The 8 Biggest Ski Trip Mistakes You Are Making—And How to Avoid Them

Planning a ski trip is a chance for an epic winter adventure—but chances are, you’re doing it all wrong. 

Over the past few years, ski resorts have shifted the way they sell lift tickets, lodging, and passes in ways that make it tough to plan trips based on even the heuristics of even a couple seasons ago. But even dismissing the recent changes in the industry, there are probably some choices you’ve been making for decades that have degraded the quality of your ski trips—without you even noticing.

In this piece, we’ll call out the most common mistakes people make when booking destination ski vacations, how one ends up in these situations in the first place, and the surprisingly easy strategies to avoid them. And we’ll also highlight a few opportunities where even if you do everything else wrong, you can set yourself up for a successful, reasonably-priced destination vacation.

If you’ve arrived here and you don’t have your ticket yet, be prepared to shell out twice what you would have paid 3-6 months in advance.

#1: Buying Lift Tickets

The first mistake that many of you are making is a seemingly fundamental element to a ski trip: buying lift tickets. 

If you’re reading this article and you only ski or ride once or twice a year, you might be wondering: what are you even talking about here? How do you even get on the mountain without buying a ticket?

Don’t Overlook Pass Products

Well, it turns out that lift tickets aren’t the only way to get on the slopes anymore—and for most destination resorts, they’re downright terrible deals compared with multi-day pass products offered by Epic, Ikon, and even some of the resorts themselves. Even if you don’t want to pay several hundreds of dollars for full Epic or Ikon season passes, you can now get an Epic Day Pass or Ikon Session Pass product, which offer a fixed number of days of flexible access to a wide variety of destinations at substantial early-season discounts. 

Many Ikon-affiliated resorts, including Winter Park, Copper, and Sugarbush, offer their own resort-branded flex tickets that are even cheaper than the Session Pass. But don’t just buy these blindly, because some of them come with fine-print restrictions versus the Ikon variant for only a slight discount.

Only a small subset of high-end destination mountains, such as Jackson Hole and Aspen Snowmass, do not offer a flexible ticket-like day pass product with substantial discounts from regular lift tickets.

So if you’re proactive about figuring out what resorts you want to visit, you can get these passes for substantial discounts over these astronomical lift tickets. But you’ll have to act quickly, because they’re not on sale for long. Speaking of that, the next biggest mistake you’re probably making is…

If you book a last-minute trip to a mountain during the first weekend of good snow conditions, be prepared to wait in lines like these.

#2: Making a Game Time Decision

Last-Minute Lift Access

If you try to buy a flexible day pass product during the actual ski season, you’ll be completely out of luck. In fact, most of these reasonably-priced access packs and passes go off sale within the first two weeks of December, so if you buy your resort access for that, you’ll be facing what are essentially unaffordable prices for any normal person. Some of the resort-branded offerings will be off sale as early as the next week or two. Don’t want to pay $200 per day for your trip to Colorado or Utah? Better get your access in order well before the fall is over.

Last-Minute Accommodations

These early-bird passes do come with flexible days, so you don’t have to commit to a certain day or set of days during the season when buying them. But what might become tougher are flight and accommodation prices. At the most popular destinations, cheaper hotels and vacation rentals book up quickly, and if you don’t jump on them at least two months before your trip—especially when it comes to desirable ski-in/ski-out lodging—you might be facing prices that rise by as much as double from the early-season rate. For the busiest holiday periods, try to lock in your accommodation three or more months before you go.

Last-Minute Crowds and Parking Reservations

Okay, but what if you already have an Epic, Ikon, or similar pass product, you’re able to find some relatively affordable lodging near the resort—or you live within day trip distance, and you want to book a last minute trip? Well, you should think long and hard about why you’re booking that trip—because if it’s due to a powder day or the first weekend of good snow conditions in the region, you’ll be joined by a cajole of like-minded people and face insane lift lines throughout your trip.

