There are so many ways to save on lift tickets at ski areas. Buying season passes early and using multi-day tickets and frequent-flyer discount cards help. The online world is ripe with deals. But there’s nothing like discount days.
“I think the majority of those discount days tend to be geared towards local residents, and considering that most ski areas are located in tourist towns that have a lot of hospitality workers, these times are often well-suited for workers in that sector,” Ski NH executive director Jessyca Keeler said in a recent email.
Ski two-for-one non-holidays in New Hampshire on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Cannon and Wednesdays at Bretton Woods.
Bretton Woods’ Friday and Saturday night Powder and Pasta deal from late December through early March includes a pasta dinner and lift ticket for a tasty $25. Score a $45 ticket on Christmas day, a $35 pass on March 30, and pay $17.76 on April 15.
Cannon’s N.H. Resident Wednesday $25 ticket has no blackout dates. Granite Staters age 65 and up ski and ride for free with the non-holiday N.H. Senior Midweek ticket.
Cranmore’s online deals include a $25 Game Day ticket on Feb. 3 (aka Super Bowl Sunday), a half-price Valentine’s Day pass on Feb. 14 and a $17 St. Patrick’s Day ticket on March 17. Ticket Rollback Day on Jan. 4 is $10.
Attitash and Wildcat have $30 non-peak Sunday Funday afternoon tickets. Kids ages 17 and younger pay $17 on Youth Days on Jan. 6 and March 24. Go online for $35 tickets on Feb. 3, limited $17 St. Patrick’s Day passes on March 15 and 18, and limited April 1 tickets for $11.
Pay $33 to ski until 3 a.m. at Crotched Mountain’s Midnight Madness, which kicks off on Dec. 28.
Pats Peak’s Pay One Price program, on Saturday nights from Dec. 29 to season’s end, is $49 from 3-10 p.m., and it gets you skiing, riding, tubing, rentals, tips and entertainment. They offer it on Jan. 21, Diversity Day, too.
Mount Sunapee’s Cares and Shares Day on Dec. 9 nets a $35 lift ticket with a five-item nonperishable food donation.
Affordable Whaleback is even more so with a $20 last-two-hours rate for all ages and a $20 Sunday morning ticket, while Dartmouth Skiway’s non-holiday midweek adult ticket at $32 is an excellent value.
In Vermont, Burke Mountain’s non-holiday Wicked Wednesdays are essentially a three-for-one deal: Buy a $73 lift ticket and get two same-day tickets free. The non-holiday Northeast Kingdom Sunday deal provides $28 afternoon tickets.
“Discount days are just one piece of the industry-wide effort to make skiing and snowboarding more affordable for everyone,” Ski Vermont communications director Adam White said in an email.
Mad River Glen’s non-holiday late afternoon ticket from 2-4 p.m. is $35. Save your quarters for Roll Back the Clock Day’s $3.50 tickets on Jan. 29. The Valentines Day Kissing Special still lives on Feb. 14, with kissing skiers paying half price. Act like a fool at the ticket windows on April 1 and pay half price.
“These promotions are most important as a tool to encourage skiers to give MRG a try,” marketing director Eric Friedman said in an email. “Sometimes folks just need a little push to come our way. What is heartening is how many of them become active members of the MRG community and even buy co-op shares once they have experienced it.”
Okemo’s Cares and Shares Spring Food Drive on March 10 yields a $45 lift ticket with five non-perishable food items.
Pico Mountain serves up $40 non-holiday afternoon Sunday Sampler passes. Vermonters and Granite Staters pay $38 on non-holiday Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. Feel Good Fridays — Jan. 27, Feb. 3, Feb. 10, March 10 and March 24 — mean $49 lift tickets to benefit Vermont Adaptive and the High Fives Foundation.
Killington has $59 lift tickets for Vermont and New Hampshire residents on non-holiday Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Suicide Six offers $45 adult non-holiday midweek tickets and $35 tickets for children and seniors.
At Mount Snow, pay $12 online in advance or $49 at the ticket window on Founders Day, Dec. 14, and Shamrock Fest on March 15.
Go small. Pay $15 weekends at work glove-busting Northeast Slopes in East Corinth, $15 midweek at Cochran’s in Richmond ($5 Friday night special, too) and $34 on Fridays at Quechee.
So surf the web for savings.
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Marty Basch can be reached at marty.basch@gmail.com.