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David Goldsmith


Posts: 1283
Joined: Feb 2003
Last Visited: 08:28
6th Nov 2018
All-area Scottish lift passes on sale
Date Posted: 19.12hrs on Tue 8 Sep 15
News about the availability/pricing of all-area all-season lift passes, from SnowboardClub.co.uk ...

[www.snowboardclub.co.uk]

The webpage (Nevis Range) for purchase ...

[snowsports.nevisrange.co.uk]
Mountainaddict


Posts: 271
Joined: Nov 2006
Last Visited: 19:38
6th Jan 2021
Re: All-area Scottish lift passes on sale
Date Posted: 23.07hrs on Sat 12 Sep 15
Getting quite expensive for newbies - around 17 or 18 days to make it worthwhile...
sspeirs


Posts: 370
Joined: Mar 2008
Last Visited: 09:59
22nd Apr 2021
Re: All-area Scottish lift passes on sale
Date Posted: 20.52hrs on Tue 15 Sep 15
IMHO better with a resort season pass. You get 30% discount at other resorts if you do need to ski somewhere else - with the premium on the all season pass you need to ski a lot of days to beat the resort pass IMHO
gaz5m


Posts: 280
Joined: Feb 2009
Last Visited: 11:56
23rd Apr 2018
Re: All-area Scottish lift passes on sale
Date Posted: 08.29hrs on Wed 16 Sep 15
Mountainaddict Wrote:
Getting quite expensive for newbies - around 17 or 18 days to make it worthwhile...


It's around 18 days to break even, thats before you actually start getting any benefit from it.

I cant ever justify taking the risk, so if I do get more than 18 days I'm happy enough to suck up that cost and just be delighted I got so many! Over single seasons I might lose out, but over the last 10 years combined I'm definitely better off not having taken the pass.

That said, I do often think they miss a trick with the high price which I think is designed to price your average punter out. If I had a season pass already paid for I'd be more likely to head out on marginal days where I otherwise decide not to, meaning I'd spend money somewhere that day (food/drink etc). Would be interesting to know how the calculation is done to work out the price (assuming it has to do with average days used by pass holders against average spend required elsewhere on the hill or something more scientific than that)

Swings and roundabouts though I guess, I know plenty of folk who easily get their value out of the passes as they can drop everything and go whenever. The lucky sods. :-)


ropetow


Posts: 202
Joined: Sep 2006
Last Visited: 09:08
13th Apr 2021
Re: All-area Scottish lift passes on sale
Date Posted: 11.32hrs on Fri 18 Sep 15
And by sheer coincidence I had a peek at the Portes Du Soleil lift passes for next year to see what the break-even price was between the all areas season ticket and the day rate - Adult season is 900 euros, day ticket is 49.5 euros which makes the number of days before break even.........wait for it ...wait for it...... 18.
gaz5m


Posts: 280
Joined: Feb 2009
Last Visited: 11:56
23rd Apr 2018
Re: All-area Scottish lift passes on sale
Date Posted: 13.33hrs on Fri 18 Sep 15
Coincidence indeed. :-)

Though, thats also always been my other issue with the Scottish all area pass. As much as I love riding in Scotland the season pass looks extortionate comparing facilities, snow suredness and weather expectations to other countries. Scotland, I reckon, is more of a gamble.

The only season ticket I ever bought was the Summit Pass (for Breckenrdige, A-Basin and Keystone). And I bought it because it was £250 quid, significantly cheaper than 10 day tickets for our trip. Even now, a few years on, at £303 it's only 6 days (against price of day passes to break even).

I realise that comparing different countries is very much apples and pears and I'd never knock home snow, I'd just rather give my money to the centre of my choice (between Glencoe, Glenshee or Nevis) on the day as I see it as less of a gamble (and I know the places I go are actually getting my money!)


Mountainaddict


Posts: 271
Joined: Nov 2006
Last Visited: 19:38
6th Jan 2021
Re: All-area Scottish lift passes on sale
Date Posted: 19.12hrs on Sat 19 Sep 15
Yep, all in all the all areas pass is too much of a gamble for too much money - the number of stormbound (or even unpleasantly too windy) weekends last season was just ridiculous - heartbreaking if you work through the week and had bought a season pass of any description.


sspeirs


Posts: 370
Joined: Mar 2008
Last Visited: 09:59
22nd Apr 2021
Re: All-area Scottish lift passes on sale
Date Posted: 14.57hrs on Mon 21 Sep 15
Mountainaddict Wrote:
Yep, all in all the all areas pass is too much of a gamble for too much money - the number of stormbound (or even unpleasantly too windy) weekends last season was just ridiculous - heartbreaking if you work through the week and had bought a season pass of any description.



