |
$2,621 |
Best |
|
Big Sky |
$2,560 |
Under 10 ski free deal added to
savings. Gets the “best value” award
for this sample. |
Family Ski Resort Cost Index |
Last season, we set out to create the first ever index of family ski resort prices. We wanted to compare the costs of going to various Rockey Mountain region ski resorts with a family of four. We had to make some assumptions in order to get close to an apples-to-apples comparison. We assumed a family a four, with two kids aged 10 and 8. We assumed four days of skiing, including two days of ski school for the kids. We assumed mid-tier equipment rental at the resort. The dates used when searching for this trip were Feb 5-8, which is just prior to peak for many resorts, or in peak time for resorts with more simple schedules. Lodging is a wild card -- we had to do a search of various lodging options and use our judgment to determine the best value. To keep things somewhat consistent, we tried to choose mid-tier lodging in a two bedroom condo near the resort. We didn't choose the nicest option on the list, nor did we choose the least expensive one. Since the cost of transit is such a variable depending on where you are travelling from, we left flight or driving costs off of our analysis. It would be impossible to find an "average" flight cost since airfares change daily based upon the market. The most expensive resort and the least expensive resort were not surprises. But in between, we had a couple unexpected results. |