| Be young. At many resorts, kids ski free all year. Of | | | | a series of single-day passes. At many areas you can |
| course, the little ones have to be accompanied by a | | | | buy a book of tickets - say ten - in advance. The |
| ticket-buying adult and the cutoff age varies from | | | | savings are usually significant enough that at least |
| resort to resort.Be old. Many resorts offer free lift | | | | one day of skiing is essentially free.Bring a friend. This |
| tickets to vintage skiers, usually those over the age | | | | is simple. At many ski areas, if you bring a first timer |
| of 70. Be prepared to show some sort of ID that | | | | for their first day on skis, you can get a voucher for |
| proves how old you are.Have a gimmick. Ski areas | | | | a lift ticket for yourself. Most ski areas have group |
| have a sense of humor. They occasionally give away | | | | sales departments and among the incentives they |
| lift tickets just to see what people would do. Do you | | | | offer are free tickets for the organizer of the |
| have a good memory? On Martin Luther King Day at | | | | group.Ski a lot. You've heard of frequent flier cards? |
| one resort, if you can recite the full text of his "I | | | | Well how about a frequent skier card? At many |
| Have A Dream" speech, you get a free lift ticket. At | | | | resorts, skiing begets more skiing (or more to the |
| another place, reciting the Gettysburg Address on | | | | point, buying lift tickets begets more lift tickets). If |
| Lincoln's birthday will get you a free one.Go to | | | | you accumulate enough points under a resort's |
| Crested Butte. In an effort to attract early and late | | | | affinity program, you can trade them for free lift |
| season skiers to the town's lodging and restaurants, | | | | tickets.Buy a season ticket. At many ski resorts, |
| this central Colorado resort slashed prices to the bare | | | | season passes are so cheap that the break-even |
| bone and beyond. In recent years, Crested Butte has | | | | point is 20 days or less, so if you ski a lot, you can |
| offered free lift tickets until December 1 and after | | | | practically ski half the season for free. A few areas |
| April 1.Learn to ski. In the great American tradition of | | | | are selling season tickets so cheap - around $200 if |
| the free sample, many resorts and resort | | | | you buy well in advance - that even a vacationer |
| associations offer a way for beginners to try skiing | | | | could take advantage of the deal.Volunteer. You |
| without cost or obligation. These packages usually | | | | know those people who stand around the resort on |
| include rentals and a lesson as well as a lift ticket. | | | | weekends in their mountain-issued jackets, answering |
| Significant restrictions, however, do apply. These | | | | questions, giving directions and generally being |
| promotions are limited to certain dates and are good | | | | courteous? Well, come Monday most of those |
| only for learn-to-ski packages. But you can't beat the | | | | mountain ambassadors go back to being accountants, |
| price.Buy in bulk. Skiing is not dissimilar to paper | | | | carpenters or school teachers. That means that you |
| towels - if you buy a lot all at once it's cheaper. All | | | | too could volunteer for this kind of program, which |
| resorts sell multi-day tickets - two-, three-, or | | | | usually doesn't pay but does carry a free lift ticket. |
| five-day passes - that are much cheaper than buying | | | | |