Brighton’s popular Quad Wednesday promotion started this week but unlike it’s moniker, it’s not an actual “four for the price of one” deal where you have to find three friends to share it. Simply bring a donation for the charity of the week and get a lift ticket for $20.

The ticket is good only for that particular Wednesday.  December 12, bring a coat, gloves or unopened pack of socks for The Road Home Homeless Shelter; December 19, bring a grocery bag of non-perishable food (i.e. cans) for the Utah Food Bank.

FYI- Just hit up the local Deseret Industries if you can’t find anything in your closet to give away.

It’s not too late to grab yourself a lift ticket to Park City Mountain Resort on the cheap. Every year, PCMR does this Benefit Day thing that not only ‘benefits’ a local non-profit but benefits you as well. Proceeds from a limited number of lift tickets sold for $25 will go to the Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter at Kimball Junction and the Park City Mountain Resort Legacy Fund.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yep, that’s correct. Lift tickets for $25; no black outs; good from opening day to December 16, 2012. The catch is that you have to purchase them in person either at the resort or one of three local retailers (Jans Mountain Outfitters, Cole Sport and Sports Den in SLC). However, each person can buy up to four so hunt around for a friend or a local to nab one for you if you think you’ll want to ski before the holidays. With the latest round of cold temps and snowfall it just might be a good idea to have a handful of these babies in your glovebox.

I called around today (October 28) and there are still tickets available but don’t wait until the last minute like I usually do or you might be SOL (sooo out of luck).

In case you’re wondering –

Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter  (aka the Swaner Nature Preserve) sits on a 1200-acre stretch of protected wetlands with a museum like building as the main attraction.

There are exhibits, a theater, classrooms, a gift shop, a climbing wall, and a four-story tower that overlooks the area. It’s a fun educational outing for families no matter where they live.

The EcoCenter also offers free guided nature walks and talks. You can also participate in snowshoe stargazing during the winter months. The space is available for private parties and screenings if you are looking to host an event. Plus, then your bash is tax deductible!

As for the Legacy Fund–

It’s a foundation set up by PCMR to offer grants to local programs that provide environmental stewardship, athletic programs for kids, education and humanitarian aid. You can go online to apply for one of these grants or find out more.

Locals’ ticket packs, Powder Cards, season passes. All too soon you’ll have missed the boat on any savings. BYU is currently running a “Two-Day Pass for One” Person deal for $85. There are a few black-out dates but they don’t have to be used consecutively. These have to be purchased in person on game days but you can buy as many as you want. Park City Mountain Resort has their Benefit Day tickets on sale now for $25. Those are good through December 16. One of my favorite deals is the annual Philip66 2for1 stamp card. You fill up four times and you can redeem your card for a two-for-one price at Snowbird’s ticket window.

Ski movies are another great way to get deals on lift tickets for the upcoming ski season. Go see Warren Miller and get a free weekday ticket to the Canyons. See the new Matchstick or TRG flicks and get 2 for 1 Bird passes. Once you’ve got your ticket situation resolved it’s time to talk gear. It’s easy to drop a grand in one outing when you’re outfitting for the season. Take advantage of the biggest and best deals at a Utah Ski Swap. It’s like shopping at any retailer in any other city. Ski shops need to clear the floor for new inventory; athletes need to make money by hawking their sponsored gear and families need to unload what their kids have outgrown. It’s veritable buffet of prime merchandise well worth a plane ticket if you’re in the market for more than one ski jacket.

10/20/12 First comes the Black Diamond Swap (2092 East 3900 South, East Millcreek). This is the pearl to your shopping oyster. People from all over Utah swing into the BD Store’s parking lot, throw open their trunks at 7 a.m. and sell sell sell. Get there early if you expect to get the best deals on the best gear. It runs until 2 p.m. There is no charge to buy or sell.

10/26-27/12 Hands down the best place to nab kids gear is at the Rowmark Ski Swap (Lincoln Gymnasium, MS Commons, 970 East 800 South, Salt Lake City). Get there on Friday night ($5pp, kids under 12 free) for the best selection.

10/26-27/12 The Snowbasin Ski Swap (Legacy Events Center, 151 South 1100 W, Farmington) is a relative newcomer but because they ask that no gear be more than five seasons old you stand a good chance at avoiding digging through tons of junk. A portion of the sales goes to The Ogden Valley Winter Sports Foundation (OVWSF). Admission is $5 on Friday, $2 Saturday and free on Sunday.

11/2-4/12 The 40th Annual Park City Ski Swap (Basin Recreation Field House at New Park, 1388 New Main St., Kimball Junction)
is only as good as the person you get to wait in line for you on the first night. The smoking deals are gone by midnight. You can still get serious discounts on everything from base layers to boots but nothing beats what you’ll find the first hour the doors open. Admission is $10 on Friday, $5 on Saturday and $2 on Sunday. Children under 12 are free.

