Is "Budget Ski Trip" an oxymoron?

[ekatiel]

So, DH has a set amount of conference money to use for work each year, and the kids and I usually come along and have a mini vacation during his conferences .

Considering one at a ski resort over Presidents' weekend. I've only been skiing once in my entire life. DH grew up in WI, so he's skied some, but obviously not on real mountains! Our boys (ages 7 and 9) have never been.

The conference we're looking at is in Breckenridge. Hotel, car rental, and DH's plane ticket will be covered by DH's work, as well as a lot of food (the hotel room will have a kitchenette, so we could do a lot of cooking). We'll have to pay airfare for me and boys (airfare to DEN looks really reasonable right now, though) The boys and I will probably need ski school. Can we get away with just one day? It looks like kids' ski school is about $200 per kid per day . And adult ski school is not too much less (about $150 per day). Then, we'll need lift tickets for the other days (around $50 pp per day) and ski rental (about $25 pp per day). It adds up really quick! Any budget ideas for skiing? Any hidden costs I haven't thought about? Are 7 and 9 good ages to try it out or is there a better age? Thanks for any input! --Katie

 

[we3peas]

I say do it, if you can afford it. We do the same thing piggy backing on DH's trips. We take most of our food and a crockpot if the unit doesn't have one. I pack frozen meat, canned goods and dry goods in suitcase. When we get to resort we buy bread and milk only.

We eat ALL meals in condo. Cold breakfast(cereal, poptarts, etc) or you could make instant oatmeal. We pack snacks and hot chocolate in a backpack with thermos and take a break around 1030am in lodge. Then ski until lunch. Make our way back to condo, eat grilled cheese and soup then re pack backpack with snacks and hot chocolate. Ski until 230p-3p take break and then ski until close or night skiing. Go back to condo where a crockpot meal has been cooking all day and eat dinner.

The lunch break also gives us time to dry our socks and gloves or switch out if we need to. We tend to act like we are at home with our meals so nothing too fancy or rich so we don't get sick or overeat.

You will have ski lift tickets, ski rental, helmet rental, clothing, airfare, transportation (shuttle or RAC), any other activities (ice skating, horse drawn sleigh ride, switch out to snowboard, arcades....).

It is NOT cheap but we try to save our $$ wherever we can.

 

[crisi]

You can usually get a package at Breckridge that would include hotel, lift tickets, rental and lessons. If his company would pick up the hotel cost and let you do the package (they may or may not) that may be cheaper - given the cost of the lift tickets, it may be cheaper anyway.

You don't want to do this much older. Skiing is something that gets much harder to learn as you get older. My kids have been on skis (or in my son's case, a snowboard) since they were pretty young - considering they have non skiiers for parents - in part because I didn't start until Junior High and by then it was too late - of all the kids we've taken with us who haven't skied before middle school, only one has been able to pick it up - out of a dozen. And snowboarding is tougher to learn.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . The conference we're looking at is in Breckenridge . . .

1) We go to Breckenridge every-other-year for skiing.
2) We also end up there every-third-summer for a conference and do golf.
3) You should be able to get away without giving away rights to your first born.
4) Breck is actually a little cheaper than surrounding ski sites.
5) Plus, the "downtown" area has some decent eateries and shops.

NOTE: Make sure you get out to The Mint Steakhouse in Silverthorne.
You pick your steak from a meat case and cook it yourself over a huge
lava rock grill. A delightful way to spend the night. PS - They also have
a truly nice bar with unique drinks. It is only about a 25-minute drive.

WARNING EDIT: Breck slopes can get to the 11,000 level. At this height,
bloody noses are very common. Buy some SALINE ONLY nasal spray to
keep your nose hydrated. If it dries out, it can bleed for a long time.

 

[ekatiel]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I will look into packages. We did that last year at WDW in order to get free dining (and we stayed in a mod instead of at the GF, which is where the conference was, so we actually saved his company money at the same time). It was kind of a hassle getting the room separated from the package for receipt purposes, but we were able to get it done. So, if it's a big savings, that is definitely a possibility.

Thanks for the tip about the elevation, too. We live at 31 feet above sea level-- we're 30 minutes from the beach, so this summer when we went to Yellowstone and Colorado, we were sucking major wind!! We will have to be careful about the elevation.

Also love the crock pot idea, and the thermos full of hot chocolate ! Keep the budget ideas coming, guys! Thanks again for the ideas . --Katie

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Yes it is possible to do ski trip on a reasonable budget, it will never be cheap though unless you can crash at someones place and you already own your own equipment.