Seemingly everyone who has flexible resort access thinks along these lines, and the last thing you want to do is get your hopes dashed when you get to your chosen resort on the first fully open Saturday and only get two runs in. And if you think flying will solve that issue (assuming you can somehow get reasonable last-minute flights), keep in mind that almost every destination ski resort sits within driving distance of a major metropolitan area, so very few of them are immune to the phenomenon we just discussed.

Also, several ski resorts now require paid parking reservations. If your mountain requires one, make sure you can actually secure a reservation, because there’s nothing worse than making that last-minute trip only to be turned away.

But before you book your trip with plenty of time to spare, you’ll want to know what you’re getting yourself into, because the next mistake you might be making is…

The high-alpine bowls of the Rockies may look stunning, but the altitude may be overwhelming for some.

#3: Choosing the Wrong Resort

When you’re booking a vacation, you should have a sense of your ability level and what type of terrain you’d want to ski. Not properly thinking about this can set you up for disappointment, even if you have a world-class destination in mind for your trip. For example, let’s say you want to go to Colorado to ski high-alpine bowls. Beaver Creek and Steamboat are not your picks. On the other hand, what if you want something that’s really great for intermediates with lots of groomed cruisers? Snowbird and Jackson Hole will not be for you.

Trail Rating Caveats

Also, it's important not to solely rely on trail ratings at face value. A blue run at Jackson Hole is not going to be the same as a blue run at Northstar. With only some minor edge cases for extreme terrain in Colorado, there is no standardized guideline that all resorts use to rate their terrain objectively, so while still reasonably uniform in most cases, every resort can basically assign whatever rating they want to any trail. If you’re not sure whether a resort is right for your skill level, we’ve assigned a recommended ability level for every destination ski resort we’ve reviewed.

Region-Specific Circumstances

High Altitude Conditions

If you’ve never been out west before, especially if you go to Colorado or New Mexico, these resorts can sit at base elevations higher than 9,000 feet. If you don’t do well in high altitudes, choosing a mountain in the Rockies could lead to disaster—and if you’re not sure if you do, you’ll want to come prepared ready to drink lots of water and perhaps buffer a day or two into your schedule before skiing to acclimate to the altitude.

Remote Locations

Certain very remote resorts have extremely limited flights to and from major cities. If weather causes a flight delay or cancellation, you may not be able to get to your destination for a few days—or may need to cancel your trip entirely—making it imperative to book an accommodation that has a flexible cancellation policy.

Booking Lessons at Destination Ski Resorts

Finally, if you are a true beginner and think you’ll need lessons, booking a trip to a destination ski resort can be a huge money pit. Even half-day lessons now cost several hundreds of dollars at the most well-known mountains, and even with early-bird discounts, guests will find lessons costing double or even triple the cost of lift tickets alone.

But even if you find the perfect mountain, don’t just pull the trigger on any group trip, because the next mistake you might be making is…

If you vacation with people who don’t have the same expectations or goals as you, it may diminish the quality of your trip.

#4: Going with the Wrong People

Going on a ski trip is just as much about the experience of who you go with as it is the skiing and riding on the slopes themselves. Having others on the trip can be a substantial benefit: expanding your group can help spread out expenses, and choosing an organized trip can allow you to sidestep planning hassles. However, when going with others, you are giving up some freedom of what to do. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if you don’t vibe with the people you’re going with—either on or off the slopes—you’re not gonna have a good time.

When you go on a destination ski trip, you’re likely going to be spending at least a few days with whoever you go with. Even if you think you know them well, the way someone acts in day-to-day life is not necessarily representative of how they’ll act in a vacation environment. In that vein, you’ll want to make sure you are all on the same page regarding expectations, goals, and skiing abilities.

If you’re thinking of having someone tag along on a trip—or if someone invites you on one—think about whether they’d set the right mood, want to do similar activities, and ski or ride the same types of terrain as you.

