Help plan a ski trip

December 29, 2005 7:58 PM

Help me plan a crazycheap February ski trip for my Boy Scout group.

On President's Day weekend, I'd like to take a group of around 40 people skiing. This number includes both the high-school age guys and old-fart chaperones. We're located in Omaha, Nebraska, so it seems like a trek to Colorado is the closest location for good skiing.

The basic framework of the trip is this: We get on a bus Friday evening and drive through the night, ski Saturday and Sunday, and drive home Sunday evening through Monday morning. We’ll need lodging Saturday evening. I’m open to any change in this framework, provided it syncs with the schedule of most high school students.

The problem is that rates seem exorbitantly expensive for humble boy scouts. Our best efforts to contact lodges in Keystone and Aspen leave us with a total price of around $201 per person, plus transportation. That’s $35 for one nights’ lodging, $88 for two days’ lift tickets, $38 for two days’ ski rental, and $40 for eight cheap fast food meals. And we still haven’t added transportation costs.

How can I make this trip cheaper? Currently, we’re booked nicer accommodations then we need: we’re used to roughing it. We’ve also been unable to find anyone to give us group discounts, anywhere. Lastly, we’re going to a nice ski resort: we’re all unaccomplished skiers from a very flat state, and we don’t mind going to some shady ski resort run by crazy expat Russians.

Please, give me any suggestions for cheaper ways to get there, stay a night, book ski tickets, buy meals, and rent equipment. I’d also love any anecdotes or suggestions you all have.

posted by Sfving to sports, hobbies, & recreation (13 comments total)

I dunno, $200+transpo doesn't sound exorbitant to me for an out of state skiing trip. I know that doesn't help you, but is it worth maybe $50 savings to go through this hassle? Let's use Amdahl's law: less than $35 without camping? good luck. $40/day for lift tickets? not likely to get better than that, unless you subsidize it. $5/meal? that's cheap unless you cook Boy Scout dinners on the van radiator. maybe you can get them to throw in the ski rental for a bunch of first-time skiiers, or perhaps you could volunteer troop labor for an afternoon in exchange for this.
posted by kcm at 8:13 PM on December 29, 2005

let's put it this way: parents might grumble now about an extra $50, but if you plan some crazy plane-train-automobile travel schedule to go camp out in the town dump and ski the trash piles while dining on Ramen, they'll grumble for a long time afterward.
posted by kcm at 8:17 PM on December 29, 2005

When I was in Boy Scouts, we used to do ski trips like this. We always brought out own lunch supplies: guys would bring bagels and cheese, sandwich makings, etc. and they would fix lunch in the morning to take with them on the mountain (the wealthier scouts would pay $11 for lunch in the lodge). It'd be cheaper and healthier than fast food.

Also, as far as rental -- it's usually cheaper in town than on the mountain. I don't know if you have REI stores in Nebraska, but in Spokane, WA they would rent us a full set of ski equipment for about $10 a day. May not be worth it to have to haul it up on the bus, but you could save a few bucks.

Oh, and talk to the Ski Patrol on the mountain and see if they are (or know any) Scouts themselves. Quite a few of the guys on patrol around here are involved in Scouting; they could maybe swing you a deal or let you sleep in the Ski Patrol lodge or let you know where to find a cheap motel. Good luck!
posted by rossination at 9:01 PM on December 29, 2005

$200 + trans sounds good to me too. And I live in Denver!

Try Sol Vista. I've never been but have heard it's a very family friendly place. Group rates look good. It might be the best option for a cheap trip with a nice, relaxing atmosphere. They have lodging there and in Granby which should have fast food, etc.

Check out Breckenridge for packages, too. Good for beginners and more advanced. A-Basin is cheaper but doesn't have much for beginners.

You may wish to try lodging that isn't associated with a resort. Check out Silverthorne, Frisco, or Dillon for lodging. Those towns are all close to Breck, Keystone, A-Basin, Vail, and Copper.

Another lower cost option might be Loveland. Ski Loveland and stay in Georgetown.
posted by 6550 at 9:05 PM on December 29, 2005

Make your own food. Get each scout to bring some (pre-planned) groceries. Making meals is cheaper than eating out and it teaches the life skills and nutrition you'd think Scouting would promote. Also, if you tell a Scout to bring 3 loaves of bread or 2 lbs of cold cuts or whatever, the parents may be less likely to include this in their estimate of the total cost of the ski trip. :)

Also, can't you camp? I was in the (Canadian) Movement for years and winter camps were a big deal. Isn't there a local Scouting camp or a kindly Scouting farm family where you could stay? Don't you have a Scout House in the area where you could stay?

Is there another scout troop in the area you want to visit? Could you set up a joint ski trip, then billet with the local troop? In the summer, perhaps you could host the troop for some sort of seasonal activity...a nice out-of-state trip.

If these things aren't part of the Movement anymore, it's a major loss, IMHO.
posted by acoutu at 9:36 PM on December 29, 2005

Oh, yeah...and we used to do fundraising for trips like this to help offset the costs. Offer to help out at a wedding, do dishes for a big banquet, etc. Lots of that stuff goes on in the winter...and it's a good way to build skills and teamwork.
posted by acoutu at 9:37 PM on December 29, 2005

In college (circa '95 or so), we used to take off as soon as possible after winter break started and go to Crested Butte for free skiing before the start of the season. I don't know if A) your dates are negotiable or B) that deal's still around. I highly recommend it, though--it was relatively uncrowded.

I never got to ski in the Scouts--hope you can pull this trip off!
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 1:19 AM on December 30, 2005

Would you consider going east instead? There are many places to ski in Wisconsin, which is more hilly than you might think. Sure, the skiing probably won't compare to the Rockies, but neither will the cost.

Ski Wisconsin
posted by SuperSquirrel at 9:12 AM on December 30, 2005

When I was in high school, we took the train out to Winter Park, Colorado. We stayed in condos and did all our own cooking. It was pretty cheap!
posted by k8t at 9:30 AM on December 30, 2005

Check out Ski Cooper. It's near Leadville, Colorado. I haven't been there in years but it was great for begining and intermediate skiiers. I don't think they have any expert slopes so it stays relatively small and relaxed. I'm sure you can find better deals on lodging.
Here is a site to get you started.
Also, the YMCA runs a place near Winter Park called Snow Mountain Ranch. They may already be booked solid but it may be worth a try.
posted by BoscosMom at 11:39 AM on December 30, 2005

Link to Snow Mountain Ranch.
posted by BoscosMom at 11:41 AM on December 30, 2005

Monarch (Salida, CO) has lift tickets for around $35 with (easy to obtain) coupons. Lodging in Canon City or Salida would be much cheaper than Aspen.
posted by Sheppagus at 1:46 PM on December 30, 2005

I second Sol Vista for Skiing and Snow Mountain Ranch (10 minutes down the road) for Accomodations and Food. You may want to consider doing one day of alpine at Sol Vista and One day of Nordic at Snow Mountain Ranch. Cross-Country Skiing is much cheaper. Another option would be to change the dates of the trip to late spring when lift tickets, and accomodations are much cheaper. Pres. Day weekend is the busiest weekend for Colorado Ski Resorts and thus you will be paying premium rates.
posted by xcwhite at 2:31 PM on December 30, 2005