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Lifts shut; should pass be reduced?
Sunday January 3, 2010 - Email this article to a friend
It's a pertinent question as rain forces the closure of many runs and a lack of snow at altitude and high winds means others can not open. Some PlanetSKI readers have complained.
Some objected about the cost of a lift ticket before Xmas when many resorts were partially open and others this week as many lifts and runs are closed or people are simply not using their pass due to the bad weather.
A lift pass is a serious expense for many and if you have a family it can make a very large hole in your wallet. So when a large part of a ski resort is closed and yet the lift company still charges the full price it can be annoying.
We have received the e-mail below form PlanetsKI reader, Douglas Clegg.
"I had a very irritating experience this year, skiing in the pre-Christmas week in the Alps. There was thin snow cover and not many visitors in the resort. The lift company, as a consequence, did not sell passes for the full area, but only for the local sector.
It is not unusual for large ski resorts to limit the number of pistes open in the pre-Christmas week, when there are only small numbers of skiers, but on this occasion, despite the fact that full price was charged for this local sector pass, only 7 of the 29 pistes were opened for skiers.
This seems a very expensive to me. What do other skiers think, and is it normal practice across the Alps to charge full price for such a small percentage of open pistes?'
Closed for businessFrom the resorts point of view there is little they can do about the weather and their expenses still have to be maintained. If they reduced the price of a ticket then they would have to make it up elsewhere and so the overall price would go up any way.
What do you think?
Should the price of a lift ticket be reduced when many lifts are closed?
What about if there is a danger of avalanches and runs are shut?
Is a lift pass too expensive?
Should resorts introduce more flexible prices so you can ski say 4 days out of 5 or perhaps mornings/afternoons only?
Here at PlanetSKI we'd like to hear from you .
Should the price of a lift pass be reduced when some of the lifts aren't running and areas are shut?PlanetSKI reserves the right to edit any comments. In most cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below.
YES. Half the resort is closed at the moment and i am paying full price. Its a rip off and nowhere else, except in a ski resort, do you have to pay for something even if you don't get it.
Jon Peel, French Alps
Give and take. It costs a lot to operate lifts, buses and ski patrol. Common sense should prevail. Verbier offers an early season price of circa 40 CHF per day, it seems pertinent to offer this if snow conditions are poor. It should not however be linked to x number of pistes being open, but be open to interpretation by people with some sense.
Xavier Adam, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
I reckon that overall a lift pass is pretty good value for money considering everything, though i have notices prices creeping up in Europe in recent years. It must cost a fortune to install and run them and then there is the ski patrol, avalanche work etc.... etc.... but it is still irritating to pay for a lift pass when much is closed.
Alex Maxwell, London
nice post. thanks.
pharmacy technician, China
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