“If you ski 10 + days per season, don’t miss your chance to buy a season pass and save big on lift tickets!” proclaims a widely popular advertising pitch.  It is somewhat correct:  buying a season pass makes sense when you log a lot of days. The question is: How many days do you need to break even? And does it make any sense for you to buy a ski season pass?

Starting with this article, we will analyze season pass deals and rates  offered through ski resorts in Vermont, and calculate what it takes to break even when you buy one. We do not have intentions to endorse or criticize any particular deal or ski resort – we are interested in numbers. Later this week, a member of our staff will post an article with his thoughts on certain deals, so keep tuned. Meanwhile…

We kick off our “ski finance 101” with Bromley Mountain. For the 2009/2010 ski season, Bromley resort offers season passes for adults, teens, juniors, seniors and children under five years old. The “adult seasons pass” is valid seven days without any blackout dates.

Q: How much does it cost to buy an adult seasons pass at Bromley Mountain?

A: If you buy it before October 15th, it will cost $948.70 including tax.

Q: How long does it take to breakeven if I buy a pass before October 15th?

A: It takes about 14 days if you ski during the holiday periods and/or 15 days if you prefer non-holiday weekends.

Q: How many holiday days are there?

A: In total, there are 17 peak days.

Q: What is a holiday lift ticket rate?

A: The holiday ticket rate  is $68.00. (There is a discount for multi-day lift tickets; however, we decided not to include them for the sake of simplicity.)

Q: What if I ski all 17 peak days?

A: You will end up paying approximately $55.76 per ski day using your adult seasons pass.

Q: What if I ski 20 days during  the peak and weekend periods?

A: You will  pay around $47.40 per day.

All right, time is up. I hope that you found our first “101 ski finance” class helpful. We will keep all our post updated for any changes.  Next up is  the Stratton ski resort!

Should you have any questions/suggestions/corrections, email us at team@vertexpress.com. Or feel free to comment!

1) Drive up the road to check out similar deals at Stratton.

2) Or, check Magic Mountain around the corner.

3) And, if you have never skied at Bromley resort, feel free to read our review.

Tags: bromley, Bromley mountain, Bromley ski resort, season pass deals, Vermont ski deals, Vermont ski vacations, vermont skiing