24-25 Ski and Snowboard Thread

gmb3 said:
My 7yo has a 1/2 day from school on Wednesday so i started looking around the local mtns to see if i could get him a private lesson that afternoon. Everything at the times i need to get back in time to pick up little bro from daycare are already sold out so SOL for us but here's my summary of pricing:

(This is without equipment rental bc we have gear)
Campgaw 1hr private lesson + pass: $160
Mt Peter 1hr private lesson + pass: $189
Mtn Creek 2hr private lesson includes pass: $399!
Big Snow 2hr private lesson includes pass: $309

.This is nuts! I'll probably just have to suck it up and do weekend group lessons for him - then i could expand my research into PA.
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Yes those are crazy prices but I will say the best thing we did when my son first tried skiing at 5 was get him a private lesson. Within 20 mins he was riding the lift (not the carpet) and coming down on his own. An intense 1hour of focused attention did wonders. He is now a backcountry fiend out in the Cascades.
 
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gmb3 said:
My 7yo has a 1/2 day from school on Wednesday so i started looking around the local mtns to see if i could get him a private lesson that afternoon. Everything at the times i need to get back in time to pick up little bro from daycare are already sold out so SOL for us but here's my summary of pricing:

(This is without equipment rental bc we have gear)
Campgaw 1hr private lesson + pass: $160
Mt Peter 1hr private lesson + pass: $189
Mtn Creek 2hr private lesson includes pass: $399!
Big Snow 2hr private lesson includes pass: $309

.This is nuts! I'll probably just have to suck it up and do weekend group lessons for him - then i could expand my research into PA.
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ya, its expensive....My son is ok at this point, id say an intermediate skier who can get down most any trail I take him on, but his technique leaves much to be desired. And while I spend alot of time trying to teach him, he only listens to me when he feels like it. We're heading to big sky and jackson hole next month so I was curious about a private lesson there....$1025 for 4 hours. Which is crazy...however ski instructors make SHIT.....So $256 an hour and the instructor probably gets around $30 of it.

But I can't argue with @icebiker that there is value to it....I know with myself...my dad only ever got me one lesson in my entire life and I dont remember learning anything from it to be honest...I might have...I was probably about 10 like my son is and at roughly the same skill level. For me what really changed my skiing was watching the movie hot dog and becoming obsessed with skiing moguls....well probably Shannon Tweed too, but mostly moguls lol.
 
UtahJoe said:
....$1025 for 4 hours. Which is crazy...however ski instructors make SHIT.....So $256 an hour and the instructor probably gets around $30 of it.
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From what I've gathered on the ski forums, it's closer to $15 goes to the instructor. They rely on tips, which is ridiculous with what the mountains charges,
 
Isn’t sking easier to learn and harder to master 🤪 than snowboarding? If you’re 6 and under you can master either within a day ha . My girl was doing good boarding last time last year but it’s like we started from scratch again.

How does one know the tip the instructor?
I’m just going to pretend I didn’t read that.

I guess the indypass is more financially attractive and you see different places.
 
@gmb3 bro just tell the school he has an appt and pull him out earlier. Missing half of half day is not going to change anything 😁 but he’ll remember his lesson forever. DON’T FORGET TO TIP!
 
THATmanMANNY said:
Isn’t sking easier to learn and harder to master 🤪 than snowboarding?
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well I can't comment on mastering snowboarding as I have only tried it a couple of times...(and I crashed my brains out)....but mastering skiing...I mean being good in all types of terrain...Ice, moguls, trees, crud, steeps, carving, jumps etc....certainly ALOT of different skills you can work on....45th year for me and im still learning. But I think in a couple of years you can get plenty skilled at skiing....Enough so that you can go to a mountain, be in control, have fun and enjoy your day.
 
THATmanMANNY said:
How does one know the tip the instructor?
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Thats where I feel bad for the instructor....imagine I shelled out $1025 for my son to have a lesson....so im going to feel awesome about giving the instructor a $200 tip? I mean they probably deserve it, but jfc, thats and expensive 4hrs. For $256 an hour, the instructors should be making considerably more than they do.
 
UtahJoe said:
Thats where I feel bad for the instructor....imagine I shelled out $1025 for my son to have a lesson....so im going to feel awesome about giving the instructor a $200 tip? I mean they probably deserve it, but jfc, thats and expensive 4hrs. For $256 an hour, the instructors should be making considerably more than they do.
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I'd try to find a decent instructor locally and skip the lessons at an Epic or Ikon mountain out West. Since the skiing is now so cheap for people with the passes, they try to make it up by gouging the customers on everything else.
 
Not a convenient option but FYI

my buddy mentioned his kids did full day lessons at Jay peak while they went and did their own thing.
$280 per child for 5.5hrs. YO THAT IS SO WORTH IT

I think the bunny slopes at mtns in this area are a little steep for just learning snowboarding crowd.
 
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My daughter is a hs senior and is in her second year instructing at okemo. Qualified through green. Hopefully will get PSIA this year. Great job for a HS kid having to work with kids and then communicate back to the parents. Great end of the day stories. $20 and change per hour plus tips. About half the parents tip and those that do tip $20 to $40 either cash or venmo. Dads tip better than moms. If requested for a private lesson, she gets double.
 
UtahJoe said:
wow, JFC....how do they enforce this? I mean camelback charges $45 to park....but not like I actually pay them...what are they going to do? take me camelback jail? lol.

And it all just another example of how its all about the $$$ and fuck the user experience. Sucks.
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Oh - they had Stowe PD in the parking lot one day writing tickets. And that was on a Friday around 11 with only a 1/3 of the lot full :smh:

There was never a fee for parking until a couple of years ago when the lots were overflowing. But new WFH locals, people with Epic passes that are trying out Mt Mansfield, and the massive development on the Spruce side over the last 15 years (which took out a ton of parking) and there just isn't the space.

There are options for free parking: park down the road at the Toll Road and take the slow as molasses double or park at the XC center and take the shuttle. Or have a car with 4 people in it.

For busy Saturday/Sundays/holidays - sure $30 or the free options are reasonable. But Friday fees are pure money grab as the people it hurts most are locals that are trying to get some morning or mid day runs. But it was a good snow, nice weather Friday before MLK weekend and the lot had a ton of spaces so maybe things are going back to "normal"
 
UtahJoe said:
Thats where I feel bad for the instructor....imagine I shelled out $1025 for my son to have a lesson....so im going to feel awesome about giving the instructor a $200 tip? I mean they probably deserve it, but jfc, thats and expensive 4hrs. For $256 an hour, the instructors should be making considerably more than they do.
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Long shot but wondering if you could link up with a local Olympic/B Pro kid at JH and Big Sky and just pay them directly? I have a hockey buddy that was in Snowmass over Christmas and a friend of a friend of his wife is an Olympic skier and toured around his 2 kids for the day for $250. The mid level and lower pros don't make much so side gigs like lessons work well for them.

EDIT - just saw that Bike N Gear noted the same move.
 
don said:
Long shot but wondering if you could link up with a local Olympic/B Pro kid at JH and Big Sky and just pay them directly? I have a hockey buddy that was in Snowmass over Christmas and a friend of a friend of his wife is an Olympic skier and toured around his 2 kids for the day for $250. The mid level and lower pros don't make much so side gigs like lessons work well for them.

EDIT - just saw that Bike N Gear noted the same move.
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Just don't get caught. Both the teacher and the student will lose their passes. Instructer can be prosecuted too.

www.justice.gov

Guilty Verdict in Case of Unpermitted Snowboard-Instruction Business on Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, Within the Inyo National Forest

www.justice.gov www.justice.gov
 
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