Here in Park City if someone were to ask a local if they either ski or snowboard, 90% of the time they will say yes. Park City is known worldwide for top quality ski resorts, and the economy thrives on the tourism. It only makes sense that the locals of a ski town ski themselves. But, many complain that the prices are a bit extreme. Resort restaurants, equipment sales, lift ticket prices, etc. keep climbing higher and higher, and people just keep paying the prices.
First of all, to get here a family needs transportation. A round trip Delta Airlines plane ticket from JFK airport is about $367.20 per person. Then there’s the issue of actually getting to the lodging: transportation from SLC Airport to Deer Valley can range from $50-$100. Then if the family plans on staying in Park City they can use the free bus system to get around, without extra cost. The total cost of transportation for a family of four is about $1618.80.
Now, they need a place to stay. There’s a large range of lodging options from $79 per night to $3,000 per night. It mostly depends on how close they would like to be to the resort, and how nice they would like the lodging to be. At Canyons Grand Summit Hotel a family of four can stay for $315.33 a night. For the same size family it costs $867.50 a night at the Montage, and at Main Street’s Sky Lodge it costs $1,000 a night. All-in-all, the average cost for a 6 night stay costs about $6314.22.
Next, since this is a ski trip, they’re going to need ski equipment. At the Canyons a sports package for beginners is $41 a day, and the Junior package for kids 12 and under is $25 a day. At Deer Valley a family of four can get a full set of skis for $1075.20 for 5 days. And at Park City Sport, on Main Street and at PCMR, it costs $22 a day for the sports package. An average cost of equipment for the full five days and each family member it comes to $4142.
Then, the family needs lift tickets to get up the mountain. At Deer Valley lift tickets for a family of four for five days is $1075.20. At Canyons it costs $780 for the same family. PCMR doesn’t have their normal lift ticket prices yet, but they do have the epic pass prices. An epic pass costs $2276 total for the family of four, and includes unlimited skiing at PCMR, Canyons, Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood, Afton Alps, Mt. Brighton, Araphoe Basin, plus a few days for Niseko United in Japan, Verbier in Switzerland, and Valles in France. An epic local pass costs $1,776 for a family of four, but doesn’t include as many of the benefits that a regular epic pass does. All in all the average price for lift tickets, for four people for five days, costs $927.60.
Many people who come to ski don’t yet know how. The solution to this problem is ski school. At Canyons ski school is $549 a day for up to five people. At Deer Valley it’s $820 for up to five people for a day. PCMR ski school is $810 for 3-5 people. For each person to get a full-day private lesson it would cost an average of $726.33.
To go skiing a family will need winter clothing to keep themselves warm:
At Janz:
•Women: $13 socks, $25 gloves, $100 pants, $100 jacket.
•Men : $120 jackets, $135 pants, $13 socks, $25 gloves.
•Kids: $60 jackets, $45 pants.
At Sports Authority:
•Men: $100 jacket, $50-$100 pants. $20 socks, $25 hats, $70 gloves.
•Women: $80-$160 jackets, $90 pants, $20 socks, $25 headbands, $30 gloves.
The average price for the whole family to buy winter clothing is $763.
At Park City there’s a wide range of dining options from the resort restaurants to a fast-food restaurant:
•At the Montage in Deer Valley, a Lux Burger with foie gras, truffle, bourbon caramelized onions, and arugula costs $32; a side of fries at the Montage costs between $6 and $15.
•At Legends Bar and Grill in PCMR a legends burger, 8 oz american kobe beef patty with a side of Western Spicy French Fries, costs $15.95.
•A cheese-burger at Five Guys, located in Kimbal Junction, costs $6.79, and a side of large fries costs $4.99.
•At McDonald’s, located near Kimbal Junction, a quarter pounder with cheese costs $3.79 plus a $1 side of fries.
An average meal for one person is about $20, so for a family of four to eat here for a week the average price of dining is $1680.
After all of this is averaged and added together it comes to $16,171.95 for a family of four from New York City to have a ski vacation in Park City for one week.
Park City’s economy thrives off of the tourism, without it not a single Parkite could afford to keep their businesses running, or to go skiing, or to keep their homes. Owen Boerboom, a local carpet cleaner, says “The tourism is positive for my business; lots of people own a second home here for skiing and want their homes to be cleaned before they come. Throughout the season though people usually want to wait until after “mud season” to get them cleaned again. So, I work for Deer Valley to get the money I need to support my family, and for the passes for skiing which we wouldn’t be able to afford otherwise.”
Though many believe ski trip prices are too extreme, others still believe that the value of them is worth the price. Bob Wheaton President of Deer Valley states that, “the value of a ski trip is mental as well as physical. If you are coming with friends or family, it is time to connect with each other away from the rigors of everyday life in a very unique atmosphere. The time spent in our mountains with the clean mountain air and the exercise that goes with mountain activities is very healthy and refreshing.The opportunity to visit such a great group of people that call Park City their home (all of us) is something that should not be discounted.”
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