Lift passes are expensive for skiers & snowboarders but are they worth it?

The major cost that separates a ski holiday from a summer one is that you must buy a lift pass. They can easily cost £200 or more. At first it seems a huge amount until you stop to think what it covers.
 
Throughout the year the lift companies are maintaining and improving a huge network of machines to drag us up the hill in chairs or gondolas or cable cars. When the season starts they must issue tickets that trigger their sophisticated gates without even coming out of your pocket. They must employ an army of staff to be available at the top and bottom of every lift to keep us safe and press STOP when we are not paying attention and manage to fall just where everyone is trying to get on or off.
 
If that wasn’t all expensive enough they also have to provide an army of machines and personnel to work all night to bash the pistes back into good shape for tomorrow’s onslaught and when there’s not enough natural snow yet more machines are required to make some more snow along with lorries to move it around so the busy junctions magically get a fresh supply!
 
Most of us never want to experience an accident on the slopes but if we do it’s the lift company staff who come to our rescue sometimes having to deal with serious injury.
 
So maybe we don’t mind paying so much for our lift pass after all?
 
There are a few ways we can get better value. Study the website of the lift company carefully. If you are a beginner they may offer a limited pass which entitles you to use just a few beginner slopes without having to pay for the whole mountain. If you only want to go outside your zone on one day of the week you might be able to top up the pass for that day  rather than pay for a whole week in the extended area. If you have a friend who is not skiing but wants to enjoy the view and restaurants at the top they may be able to get a pedestrian pass. Some companies will allow a group of friends or a family a discount if they buy together and most will allow a discount for seniors on production of a passport.
 
Singlesport will always try to get our guests the best value pass.

www.singlesport.com