Which resort will I buy my season pass to next year?

This is a question that I ask myself every winter when the ski and snowboard season is in full swing here in Lake Tahoe. I have learned over the last 24 years of skiing and snowboarding that I will visit one single resort enough to make buying a season pass worth the price. I have also learned that buying a season pass in April of the proceeding season saves me a ton of money. It may not be that easy for some of you to choose which season pass is right for you, or if buying a season pass is even worth it, so I am here to help you make up your mind.

The first step is to identify how many days you plan on skiing/riding during the upcoming season. This may change from year to year depending on vacations or other happenings that get in the way of your shredding, so be reasonable with your estimate. It is not simply enough to know how many days you will be skiing/riding, but you also need to know how many days at which resorts you will be riding. A few of the resorts in the Lake Tahoe area have teamed up with each other, as well as with resorts in other states, to offer season passes that include more resorts than ever before. Therefore, if you are making a ski or snowboard trip somewhere other than Lake Tahoe, you may want to look and see if tickets to the resort you will be visiting are included with the price of your Lake Tahoe season pass. Take myself for example, I buy the Sierra at Tahoe pass which also includes Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows in the Lake Tahoe area, as well as resorts in 10 other states! There are some restrictions on use at the non Sierra at Tahoe resorts – you only get 4 total days at Squaw and Alpine combined, but the fact that the pass offers access to 17 different resorts is what grabs my interest because I like to travel and the price ($279) just cannot be beat.

Once you know how many days you will be riding at which resorts, look up that resorts single day lift ticket price and multiply it by the number of days that you will ride that particular resort. This will give you the total amount you would spend if you bought single lift tickets each day at that resort which, if higher than the amount for a season pass, makes the pass worth buying. One thing to note is that with all the different resorts offered on a single season pass, you will need to add up the total price for each resort that falls under that particular pass. This means if you are going to be riding Kirkwood, Heavenly, and Northstar, you will want to add up the totals of all these resorts (as well as some resorts in Utah and Colorado) because they are all included under one season pass. Remember, there are tons of different pass options offered through our Lake Tahoe resort websites, so check them all out to make sure that you do not miss the pass that is right for you. Happy Shredding!!!