Friday, November 2, 8 p.m. – 1 a.m.

Saturday, November 3, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Sunday, November 4, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

If you’re selling, check in your gear on Oct 29 – Nov 1 at Jans Mt. Outfitters & Cole Sport on Park Ave. FYI- the ski team keeps 30 percent of your sales.

11/2-3/12 That same weekend, cruise into Midway for St. Lawrence Thrift Store’s Annual Ski and Snowboard Sale (Zermatt Resort, 784 West Resort Drive). This isn’t a place where you can sell your gear. Everything is considered a ‘donation’ with sales benefitting St. Lawrence. But you never know. You might find that killer ski suit for One Piece Wednesdays.

 

Quick, quick, quick. You have until next week to win a pair of tickets to Park City Mountain Resort this season. The annual Snowfall Contest ends September 4. So get those calculators and Google eyes geared and make your best guess as to when PCMR will hit their first 6 inches or more. Fill out the online form. If you pick the closest day and time, you win two winter day passes. The resort will track the snow total through the National Water and Climate Center’s sensor in Thaynes Canyon.

Last year, Kirk Partridge guessed October 5 at 11 p.m. along with two others. The actual snow total was 7 inches and Kirk’s guess of 7.5 inches was the closest. BTW, another six inches fell the night before opening day, November 19, but the first official powder day didn’t come until January 19, 2012. The Farmer’s Almanac predicts another winter like last year for Utah with most of the snow falling to the east of the country but Accuweather says just the opposite. Just goes to show how impossible it is to predict the weather. It’s about as accurate and believing in your own snow dance (which btw, PCMR will be doing in November before opening day)

* In the event of a tie, PCMR will pick the person whose guess is closest to the actual total snowfall accumulation recorded at the hour it passes 6 inches.

I’ve got another option for you in the lift ticket department if you’re not sure whether to plunk down a grand (or more) for a season pass this year or just purchase individual passes from say, Costco. Liftopia has teamed up with six major western ski areas to produce the Mountain Collective Pass. For $350 (before Nov. 19) you’ll get two lift tickets to each of four resorts- Squaw/Alpine, Jackson Hole, Alta and Aspen/Snowmass. After that, it’s 50 percent off, along with what they say will be “exclusive discounts on lodging”.

That’s eight ‘free’ tickets if you do a ton of ski traveling. And with the average lift ticket price hovering around $90, you’ll save a significant amount. But what if you’re not going to visit Wyoming, California, Colorado and Utah in a single season? If you’re doing a one-week vacay to just one of those places then the Collective doesn’t make financial sense. You’d spend $450 to ski six days at Alta this season but with the Collective it would cost you $500. But do one more trip someplace else? Now you’re talking.

Snowboarders, unfortunately, might struggle with the math because Alta doesn’t let you in but, come on, were you really going to ride all four states in one year? Alta’s Connie Marshall told ESPN.com, “Our most satisfying outcome will be the introduction of our unique skiers-only mountain to skiers who understand the attributes of the collective passions our four destinations share.” The Mountain Collective is of course meant to market those individual resorts to riders who might need an extra nudge to visit.

Liftopia will use their sales force and online technology to process the passes. “We’re providing our exclusive technology, ecommerce and marketing reach,” said Ryan Jones, Marketing Manager at Liftopia. And why those four resorts? “We worked with independently owned resorts and not those under corporate management. The resorts came together on their own and created this alliance because of their great reputation, and Liftopia then came onboard to work with them to sell the passes,” he said.

“From a business point of view, we feel it will help us to extend our reach beyond the normal channels an independent resort can initiate,” Jackson Hole’s Brand Director Anna Olson told ESPN.com.

Plus, if you don’t live in Colorado to reap the benefits of the epic Epic Pass, this looks to be the next big thing.

You’ll take your receipt to one of the ski areas to exchange for a season photo pass and your two free tickets. After that, you must present the photo pass to get your discounted tickets. The pass is non-transferable and does not roll over into next season.

Utah skiers stand to make out the best because Jackson Hole is a mere four and half hours away. Alta’s tickets are $75 this season and Jackson‘s are $99 so four lift tickets to those two resorts alone would cost $348 at the window.

The best candidate for the Mountain Collective Pass is someone who will ski one resort more than 10 times but less than 20. If you’re going to ski 25+ days at Alta, you’re better off buying a full season pass ($999 before 9/27/2012) because you also get the Collective Pass! Yep, anyone purchasing a full-tier season pass from any of those four resorts will get a Mountain Collective Pass.

Visit www.TheMountainCollective.com or call (800) 705-6286 for more information. The adult pass price is $349 while the junior pass (kids 12 and under) is $229 through Monday, Nov. 19, 2012.