Now's time for Utahns to buy discount passes for ski season

Two of the most common reasons for staying away from the ski slopes are — too little time and too few dollars.

There's not much that can be done with scheduling. But there is something that can be done about the dollars.

A little early planning by locals can result in on-slope savings of up to 40 percent.

"Being a local and committing to a resort or resorts early is one way of saving money," noted Nathan Rafferty, president of Ski Utah.

"It does require a little research. An individual has to decide how much he or she is going to ski, and whether they want to commit to one resort or ski several."

Some of the biggest savings were available prior to the big Labor Day sales. Most of Utah's 13 ski areas, however, still have bargains available.

The secret is to, first, decide on the preferred ski area or areas, and second, check out the available options, such as season or individual passes.

There are deadlines associated with each of the purchases. In some cases, however, active involvement now will carry over into winter.

For example:

ALTA — There are two programs available at Alta, but the deadline is closing time today.

The Alta Powder Card offers 10 all-day passes for $440 or $44 a day. Once a card is purchased, more can be purchased at the same price during the season. And, unused passes can be carried over to next season.

Buy the Alta Silver Card today for $99 and for the rest of the season buy an all-area day pass for $34. To purchase a card, the buyer must have a valid ID showing Utah residency.

It is a program, said Connie Marshall, public relations director, "we introduced to benefit those who will not ski enough to justify a season pass."

BEAVER MOUNTAIN — Unlimited season passes at Beaver Mountain went off sale on Sept. 13. Students, however, have until Nov. 8 to purchases a season pass for $270.

BRIAN HEAD — Buy an adult season pass at Brian Head before Nov. 5 and pay $449, a savings of $80. Save $70 on a student season pass (pay $369) and $50 on a junior pass (pay $269).

THE CANYONS — The resort offers a full range of discounts, starting with the adult season for $869 if purchased before Nov. 12, then the price goes to $999.

For those not sure of how many days they'll ski, there's the Cherry Picker pass, a book of five tickets, available only for Utah residents, for $234. This drops the daily ticket price to $46.80 a day.

The weekday-only season pass is $619 if purchased by Nov. 12, then it goes to $700, the pass for those 13 to 18 is $619 and for kids 7 to 12 it's $329.

There are a number of special pass rates. Honor students, for example, can buy a season pass for $129 until Nov. 5 and college students can buy a season for $439.