But once you get your group in order, you’ll want to be careful about where you choose to stay, because the next mistake you might be making is…

Staying off-site can mean waiting in traffic jams like these to get between your condo and the resort.

#5: Not Staying On-Site

Ok, so we should probably preface this one by saying it’s not by any means always a bad idea to stay off-site when booking a ski trip. Choosing a hotel or lodge that’s not directly on the slopes can be an appealing and effective way to save money on what can be a pricey vacation. You’ll often get the same or a higher quality of lodging for a substantial discount if you’re not wedded to a ski-in/ski-out or walking distance accommodation.

But if you choose an off-site lodge that’s too far away from the slopes—or even one that’s close by at the wrong time—it can really take away from your trip.

Winter Driving Issues

A lodge that’s half an hour away from the resort on paper might save you a ton of money, but you could be risking highly stressful drives through wintry conditions—and much longer drives than expected. The last thing you’ll want is for a series of high-quality powder days to be ruined by roads plagued by snow, ice, and low visibility. It’s not out of the ordinary for roads to close entirely during particularly crazy storms, so depending on the conditions, you may not be able to get to your resort at all. These cheaper accommodations can be in the middle of nowhere, and having to plan for these stressful drives can also limit your aprés and dinner options during your trip.

Access Road Traffic Issues

But even “nearby” accommodations that don’t involve particularly long stretches of driving can cause major headaches these days. On weekends and holidays, access road traffic to popular resorts in Colorado, Utah, Tahoe, and Vermont, among others, now reach horrendous levels. Even a ten-minute drive can turn into an hours-long ordeal. Several resorts have attempted to address the issue by charging for parking reservations, but while there’s no doubt this has helped with traffic, it hasn’t exactly gone away, and it does add to the cost of staying off-site. This traffic problem is a lot less pronounced if you book for an off-peak weekday or you choose a resort in a very remote location, so if you really don’t want to stay on-site and you’re time-boxed to weekends and holidays, a ski resort somewhere in the Canadian Rockies, Wyoming, or Montana might be your best bet.

Day Tripping Issues

Speaking of, these traffic issues mean that just day tripping to any ski resort near a metropolitan area on a weekend, especially if it’s affiliated with a major pass product such as Epic or Ikon and you’re in one of the regions we called out earlier, will probably end in disaster if you’re not incredibly proactive about getting there. If you do decide to day trip to a nearby ski resort on a Saturday or Sunday, and assuming you’ve made any requisite reservations, the only real way to avoid the traffic is to get on the road well before the sun comes up.

But even if you splurge for an on-site lodge, don’t splurge too much, because the next mistake you’re probably making is…

Costs for ski town activities like dining and aprés can quickly add up.

#6: Forgetting to Budget for On-Site Activities

With all the spending associated with resort access, accommodations, and transportation, it’s easy to forget that the expenses don’t stop with the costs before your trip. Aprés-ski, fancy dinners, and buying souvenirs are all things you’ll probably want to do on the mountain, even if just in moderation, and for a weeklong trip these costs will run most vacationers at least a couple hundred extra dollars.

By budgeting here, we don’t just mean setting a fixed amount of money aside for these leisure activities. If you forget just how much some of these situations cost, it can be easy to spend way more money than if you plan smartly. Take, for instance, on-site dining, which is often outrageously priced. If you remember to pack your own sandwich, or maybe some snacks to hold you over, it’s a much better use of your money. And even if you’re wedded to buying food on-site and don’t want to deal with packing your own lunch, you should highly reconsider buying that food in a mid or upper-mountain lodge. Mid-mountain restaurants often charge higher prices due to the cost of transporting food up the mountain, and to compound the issue, you’ll often find mid-mountain food to be lower quality than the base offerings, since these lodges often lack the same cooking facilities available at restaurants directly accessible by road.

