Skiing at Whiteface

Whiteface: Is this mountian worth your time?

“Business is on the up-and-up,” says Sandi Caligiore, Whiteface Director of Communications and Olympic Regional Development Authority. Caligiore says, “There are few ski resorts that can afford to hold or back down their lift tickets,” but Whiteface Mountain has the highest-priced lift tickets around.

Lift tickets have gone up five dollars since last year, and have been gradually increasing every year. “There could be a slight marginal increase next year but we’re doing our best to hold the line with prices,” says Caligiore. Last year’s prices were $59 for a regular lift ticket and $62 on holidays. This year, the price for a regular ticket has increased to $60 while holiday tickets rose to $64. Ticket prices will drop but only towards to end of the season when they start offering passes for the next year.

Some reasons for the increase are due to installing a high-speed quad last year, as well as the Gondola in 1999. “Both were worth putting in but it costs money for these things,” explains Caligiore.

“There’s operating expenses, but we believe the product we’re offering has greatly improved.”

It's that time of year again to dig in your pocket for the dough to ski

Caligiore thinks the price is fair, but college students find themselves scraping for money to ski the slopes. “I used to ski twice a week at Whiteface, but since prices keep going up, I can barely afford to ski once a week,” says Sean Fay of Perrywinkles, in Plattsburgh. “The snow is pretty packed which makes Jay peak much more appealing, but then you gotta pay ferry tickets or make the drive and pay for gas.”

Whiteface offered and sold 10 of the most expensive tickets you can buy last year. These tickets, known as “premiere passes”, included a season’s pass for any day, a parking space, ski school tickets, venues, and more. The price, however, was $1,300 each. This year’s season pass, which included interchangeable lift tickets to both Gore and Whiteface Mountain, was $770 after the season started. That’s quite the hurt in your wallet. However, buying passes before the mountain even opens could save you $150.

Get your gear ready for the slopes!

Ticket prices are expected to drop in March till the end of the season. This is when the real deals hit. You can buy a non-holiday, Whiteface-only season pass for the remainder of the year and all of next year for about $289. This deal was offered last year and will most likely be offered again. But Pass-holder’s should be aware of the "blackout dates". These are holidays that aren’t covered by the season pass, so you’d have to actually buy a ticket even though you already bought a season pass. Unless, of course, you want to pay an extra couple hundred dollars for the more expensive pass covering all the days. The blackout days include Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a full week in February, and a week or two during the Christmas season.

“We encourage locals to buy the passes because, in the long run, it saves them money. They aren’t traveling far and they can really get a lot out of the mountain.” Caligiore also says that Whiteface isn’t necessarily better than other mountains, but instead they’re different because of the experience they’re giving people.

“There’s no construction, no malls, no condos, no development work; we really get people back to nature.”

One thing to keep in mind when thinking of purchasing passes is the unpredictable weather. Last year, Whiteface opened November 9th and closed in April with some warm weather and rain setting them back in March. This year they didn’t open till after Thanksgiving, experienced rain in December, but have been steadily making snow since New Year’s. It’s also been inconsistently cold this year.

Next year is the 25th Anniversary of the Winter Olympics, which means Whiteface will be offering special promo deals. Whiteface representatives also visit Plattsburgh State every year bringing promo material and sign ups for season passes. Students are able to get their season passes early, make payments, and receive their passes in the mail. They are also encouraging students to call or stop in for multiple lift tickets. Students can purchase tickets at the end of this season to save money of keep their eyes and ears open for when representative visit PSU next year.

You're always welcome at Whiteface

“Sometimes weather works against us, but we encourage everyone to check us out,” says Caligiore, who’s sure that anyone that comes to Whiteface will get their money’s worth. However, if prices keep going up at Whiteface, college students may not get to experience the skiing at all as most scrape just for gas or food money. If you’re desperate to let loose on the slopes, keep your eyes open for deals by visiting the web site or calling the service desk. Buying a season’s pass would be worth it if you bought it early. It only takes about six visits to get your money’s worth. So if you can find time in between classes, do a little extra homework and find out what deals work best for you. It would be worth the effort to save some cash.

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