Author: darryllee

Yeah. That’s why you’re here, right?

Welp. I have some bad news. Over the past decades, resorts have made the strategic decision to heavily promote discounted season passes, providing a guaranteed revenue stream as early as Spring (when they start offering those “ski/ride the rest of the season for ‘free'” deals).

But that wasn’t enough. Because to “encourage” people to buy these season passes, and to keep the daily revenue high, they’ve raised the ticket window prices to exorbitant levels.

To be sure, it sounds great to buy a pass for $600 because it’s “paid for in less than 6 visits.”

But consider that Northstar’s ticket window prices in the 1999-2000 season were $49. Adjusted for inflation, tickets should be $74.66 (so a 50% increase). But instead, Northstar charges $169. That’s… a 238% increase. What do we get for that?

A fancy village with an ice skating rink. A fancy hotel. A few more lifts and a few more runs off of Lookout.

So, getting back to those pass deals. Thanks to consolidation, at least your pass is good at more than just one resort. An Epic Tahoe Pass ($609 in Oct 2019) is good at Northstar, Kirkwood, and Heavenly. That’s nothing to sneeze at, and you certainly won’t get bored. And of course, if you paid earlier, you saved even more.

And because of the Squaw/Alpine merger a few years back, the IKON pass lets you ski at those two resorts (non-holiday, of course) for $749.

SO AGAIN, where are the deals, you ask? Say you don’t go more than 3-4 days a year. Or you want to take advantage of the wide variety of Tahoe resorts.

Here’s the trick: Go LOCAL. More on that in my next post.

I love the idea of a ski bus. You have to wake up early (I’m talking 4-5AM early) to get to the pickup stop, but once you’re on the bus, go back to sleep, and when you next wake up, you’re 30 minutes from the resort, and (on the good buses), you get a continental breakfast – bagels, cream cheese, yogurt, etc.*

Upon arrival, the host jumps off and get the lift tickets from the resort. By the time you get your gear on, they’re ready to hand you your ticket, and off you go.

Ski or board hard all day, because hey, you can sleep on the way back, made easier still by the occasional beer or wine offerings by the buses, sometimes barbecue, hot dogs, hot chocolate, and other goodies.*

Tahoe Ski Trips (formerly Bay Area Ski Bus)

For a long time, the go-to for Tahoe buses was Bay Area Ski Bus. Their drivers and hosts were top-notch, and they had all the amenities – breakfast, apres ski, etc. A few years ago, the company changed hands, and they’ve rebranded as Tahoe Ski Trips, but the reviews are still pretty solid.

NAC SKI

I wish I could say the same for NAC SKI. For a long time, NAC SKI was a bargain-hunter’s dream. Their drivers weren’t always on top of their game. *You got “light” breakfast and no après-ski. But they were CHEAP, so you dealt with it. Well, I’ve read some pretty awful reviews over the past few years, but worse still, they’ve gone radio silent. Last year I reached out to ask about Kirkwood drop-offs and some really awful reviews (a no-show for a privately chartered trip, and then no follow-up, and no refunds!?) , and never heard back at all. Really a bummer. That being said – people usually only complain when there’s a problem.

I have some credits accrued with them, so I may give them another try and report back. If you’re willing to give it a shot (I recommend not going with them if there’s a storm forecast), I’d be obliged if you used this link, with which I will earn more credits: www.nacski.com/mr/register.aspx?id=CA92896237&r=ca-sfb

Sports Basement Tahoe Ski Bus Trips

But let’s leave on a brighter note. Sports Basement Tahoe Ski Bus Trips have been departing from their stores for the past couple of years. I believe they started out having Bay Area Ski Bus run the trips – not sure if they still do. Prices are similar, but with (possibly) more convenient pickup locations (Sports Basement stores). Looks like they only go to Squaw/Alpine Sat/Sun and Northstar on Sundays. Also of note – you’re responsible for buying your own lift tickets ahead of time. Sports Basement has promo codes to save you a little on Squaw/Alpine tickets, but I don’t think they sell Northstar anymore. Oof. They do however, have an neat option to pre-load your Sports Basement equipment rentals onto the bus, if you reserve 2 days in advance, so if you don’t have your own skis or board, this is a great way to save some time and money. (Renting at the resort always takes a while, and costs more than renting down here.)

But is it a deal?

Well, Tahoe Ski Trips charge $185 for Sierra/Kirkwood, $199 for Northstar/Squaw. Considering that Northstar and Squaw walk-up prices are northward of $169 (!), and you didn’t otherwise have discounted lift tickets for those places, then yes, I’d say the difference of $30 for a bus-ride is pretty worth it. Sierra tickets can be picked up at REI/Sports Basement for $92, so that’s a tougher sell, as then you’re paying $93 for the bus.

You can save a little bit buying that ticket ahead of time and doing bus-only for $79.

I can’t find Kirkwood’s window price, but it’s gotta be upwards of the $124 they charged last year. Alas, I can’t find any discounts for Kirkwood tickets. Thanks Vail.

Here’s how I do the calculation, and literally, Your Mileage May Vary: Round-trip from SJ to Sierra in my car (~25MPG) probably uses about 16 gallons of gas, which at $3.60/gallon (ugh, premium), is $57.60. If I’m driving solo is it worth $21 to be able to board until the very last lift and have somebody else drive home? I say yes.

If you can split the driving duties and the cost gas? Then you’re probably better off driving. Of course this assumes that either the roads are clear, and your car is snow-ready. Even in the best of conditions, you should always carry chains and know how to put them on. And yes even with a 4WD/AWD you need to know how to drive with caution. Don’t end up being that guy in the SUV who spun out when they slammed on their brakes/over-corrected and ended up in a snowbank or worse.

*NAC SKI’s pricing is often $20-30 or so cheaper. Do you get what you pay for? Well, as previously mentioned breakfast is “lighter”. No après-ski. But the bigger concern is customer service, or judging from Yelp, the lack thereof. Based on the horror stories, right now I can only advise taking NAC SKI if the road conditions look clear.