But even if you ignore all the other advice we’ve given you so far, the next massive oversight could be saving you tons of money—and stress—on your ski trip.

Spring and fall skiing can offer substantial savings—and way fewer crowds—over a core-season ski trip.

#7: Overlooking the Early and Late Seasons

To most people, the rule of thumb is that the ski season runs from December through March. But especially if you’re booking a destination trip—and you don’t need the craziest terrain openings to have a good time—you can reap substantial savings by booking your trip either before or after this core winter period.

Spring Skiing Season

Perhaps the most overlooked time period for a destination ski trip is during the spring. Tons of resorts in Colorado, Utah, and on the West Coast reliably operate through at least mid-April with full coverage and terrain openings, and some go as late as May or June. You probably won’t be skiing in as prime of conditions as a core season trip, but you’ll benefit from warmer weather, generally safer road conditions, and considerably lower crowds—all for what’s generally a fraction of the lodging cost (and ticket cost if you didn’t buy a multi-day product prior to mid-December). And while not as common as during the winter, substantial powder days do occur on occasion during these warmer months.

Fall Skiing Season

But if you don’t want to wait that long, the fall offers what’s perhaps even cheaper lodging and essentially nonexistent lift lines compared with the regular winter season (with opening days at certain mountains being notable exceptions). A fly-to trip in late November or early December means you’re probably facing limited terrain openings and maybe some congestion on the slopes, but if you’re a beginner or intermediate, the terrain available might be enough to justify the trip. If you don’t need all the benefits a core season trip brings, going during the early or late season may bring you the same enjoyment for a fraction of the cost.

But even if you do everything else right, there is one final mistake that could wreak total havoc on your ski trip—and this one is less of a budget thing, and more about your self-attentiveness.

Even if everything else goes right, if you don’t have the right clothes and gear, it can ruin your ski day.

#8: Overlooking Gear and Clothing Requirements

Once you’ve gotten everything else ironed out, the final piece to your puzzle is your gear. And if you don’t come prepared with the proper slopes setup, there’s no saving even the most incredible ski day.

Clothing Requirements

One thing that we’ve all fallen victim to—even after going on trip after trip—is underestimating just how many layers of clothes a ski trip truly requires. You won’t just be spending time in below-freezing weather—you’ll be spending hours out there, and you’ll often face windy and exposed conditions that make the slopes feel colder than they really are. Well before your trip, you’ll want to make sure you have the proper outerwear, layers, and gloves or mittens to keep yourself comfortable in this environment for hours at a time. The last thing you want is to find yourself without the clothing to stay sufficiently warm on the slopes, resulting in unnecessary lodge stops and a scramble to buy extra layers at extortion-level ski town prices.

Gear Requirements

But there’s one piece to your setup that’s arguably even more important than your clothing—and that’s your skis or snowboard, boots, and bindings. Having any one of these fit wrong can substantially degrade the quality of your trip. Proper gear is essential to your comfort, performance, and progression on the slopes, and if you have loose-feeling boots, faultily-adjusted bindings, or a pair of skis or board that’s either too aggressive or not capable enough, you not only risk losing proper feel with the slopes, but also seriously injuring yourself due to the the mis-calibrations. If you notice anything off with your gear when you’re on the slopes, don’t ignore it, and take it to your rental shop or a gear outlet to get it adjusted as soon as you can.

Final Thoughts

So when it comes to booking a ski trip, there’s a lot that can go wrong—be it with tickets, lodging, weather, or on-mountain gear. But luckily, with a bit of forethought, you can future-proof yourself against all of these issues.

And luckily, if you’re still overwhelmed by all the complexities of planning a trip, we can help you out—be sure to check out PeakRankings Trips, our new trip planning service where we can plan everything for you—including your resort, accommodation, flights, and even gear rentals! To get started, check out our offerings here.

For more tips on how to get on the slopes without breaking the bank, check out our piece on Planning Your Ski Trip on a Budget.