Skiing

Well, a couple of things the author mentioned are true. You certainly can spend $800 a day taking your kid to Breckenridge if you want to. And every major resort in Colorado does have close-in parking that they charge for.

But it think pinning all the changes the author laments on the mega pass model is seriously bunk. The trend of displacing free slopeside parking with high end condos and fancy restaurants pre-dates the rise of the Epic/Ikon rivalry by decades. As does the cost of ski school and day tickets outpacing the rate of inflation.

When the author points to the displacement of us dirtbags by rich tourists, there are two problems with that. First rich tourists don’t give a crap what lift tickets cost. It wasn’t cheap passes that drew them in, it was luxury accommodations, day spas, grooming, and the shape ski revolution that made skiing more appealing to the jet set. And second, the dirtbags are still here, enjoying the rock-bottom per day cost of skiing on a cheap pass. We just have to live a bit further away.

The one argument he makes that I think is true is that the casual skier of modest means has been priced out of the resorts these two companies operate. But there are alternatives. The dad in his example would probably follow your advice about bringing lunch and renting in town, and go to Loveland instead of Breckenridge. They’d have just as much fun for under $200.

When the author really goes off the rails, though is when he starts talking about the deleterious effects on the culture of skiing he believes cheap passes have had. Live music is gone? Wrong. A-Basin beach scene a bit of nostalgia from a romantic bygone era? Nonsense; his flowery descriptions would apply to any clement spring Saturday at A-Basin to this day. Secret smoke shacks? Just because they dismantled the 2-story one they built right off the trail and splashed all over social media doesn’t mean all the shacks are gone, lol.

In short I agree with you it’s ridiculous to say that ski area operator consolidation has “ruined skiing.” I don’t deny that it has changed the landscape and not all of the changes are to my liking. But not every change can be attributed to Katz’s pricing model, and there are some benefits as well. Recently there have been great investments made in expanding terrain and upgrading lifts at the VR and Alterra resorts I frequent.

I can't vouch for the specific dollar amount in the article, but the general gist of it is very familiar to me.

I usually ski two locally-owned hills in the Pacific Northwest (both of which survived COVID on their own), and typically have 3 kids with me. Day passes and a tank of gas total at least $230. If we were to go to the resort where I learned to ski as a kid, and which is now owned by Alterra, it's easily over $500 (and yes they charge for parking). It can be much more than that because they use demand pricing and charge more on busier days. All that is just lift tickets for one day, not including rentals, meals, or lessons.