I live in Colorado, so I go skiing up there all the time and I am a part time ski instructor, so I may get a little long

I would first suggest stopping by a king super or city market on the way up to ski area, you can normally find cheaper tickets there for the ski areas. Also rentals are a lot of time cheaper down in Denver then getting them up at the ski area. Also if you plan on returning at all, buying a season pass is a great way to go to save money, normally you can pay for it in about 4 to 7 days depending on when you buy them. The earlier you buy them the cheaper it is.

Also if you can I would look into other ski areas. Breck is one of the most popular ski areas in all of Colorado and presidents day weekend is one of the worst weekends, think X-Mas in Magic Kingdom and you get the idea. I would look into Keystone, Copper, A-Basin or Loveland. They are all in the same county, so not hard to drive around to or take the bus. (They are the Universal Studies or SeaWorld in Orlando) But the lines are bad and I mean bad on that weekend. If I am not working, I will be skiing at A-Basin that weekend since it is smaller and not as popular. Also it is normally easier to find deals for the smaller ski areas like Loveland and A-basin.

Also it is worth paying for at least one ski lessons, I may be biased (as a ski instructor) but I see so many people get hurt and then ruin the whole rest of their ski vacation because they were trying to save money by not taking a lesson. So in the end of the day save your self pain and misery and book one day of lessons. Also on a side note Breck lessons for kids includes at lot of stuff including food and rentals. Lessons are also cheaper at smaller ski areas than they are at Breck too and just as good. If you guys are thinking at all between skiing and snowboarding, skiing is easier to start with so I normally suggest that for shorter stays, but if you plan on doing this a lot, snowboarding is easier to progress after the first few days.

Also always grab the Summit Daily newspaper, it is free and its has great coupons in it and it shows you what the restaurant deals are in the area that day. And when ever I am in Breck I take advantage of the happy hours from 4 to 6pm at the high end restaurants, you can get the best meals at great prices. My favs are Relish, Briar Rose, and Twist in Breck.

In Frisco a town right next to Breck (that you will drive through) and there is a Walmart and Safeway for buying all the food and buy huge packs of hand warmers. Do not waste money on foot warmers, they do not work because they need air.

Also there is a Outlets in Silverthorne, a great places to find good deals.

And of course other people already mentioned pack your lunches, it was I do too

Things that have nothing to do with budget, but good ski tips

Bring good ski socks, pull them all the way up make sure nothing is bunching in boots. So do not stuff pants and long underwear in the boots, they cause pressure points. Pull the pants up and over the boots.

Also this another thing that people do not think about, altitude sickness is a real thing that normally one or two of my kids in everyone of my lessons get. They normally just arrived the night before from sea level and did not get a lot of sleep the night before. So please drink lots of water and if you can the first day you are here do not ski, do tubing instead or dog sledding (there is a fun one in Breck I love) and give your body one day to get use to the high altitude because if you or your kid gets sick they do not give you a refund with the ski lessons.

Always wear a helmet, it does not matter how well you ski, I have seen so many people get hit by another person. So even though I use to be a ski racer I always wear it just in case Another good tip, stop on the side of slope so you do not get hit by people.

Have two pairs of gloves for each person so when one is wet, you can switch out with the other one and of course wear layers. Also bring sunblock and use it, you will be amazed at how easily you can get a sunburn here during winter.

Okay I am soo sorry for going so long. But you will have so much fun, I love skiing and it is something your kids will just love. I probably missed things, I am in summer mode not skiing.

 

[tnd]

I seriously think budget ski trip is a total oxymoron. We are a little lucky because my in-laws live in Utah, so when we visit in the winter, my son and husband can ski for just the cost of lift tickets, rentals and lessons for my son. But we went to Boyne Mountain in Michigan last year and it was so expensive (we also went over a school break)! Disney looks like a deal in comparison.

My son had his first lesson last winter at 7. It seemed like a good age to start. He has good stamina and is able to follow directions. He also is not freaked out about not being with us. We have done private lessons for him and he is really making quick progress.

 

[Jewel3k]

You might consider staying some place near by if you are taking a rental car. Hidden costs will include hot chocolate warm up breaks and snacks. Clothes to ski in and maybe some ski goggles for everyone in the family. If your children have never been on skis I would recommend two days of ski school. They should pick it up pretty fast at 7 and 9, but if you aren't a good enough skier to help them when up when the fall one day will not be enough.

