Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 26, 1992 TAG: 9201270250
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C15 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NEAL THOMPSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SKIING: EXPENSIVE VS. CHEAP
A full eight-hour day of skiing at, say, Snowshoe Resort in West Virginia, could cost as little as $30, including transportation.If, of course, you consider $30 "little."
Or, it could cost as much as much as $100 or more per person, if you're not careful.
It all depends on what's more important to you - the skiing itself or the expensive extras that can accompany a day on the slopes.
As lift ticket prices and the cost of equipment and clothing keep going up - and at a rate far greater than the cost of living - it's becoming more difficult for people to afford the kind of fun you have to pay big bucks for.
"People are being very wary about how much skiing they're doing," says Roanoke doctor and skier Doris Guerrant. "I think they're just afraid to spend the money now."
One survey shows that while the cost of living went up about 20 percent between 1984 and 1989, the cost of a lift ticket rose 55 percent. And prices at eastern ski resorts rose more than in any other region.
Those costs have certainly made skiing a little more elitist than ever, but it's not out of reach for those willing to cut corners. Giving up some of the unnecessary luxuries can help skiers get more skiing for their dollar.
For starters:
Why drive by yourself when it's cheaper to car pool with three friends or tag along with a ski club or church group?
Why rent skis when you can borrow them? Or, if you're going to go more than a few times a year, why not buy a pair? Why not a used pair?
Why buy an all-day ticket when you're only going to ski about half the day?
Why buy a $3 slice of pizza and a $2 drink at a resort when you can bring sandwiches and a six-pack of, uh . . . pop?
"Any money you can save on meals on the ski slopes is pretty good because they can charge you pretty well for them," says Tom Gibson, president of the Roanoke Ski Club.
In the 25 years Gibson has skied, he's watched the price of tickets go up and up and up.
Snowshoe Resort's adult weekend lift ticket jumped $3 to $35 this year. Wintergreen Resort topped the pack with a $2 increase to $36.
"It's getting outrageous. I guess it might get to the point where people wonder whether it's really worth doing it," Gibson said.
Gibson says he goes to The Homestead to ski because it's closer and cheaper than some other Virginia and West Virginia resorts. He also goes for just half the day, because it costs less.
That's just one way to save money.
The Roanoke Ski Club, for example, offers discounted trips through the year. A bus trip to Massanutten Resort next Sunday costs just $33 and another to Silver Creek on March 8 is $27. Both trips include lift tickets, transportation, some munchies and beverages.
There's money to be saved on ski vacations, too. You don't have to be at the mercy of a ski resort or a travel agent.
First, staying a few miles away from a resort at a motel or bed and breakfast is cheaper - especially one with its own kitchen.
In places like Colorado or New England it's often cheaper to avoid the big-time resorts. There are plenty of smaller, less-known resorts that offer great skiing - but cheaper.
And to go really cheap, some resorts still have communal ski dorms.
On a vacation, a group of skiers now has more clout than one person or a couple.
The economy has hurt ski resorts, too, and many will bend the rules to get business.
Nationally, the number of ski areas has declined from 727 in 1984 to 591 last year, according to the United Ski Industries Association. So they are becoming more desperate for business and more willing to give discounts and special packages, like adding group meals or a buffet to a group lodging package.
Snowshoe, for example, usually gives discounted rates for groups of 35 or more. This year reservations are way down, so they will give the discount to groups of 20 or more.
It's cheaper by the dozen, says Joe Stevens at Snowshoe, so the number of groups vacationing at the resort has been going up.
Stevens said they've always gotten church and corporate groups, but this year they're seeing 20 friends putting together their own groups.
"People are realizing it's more economical to do it that way," he said.
The group plan scheme may be helping local ski areas, but it hasn't been doing much for ski vacations overseas or out west.
Guerrant, the doctor, runs ski trips through the Roanoke Ski Club. She's never had a problem getting 20 takers - until this year.
"I knocked myself out this year and got 16," she said.
She blames the economy and a reluctance in skiers to spend money on long trips.
But the reluctance may actually help Virginia and West Virginia resorts. Mark Glickman of Wintergreen said more people from the Washington, D.C., area are spending three-day weekends at local resorts instead of flying elsewhere.