Are snow sports getting too expensive & whats new

The title says it all, are regular people being priced out of snow sports? Lets talk about it.

We live in a time where season passes like the Ikon and Epic pass give you access to a plethora of ski resorts across the country and even in other parts of the world. Passes like these are the key to unlocking legacy ski destinations and having access to endless fun on the slopes, but that comes at a price. . . A price that increases every year, with no foreseeable end in sight.

For many, these passes seem like a bargain when you compare them to individual day tickets the resorts charge. And that would be true if day tickets were not as inflated to the point that it makes more financial sense to just buy the pass. However, where does that leave the typical person? It forces them to shell out large quantities of money for the season, and at risk of experiencing a dry season like we have recently here in SoCal.

However, passes aren’t the only thing that keeps increasing in price, so is all the gear. Many brands have increased their prices again for 2025, and it seems that with these increases, quality and technology have not followed the trend. Quite unfortunate when you have to pay so much money for something that won’t last as long, and leaves you feeling as though you are not getting a good return on your investment. An example of this is the issues Oakley’s Line Miner Pros faced last year with their new design. The general consensus was they had bad fogging issues compared to their cheaper Line Miner model. Which meant you paid more for a “pro” version that fogged up worse and left you having to deal with a foggy vision on those cold days.

With that being said, all is not bad in the snow sports industry, with some new and exciting things coming, along with what might be an epic season in the northern parts of the country. Two of California’s most popular Ski resorts welcomed the PistenBully 600e+ to their snowcat fleets. Sightings of the new green machine were seen late last season at Big Bear Mountain Resort and Palisades Tahoe welcomed their first 600e+ last week.

These machines are a essentially a diesel hybrid that run on renewable diesel. This innovative move by PistenBully boast 20% less fuel consumption, 20% less noise, a 20% decrease in CO2 emissions, and 16% increase in thrust. It marks a huge step in sustainability for mountain operations, and looks to help decrease resort’s carbon footprints.

In other news, it was recently confirmed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOOA) that we will be experiencing a “La Niña” winter this season and that could mean historic levels of snow and fun for the northern parts of the country, especially for the Pacific Northwest. So that means resorts like Mt. Bachelor, Whistler Blackcomb, and Mt. Baker will likely see above-average levels of snow. Seeing how thee season unfolds will be exciting, although the southern regions of the country will likely experience a dryer, warmer winter. Meaning, historic levels of snow in the sierras and rockies are not as promising this winter. But in the end, these are predictions not for sure things.

###