NMU Alpine Boarder Posted December 6, 2009 Report Share Posted December 6, 2009 Since Winter finally arrived here in the Midwest, I spent a good deal chatting with friends about skiing/riding while out on the town last night... Over the course of the conversation, we started chatting about our plans for the upcoming season... What new gear we got, where we were planning on going, and other snow related chit chat... From all this, one point seemed to be quite clear among our group: We're all poor I guess that happens when you choose to graduate college the same year as a ginormous economic meltdown This just kinda got me thinking about how I can make my dollar go the extra mile this winter... To start out, I already have 6 usable free days (and another 3-4 that aren't feasible) at various hills here in IL/WI/MI thanks to Warren Miller and some Ski/Board shows... Paying $30 in admissions was well worth it for that alone... I'm also keeping an eye on Craigslist for any vouchers or coupons people might be selling off... Add some no brainer things like avoiding weekends, looking for specials, and bringing your own PB&J for lunch, it's appearing that I won't have to sacrafice much in the way of riding, even though I am on a much tighter budget this winter... I'm just curious if anyone else had any tips/idea about keeping the cost down... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave ESPI Posted December 7, 2009 Report Share Posted December 7, 2009 Just be sure to TIP your instructors and people giving lessons..... We are "broke" too. I'm hoping people still come out for lessons. I fear "Group lessons" will be the money ticket this year as they tend to be cheaper. also: CARPOOLING = saving a lot of money. oh and 24 cut pizzas..... its like a meal after meal after meal after meal..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boarderboy Posted December 7, 2009 Report Share Posted December 7, 2009 In your neck of the woods, this probably isn't a big issue, but make an attempt to patronize hills & resorts that at least tried to keep their lift tickets reasonably priced during the last decade +. In my opinion, so many areas have gone ballistic with the cost of entry, they've really priced themselves out of reach of many - students and retirees, especially. I fall into the latter category. You'll get plenty of arguments on BOL about the cost of our niche equipment being necessarily high, but combined with on-hill prices, for me it's really turned a 2-3 weeks per season passion into a couple days per winter treat. If the law of supply and demand prevails, and enough of us stay away from the $70 + lift ticket areas, maybe they'll get the message and cut some deals. Hope so anyway. Mahalo BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted December 7, 2009 Report Share Posted December 7, 2009 Hope you don't get flamed for saying it but i agree most resorts are pricing themselves out of business but they will say its other factors.They will never admit it's the condos and lifts to the casinos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crucible Posted December 7, 2009 Report Share Posted December 7, 2009 Since I have made snowboarding a priority over the years, in a recession, other things get sacrificed- we don't eat out at all, and all of my holiday time is allocated to the winter months. We will stay local for our winter holidays, and have sold our second car to free up more cash. Other things that I have done to feed my snowboarding lifestyle have been: -worked as a volunteer patroller for the free lift pass -worked as a volunteer instructor for the free lift pass -been a snowboard rep -been a freelance writer for snowboard magazines -taught backcountry avalanche courses for snowboarders for a spare seat on a cat/heli trip -crashed in my car on many a night to save on the cost of a winter hotel room (not for the faint hearted) Geo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMU Alpine Boarder Posted December 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2009 Just be sure to TIP your instructors and people giving lessons..... We are "broke" too. I'm hoping people still come out for lessons. I fear "Group lessons" will be the money ticket this year as they tend to be cheaper. Actually, this came up yesterday... I'm working at a small 150 foot bump here in the Chicago area as an instructor... After talking to the school director, I guess we are expecting a steady year, or even a slight increase in the number of lessons... As mentioned below, many places out west have priced themselves right out of the ballgame for people, so travelers will take the cheaper lessons here and get fewer or none out west... I know it's not something that's promising for ya, just something that I found interesting, and it makes sense... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pow4ever Posted December 7, 2009 Report Share Posted December 7, 2009 ski club really help me. By pooling buying power together. You can leverage against the big guy. For ex: 349.00 get us 5 days of lodge + season pass to jay peak + 2 hours daily lessons I also working at a local ski shop in the winter time as tour guide running weekend bus trip. One last resort is to find a rich ski bunny lol If there is a will; there is a way. I would love to be a patrol however That would be like the blind leading the blind in my case. -- David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted December 7, 2009 Report Share Posted December 7, 2009 It's gotta be tough trollin for cougars at a chicagoland ski bump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Posted December 9, 2009 Report Share Posted December 9, 2009 When I was in my 20s...I worked PT at a shop, coached a snowboard team, set the local USASA courses, was a NASTAR Pacesetter and taught ski/snowboard lessons. All while having a 40-50 hour/week "real" job. I typically worked 80 hours a week..although I never really considered work-work, it's usually pretty fun. No free time to spend money on crap, received all sorts of benefits along the way, learned a hell of a lot, met some really fun people and had a good time. Up until around 2000ish, I don't recall ever paying for a snowboard, boots, clothing or lift tickets. It all came from the shop, local reps or sponsorships. I did proform one set of bindings when a very generous up and coming company had them on the Rossi deal. When travelling "out west" for a race, I'd call up the local Midwest Sales rep and get comp tickets or use my PSIA discount with some added coupons. When going to a neighboring hill where my pass didn't work, I'd usually offer up some tuning or related services (set gate training, etc). If I had to pay for all this, I simply couldn't have afforded it and wouldn't have ever gotten into snowboarding. Makes me sad...which is why I now contribute to helping youngsters get access to sports. The greatest snowboarder who ever lived probably hasn't been on a snowboard yet. That all said, I'd recommend getting more involved. Give back and you'll receive. You'll give more than receive...but that's the point in order to do something that you enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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