Even with the numbers of impacted weekends, I had my most days ever last season - and I'm pretty much weekend only (I think I had 2 or 3 days off mid-week that I saved). It does mean going pretty much one day on every weekend that the centre (in my case the Coe) is open. I think the all-area is too much for me personally, but the resort season pass IMHO is a good buy and encourages you to get out there and find those initially marginal days that in fact turn out great
Mountainaddict


Posts: 271
Joined: Nov 2006
Last Visited: 19:38
6th Jan 2021
Re: All-area Scottish lift passes on sale
Date Posted: 11.11hrs on Wed 23 Sep 15
Problem for us is living 250-300 miles (depending on area visited) from the slopes and the associated fuel accommodation expense for what could be a wasted trip.

We can take less than perfect weather conditions but have learned from bitter/miserable experience that it's really not worth the risk when the forecast is on a knife edge/marginal - and it never ceases to amaze us just how frequently that is...(after cracking midweek conditions of course!).
firefly


Posts: 2149
Joined: May 2006
Re: All-area Scottish lift passes on sale
Date Posted: 12.15hrs on Wed 23 Sep 15
I don't ski, but am planning to take it up this year (finally).

I would be happy to pay the price of this once I am a skier. Not because I think I would get more than my money's worth, but because by doing so I'm investing in the future of the industry. It's more than 'what's in it for me'. For places like Glenshee et al, income coming in even when there's little snow around is crucial. It hedges against lean years, and if more people were prepared or indeed able to buy a season pass in advance, even in the knowledge they may not get as many days as they'd like, then it allows the centres to plan for the years when the conditions are good.

As a complete beginner, that's how it seems to me.
gaz5m


Posts: 280
Joined: Feb 2009
Last Visited: 11:56
23rd Apr 2018
Re: All-area Scottish lift passes on sale
Date Posted: 10.11hrs on Fri 25 Sep 15
It's not that straightforward for the all area pass Firefly. Well, not in my mind anyway (and I could be totally wrong!) :-)

I'd rather give my money to the centres that I visit regularly where I know the money will be spent on improving the winter experience, not the infrasructure for getting cake hunters up the hills in July.

For example, even at a rough calculation of £520/5=£104 (which I'm sure is not how the money is split!) Glencoe and Glenshee on an average year will get more out of me in day ticket purchases than they would from me buying the all area pass. In good winters, they will get significantly more. On current prices thats less than 4 days at each place.

Nevis and the lecht miss out due to travel distance, nothing more (though I do still try and get to Nevis at least a couple of times a year). Swings and roundabouts though as there will be Lecht and Nevis regulars who do the same with Coe and Shee.

Fundementally though, by not buying the all area pass my "local" (just under 2 hours to each) hills get more money from me than they would if I bought the all area pass in an average winter. And I like that because both of those places are fantastically run with the winter sport enthusiast at the forefront of their thinking, making improvements year on year, so I feel like they deserve my custom.

So, while theres always going to be a personal "Whats best for me" around the all area pass cost, theres also the knowledge that by not taking it I get to give more money to my local hills who I think deserve it and actually do invest some of it back into winter sports.
igloo4you


Posts: 522
Joined: Oct 2009
Last Visited: 16:28
22nd Apr 2021
Re: All-area Scottish lift passes on sale
Date Posted: 10.27hrs on Fri 25 Sep 15
gaz5m,

Money from the all area ski passes isn't actually shared out it goes to ski scotland who use it to market scottish skiing. It's a great initiative as it allows ski scotland to market to a wider audience and get involved in iniatives like the schools learn to ski project which needs joint engagement from all ski centres.
gaz5m


Posts: 280
Joined: Feb 2009
Last Visited: 11:56
23rd Apr 2018
Re: All-area Scottish lift passes on sale
Date Posted: 14.52hrs on Fri 25 Sep 15
igloo4you Wrote:
gaz5m,

Money from the all area ski passes isn't actually shared out it goes to ski scotland who use it to market scottish skiing. It's a great initiative as it allows ski scotland to market to a wider audience and get involved in iniatives like the schools learn to ski project which needs joint engagement from all ski centres.


Cheers for the confirmation Andy, I didn't think it would be quite as simple as my primary school calculations. :-)

As much as Ski Scotland do a decent marketing job, I'd still rather be giving my money direct to the places I go I think, even if that means me spending more on day passes in a good season than I would on an all area pass. If I did ever fancy a season pass, it would likely be Glencoe or Glenshee local passes.
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