Colorado's Steamboat Resort announced Friday that an adult
season-pass for the 2010-11 ski season may be purchased
for $899. Photo: Steamboat Resort/Larry Pierce
Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation released its 2010-11 season-pass pricing Friday, setting the cost at $899 for adults. The early-purchase price is good until June 2 when it will go up to $999. After August 15, the price jumps again to $1,199.
With Steamboat's announcement, most of Colorado's destination ski resorts have set their season-pass prices for next season. With the advent of the Vail Resorts' Epic Pass in 2008 and other Front Range passes, increased competition has tended to drive down costs in recent years.
Geography combines with economics to produce a wide range of season-pass prices across the state. In general, the more isolated resorts from Denver and other ski areas tend to have higher prices. For example, Aspen Skiing Company (ASC) charges $1,499 for its season pass, the highest in the state. The pass is valid at all four resorts in the immediate area-- Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk-- that are all ASC-owned.
Given that four resorts are included, however, the ASC pass is not the most expensive when considering the skiable acreage offered through the pass. Single resorts in somewhat isolated locations such as Telluride and Crested Butte are actually more than twice as expensive on a price-per-acre basis.
Of course, not all skiable acres are created equal in terms of quality, but the chart below compares various season-pass products in terms of skiing area offered for the price. Including Vail, the largest ski area in Colorado, and four other Colorado resorts, the Epic Pass calculates out to be the least expensive pass in this regard. The Epic Pass also includes Vail Resorts-owned Heavenly in the Lake Tahoe area, but Heavenly's acreage was not included in the table. With Heavenly's 4,800 acres figured in the Epic Pass calculations, the price drops to $.03 per acre. While the Epic Pass gives passholders an economical deal, Vail has one of the most expensive one-day, lift-ticket window rates in the country at $98. Not surprisingly, even some destination visitors have shifted to purchasing the Epic Pass.
| Colorado resort(s) | Early-purchase unlimited 2010-11 adult price | Total skiable acres |
Price per acre |
| Epic Pass: Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone, Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin | $599 | 13,510 | $.04 |
| Summit Pass: Keystone, Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin | $409 | 6,406 | $.06 |
| Rocky Mountain Super Pass: Winter Park, Copper Mountain | $409 | 5,510 | $.07 |
| Winter Park |
$369 | 3,060 | $.12 |
| Copper Mountain |
$359 | 2,450 | $.15 |
| Aspen Skiing Company: Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass, Buttermilk | $1,499 | 5,305 | $.28 |
| Steamboat |
$899 | 2,965 | $.30 |
| Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort |
$579 | 1,325 | $.44 |
| Telluride | $1,198 (2009-10 price) |
2,000 | $.60 |
| Crested Butte |
$849 | 1,167 | $.73 |
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Comments
It's obviously been too long since I've been skiing. Prices are crazy these days.
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