Yes, believe it or not the skiing season opened yesterday. No, not in our countries, not even in Europe but in Colorado. Over there the Arapahoe Basin opened at 9am their time to the usual fun that greets a new season. At over 13,500 high the Basin gets about 350 inches of snow a season which may account for the fact that it is open some eight months of the year.
With the Ski and Snowboard Show at London’s Earls Court only a fortnight away comes welcome news that Moneycorp, says that the cost of skiing this season will be cheaper than last season. The research doesn’t look at some skiing destinations like any of the Scandinavian countries, Romania, Scotland, Croatia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic for example so readers should compare the costs there as well.
But canny CD-Traveller readers will know that surveys need to be studied a little more in depth to uderstand them. Part of the answer is that because the euro has declined against the pound, those countries with the euro should be cheaper. But Switzerland – usually one of the more expensive countries – will have nearly a 15% drop compared to last year. And the Swiss franc hasn’t depreciated against sterling by that amount so the deals are better than previously. But against other countries they are still pricey. Bulgaria – according to Moneycorp – is less half the price of similar ski essentials than Switzerland.
Overall it says the most expensive place – once you take out the cost of the flights and hotels – is the USA. But that masks detail because included in their calculations are ski and boot hire, tuition and lift passes. If you don’t need either the hire or the tuition prices then the difference drops. Still more expensive than Europe, both the USA and Canada have more expensive lift passes. But again, shop around and the smaller resorts do charge less.