 

[3boymthr]

Skiing and budget are definitely an oxymoron but as PPs have mentioned there are definitely ways to save.

Your kids are relatively young, but definitely not too young to ski. I've seen much younger out on the slopes. My cousin had her 4 yo in ski school last year.

If you don't end up getting a package then...

Like any buy more save more program season passes for the lift, especially if bought in well in advance, will definitely save you LOTS of money. If you know the kids are going to love skiing then go for it and buy the season passes but if you aren't sure I'd take a wait and see attitude on that one. There is nothing worse than spending a ton of money on something then having your one or both of your kids say I hate skiing and that's the end of that for the week.

I know when my kids - even the 17 yo - hit the slopes they tire easily, especially if it's really cold out, and after two or three hours they are done for the day. You may want to go for half day lift passes if the full day seems too much. Then if your hotel has a pool consider spending half a day there one or two days or a half day going shopping or visiting some of the other (free?) attractions in the area. Maybe plan a half day of tubing if that's an option as that is definitely less expensive than skiing - though just as exhilarating.

Also, it's definitely cheaper to rent ski's and other equipment elsewhere. One way to save, unless it's part of the rental package, is the helmets. When my kids go skiing the helmet rental cost is $8/day. If your kids have the full head helmets for bike riding (similar to this one http://www.amazon.com/Razor-Child-M...=1376877087&sr=8-1&keywords=kids+sport+helmet ) You could pack it in the luggage and save some cash. DS' have these for bike riding and take them on their ski trips without a quibble.

 

[taaren]

Your title made me lol, because its true, a budget skiing trip is an oxymoron, especially the first few years. For us, we're in the budget years now since my mom picked up a timeshare and we got the lessons and the equipment out of the way in the 90's and are pretty comfortable just traipsing around the slopes on our own now, though every so often equipment does need to get replaced.

One way we save on lift tickets is by seeing if any credit unions or Costcos/Sams Clubs in the area have some for cheap ... (your local credit union may have an agreement with a local one to allow you privileges, ours does). We go to Utah every year but find out what the price of those lift tickets are ahead of time and go with whichever is cheapest between the CU and Costco.

Also when your kids are slightly older (or maybe not, it depends on the resort), kids season pass lift tickets are sometimes cheaper than multi day lift tickets ... resorts like to get 'em hooked when they're young with the idea of having a customer for life. One year my teen nephew got a season pass for less than the cost of a 3 day lift pass, plus when he added on the "night skiing" option he got a few free lift passes to share (the add on was $100, the passes to share were worth double, so DH & I used 'em).

 

[crisi]

My sister used to work at Loveland, and it was a good mountain, and much more reasonable.

However, I didn't catch Presidents Day weekend - I wouldn't go. Learning to ski on crowded slopes with a lot of beginners is dangerous - and that is what you have. If your husband still has relatives in Wisconsin, I'd visit them and put your boys on the Wisconsin hills before sending them to Breck. My kids have been skiing now for ten years, and I keep putting off Breck, because I can't ski well enough to ski with them and the mountains are huge and extensive. If you remained in the Midwest, there are nice beginner resorts in both Wisconsin and Minnesota - I think only Lutsen is even close to a mountain.

Or go, but don't ski - go dog sledding and ice skating. Enjoy the scenery and cocoa. The skiing (especially when you need to rent equipment out there) is what gets expensive.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Crisi is right. You could have a great ski vacation and not ski. I love the snow and the lodge and the hot chocolate but not a huge ski fan! We are content to tube, let the kids play in the snow, cook huge pots of stew and soup and look out the windows and take endless winter night walks, and a few sleigh rides!!! Im sure our little guy is going to want to get on the slopes soon but the rest of us are very happy with a non ski trip! SAVES TONS too.

 

[ekatiel]

My sister used to work at Loveland, and it was a good mountain, and much more reasonable.

However, I didn't catch Presidents Day weekend - I wouldn't go. Learning to ski on crowded slopes with a lot of beginners is dangerous - and that is what you have. If your husband still has relatives in Wisconsin, I'd visit them and put your boys on the Wisconsin hills before sending them to Breck. My kids have been skiing now for ten years, and I keep putting off Breck, because I can't ski well enough to ski with them and the mountains are huge and extensive. If you remained in the Midwest, there are nice beginner resorts in both Wisconsin and Minnesota - I think only Lutsen is even close to a mountain.

