Bozeman News

To Be or Not to Be…or To Be Midweek?

The Season Ski Pass Conflict

By Alison Grey, 11-06-07

My credit card bill just arrived, and on it is a hefty chunk of my hard earned dollar going towards a season ski pass. Weighing in at two months of rent and one tank of gas (ouch!), I am hoping that the snow gods start gracing the Rocky Mountains with the necessary moisture to make my investment worth it for the season.

Skiing is a rich man’s sport that us poor people seem more than willing to dive further into poverty to pursue and every fall we have to determine which pass makes the most sense to us. My inner dialogue goes somewhat like this:

Should I try to get a job at the resort or volunteer my time? If I only want to work nights, am I being selfish with my recreating time? Should I invest in one pass and be tied to the same resort? Or, should a get a mid-week pass and plan weekend trips to follow the snow? Of course, that requires gas and a hotel room. Plus, I’ll probably blow too much money on eating out and going to those expensive resort bars. That’s out of the question. If I do buy a season pass, will work get in the way of making it worth the money? Maybe I should just find some hot ski bum with a sled to cozy up with and forsake the hill altogether!

In Montana, we’re pretty lucky to have a plethora of skiing options around us. Our western half is dotted with ski resorts, all only a weekend trip away. And the options only increase if we drive a little further, with British Columbia, Idaho and Wyoming flanking our borders, making the season pass decision that much harder. We have the ability to follow the weather in search of powder days, and the dreaded concept of commitment becomes irrelevant.

Ultimately, gas prices will keep me local this year. I also determined that I know more people with skins than motors, so replacing chairlifts and lift lines for snowmobiles wasn’t option, and unless I wanted to hike for turns, a ski pass became a very expensive necessity.

At Big Sky Resort you exchange $1350 for a little plastic card with your picture on it, slightly out of my price range. Even though Moonlight has a pretty rate ($499 for pre-season passes), at this point it would cost me nearly a grand to ski there. And, if I wanted the Lone Peak Ticket with access to both resorts, I would have to handover my savings account, sell my rig and perhaps my left foot for a cool $1699.

Sadly, I knew my time skiing Lone Peak would be limited unless, of course, I could scam myself some deals, another way to ski at as many resorts as possible.

It’s amazing how poverty-stricken ski bums can manage to legitimately score tickets and ski on world-class terrain without breaking the bank. This my friends, is all about the hook-up and bumming one’s way around by being either cute, crafty or cunning.

Ultimately, you need to know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone more important, and free or discounted tickets could be yours! And, the hotel issue can also be easily avoided. Personally, I’ve found plenty of empty couches in the Rocky Mountains.

While bumming around in search of free tickets is a pretty great idea, it will only be successful on certain occasions and won’t fill up the season. Realistically, throwing down for some sort of ski pass is inevitable.

A life-long Bridger Bowl pass holder, I’ve committed to the local hill again this year, hoping my non-refundable full-week pass, at $520, will be well-spent. After battling the mid-week dilemma, I decided that there would be no limits to my winter recreation, and when it finally starts snowing, you better believe I’ll be there.

As I write my check to the credit card company, subsiding off a diet of cheap beer and starches, I’m left with one option: to pray for snow.

Whether you decide to shell out the money for a pass, be a traveling weekend warrior or forsake lifts for backcountry adventures, we all need one thing: for these tropical fall days to give way to storm clouds that puke powder and our ski season, wherever it may be, can finally commence!

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