Preparing for Ski Season

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Best bang for your buck on the slopes.

With nearly 25 Ski Resorts in Colorado, we would all like to just hop in our SUV’s topped with Thule cargo boxes and head to the slopes; but first, we need to decide what season passes or lift tickets best suit our wallets.

Here are some of the Season Pass and lift ticket options for teens aged 13-17:

VAIL RESORTS

Vail Resorts offers several season pass options for teens. The Epic Local Pass provides unlimited access to Breckenridge, Keystone, A-Basin and 10 total holiday-restricted days at Vail and Beaver Creek. There are several out of state options also included in this pass. This pass is a steal at $509, considering a one-day lift ticket at Breck alone is around $135. If you don’t want to venture as far as Vail or Beaver Creek, Vail Resorts also offers a pass for people who only plan to ski or ride in Summit County. This pass is called the Summit Value Pass and allows unrestricted access to Keystone and A-Basin with limited restrictions at Breckenridge. This pass is also a great deal for teens at $429 for the entire ski season. If you plan to ski 3 or more days at a Vail Resort Mountain, either of these season passes are the way to go. Hurry, you must purchase them before November 20th to get these prices.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN SUPER PASS PLUS

The Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus gives you unlimited access to Winter Park, Copper, Eldora and restricted access at Steamboat (6 days), Crested Butte (3 days), and Alyeska (3 days), as well as some international resorts for $479. If you don’t think you would actually make it to Steamboat, Crested Butte, Eldora or Alyeska and want to just ski or ride at Copper or Winter Park, you should choose the Rocky Mountain Super Pass. The cost of this pass is $439. That saves you $40.

MONARCH MOUNTAIN SEASON PASS

If you prefer a no-frills hill with less hype, then you may want to consider the Monarch Mountain Season Pass. The Monarch Season Pass offers unlimited skiing and riding at Monarch Mountain, every day, along with some partner resort offers like 3 free days (no blackouts) at Copper Mountain, Loveland, Purgatory and Ski Cooper. However, underclassmen get the upper hand when it comes to price at Monarch. If your age is 13-15 years old, you get the season pass for $269. Sorry, juniors and seniors! This pass is going to be a little harder on your wallet than your little brothers. A season pass for ages 16-61 is $459.

OTHER DEALS FOR THE SLOPES

If you’re not necessarily sure you want to spend the whole winter trekking to the mountains and would like just to have a few days on the slopes, you may want to grab your BFF and consider the Buy One, Get One free (BOGO) offer through Shell gas. Beginning on January 2, 2017, each time you put at least 10 gallons of gas into your tank at a Shell gas station, you can receive a voucher for a BOGO ski pass at several mountains in Colorado such as Copper, Crested Butte, and Winter Park. Share it with a friend and ski or ride for under $50 a lift ticket. Another great option if you only want to hit the slopes a few times this winter are the passes offered at Costco. Each year around November, Costco puts out gift cards for purchase to ski 2 of 3 days at Crested Butte for $99 and also, a 3-day pass to Monarch for around $130

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