Or go, but don't ski - go dog sledding and ice skating. Enjoy the scenery and cocoa. The skiing (especially when you need to rent equipment out there) is what gets expensive.

After looking up lift tickets prices for President's Weekend (it would be $664 for two day lift tickets for the four of us, and that's supposed to be a 25% discount for buying online )! I am thinking about a non-ski winter getaway. Or about doing something altogether different! It is definitely more expensive than Disney!! We do not live in the midwest-- we are in the Houston area. We usually visit the in-laws in the summer, but maybe we should do one winter trip to give the boys an idea of skiing. Honestly, I think they'll be just as happy playing in the snow since we never get snow here. Would it be weird to do just the one day of ski school so that they learn a little bit and leave it at that?! I'll also have to look into half day lift tickets-- DH will be in his conference until about 1pm anyways. Maybe we could do one day of ski school and then a half day on the slopes. I looked up a few other things to do, but they are all expensive also-- a dinner sleigh ride will set us back over $300-- it's about the same for dog sledding. This is all making Disney look like a bargain!!! --Katie

 

[crisi]

Tubing is a riot and usually much more affordable, check that out. Snowshoeing might be offered and probably would be on the affordable scale.

I'd skip lessons altogether. They will be exhausted with half a day of skiing (and if they are boys, the chances they insist on snowboards will be high - in which case they will spend the entire half day on their butts - it takes about four days worth of lessons to manage a small hill) and to build ANY proficiency at all, they'll need to practice to cement the learning - which is why spending a week on the slopes when you learn (or going back every week, not really doable in Houston) is a good idea.

For people who ski, skiing isn't that expensive - they own their own equipment and get season tickets - plus as mentioned above, they pot luck - my daughter raced last year and it was amusing to watch families who had multiple pairs of $500+ skis for their kids, (for different snow conditions), $300 racing suits, etc. pull out their coolers for lunch - but pretty much everyone who skis seriously does. (We didn't race seriously, she wore her snow suit and had "reasonable" skis. And for people who don't ski, to make it a bargain, you need to do a low season deal.

Where in Wisconsin? - we are in the Twin Cities so I know the "slopes" in the Eastern Twin Cities and Western Wisconsin.

 

[jedijill]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I will look into packages. We did that last year at WDW in order to get free dining (and we stayed in a mod instead of at the GF, which is where the conference was, so we actually saved his company money at the same time). It was kind of a hassle getting the room separated from the package for receipt purposes, but we were able to get it done. So, if it's a big savings, that is definitely a possibility.

Thanks for the tip about the elevation, too. We live at 31 feet above sea level-- we're 30 minutes from the beach, so this summer when we went to Yellowstone and Colorado, we were sucking major wind!! We will have to be careful about the elevation.

Also love the crock pot idea, and the thermos full of hot chocolate ! Keep the budget ideas coming, guys! Thanks again for the ideas . --Katie

Drinks LOTS of water. Altitude sickness is really severe dehydration.

Jill in CO

 

[mountdew1]

An Oxymoron? If you go over prime time to a big name ski area, yes. If you go midweek, or even just non prime time (school vacations or holidays), especially if you hit up a smaller more "local" area, it can be reasonable. I've worked in one job or another in the ski industry for about 18 years now. Some places are cost more than a 1 day WDW ticket just to get on the lifts. Or you can drive 15 mins away, and find a smaller local hill for $40 a ticket. Same thing for rentals. $25-35 at the resort, the towns leading up to the resort, $10-15.

As PPs said, if you are a skier, it can be much more affordable. Passes, day trips, owning equipment etc all save money. Making skiing really affordable is possible. Working for a ski resort = free season pass. (Night time janitor jobs are clutch!) Crashing 6-8 in a house that hasn't been updated since the 60s saves money. Pillaging the lost & found at the end of the year to grab mismatched gear to wear in crappy weather. All ways ski bums spend as much time on the snow as possible for as little cash.

While a trip for never-evers (term for people who have never skiied) to Breck would be fun, I don't think you would get all that much out of the skiing. Yes, if you are skiing a good instructor should have you going down the bunny hill by lunch time at the latest, but you would most likely be limited to a few trails over the rest of your trip unless you do additional lessons. You might have as much if not more fun doing the other stuff most resorts offer. Tubing, snow shoeing, cat rides, etc. Might end up costing you the same, but its usually a little more enjoyable unless you do multiple days of lessons.