Buying ski lift passes smartly can greatly enhance your ski holiday. From saving money, reducing hassle and giving you more time on the slopes. Where to buy ski lift passes around the world depends on many factors, we’ve got some help below.
Where To Buy Ski Lift Passes Around The World Overview
Almost every ski resort offers multiple purchasing locations. From onsite to online, multi resort passes or even through tour operators, there’s something for everyone.
You will need to buy a ski lift pass when visiting your chosen ski resort and simply put, it serves as your official access ticket to the mountain’s lift system. A ski lift pass allows you to use chairlifts, gondolas, magic carpets, cable cars all throughout the ski resort. Without a lift pass, you simply can’t get up the mountain to reach the ski runs.
In short a lift pass:
- Provides access to the lift system
- And, provides access to the ski networks and runs
- Helps maintain and operates the ski resort
- Ensures crowd management and safety
- Often, a lift pass enables access to other benefits around ski resorts. Such as, in resort discounts at restaurants and bars, reduced ski rental prices, free transportation around resort.
1. In Resort Ticket Offices
These are probably the most obvious and traditional place to buy ski passes. You’ll find ticket windows at various locations around ski resorts, including:
- Base lodges
- Ski resort entry points
- Gondola and lift stations
This method of buying ski lift passes is commonplace for many resorts. Such as France’s Three Valleys and Austria’s Arlberg to Whistler Blackcomb in Canada and Niseko United in Japan. However, purchasing at many of these places can mean waiting in queues, particularly on weekends, holidays, or powder days.
2. Online Through Resort Websites
Most of the major ski resorts worldwide sell lift passes directly through their websites. This is often the cheapest and fastest option, with discounts available for buying early for instance.
Resorts such as the below all provide this service, along with thousands more:
- Vail, Breckenridge, and Park City (USA)
- Zermatt, Verbier, and St. Anton (Europe)
- Niseko United (Japan)
- Thredbo and Perisher (Australia)
3. Lift Passes For Multi-Resort Systems
Many opt to buy passes through networks of ski resorts. This options provides value for money if you’re opting for travelling around, or have the ability to access many ski areas. This option, when combined over the whole winter season is expensive. However, provides fantastic value for money. Resort that offer multi-resort ski lift passes include:
- Epic Pass (USA, Canada, Europe, Japan)
- Ikon Pass (USA, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia)
- Ski Arlberg Pass (Austria)
- Dolomiti Superski (Italy)
- Portes du Soleil Pass (France/Switzerland)
4. Authorized Travel Agencies & Tour Operators
If you’ve opted to go on holiday through an agency, for example Neilson Ski, Crystal Ski and Sunweb, many holiday packages include discounted lift passes when purchased with accommodation or the whole holiday. This is common when visiting:
- France
- Austria
- Canada
- Japan
What Are the Best Value Ways to Buy Ski Lift Passes?
Generally, the best value comes from thinking outside of the box and not just turning to the ski resort and buying a day pass. We’ve listed our top tips for getting the best value when buying ski lift passes.
- Buying online in advance – resorts often provide early bird discounts if you buy ahead in advance
- Season long passes – this is a great option if you live near a ski resort, often early discounts combined with season long passes provide amazing value for money
- Using Multi-Day or Multi-Resort Passes – Purchasing a 6 day pass often works out cheaper than buying individual tickets. Season long passes take this one step further.
- Purchasing Prepaid or Reloadable Cards – Popular in many of the French ski resorts for example, a reusable card can save money over single-day window tickets.
- Ski in Less Crowded Periods – At the beginning and end of the season discounts can be had. December and late March onwards can provide quite generous discounts when the ski resorts are less crowded.
What Is the Quickest Way to Buy Ski Lift Passes?
The quickest method is purchasing ski lift passes online, then collecting from the ski resort kiosk or electronic machine – either in the form of a code or QR code.
Many ski resorts around the world, for instance in the Alps, Colorado, British Columbia and Japan all feature self-service kiosks, allowing you to buy online, scan your barcode, print your pass and head straight on through to the lifts – saving time and getting you onto the slopes quicker.
There are some resorts that allow you to reload an existing pass online too, as it’s already been used and registered.
Benefits of Buying Ski Lift Passes in Advance
Buying a ski lift pass in advance offers several advantages to purchasing one on the day.
- Better pricing
- Guaranteed availability
- Shorter queues
- Allows you to plan and think ahead
- Better access to discount deals
Buying tickets on the day, at one of the booths are typically the most expensive option.
What to Do If You Lose Your Ski Lift Pass
If you lose your pass:
- We advise when buying a lift pass, take a photo of it, including any barcodes or unique codes.
- Go to the nearest ticket office as soon as possible.
- Provide:
- Your ID
- Confirmation email
- Pass number (if you have it)
- Many resorts can simply reissue your pass for a small fee.
Where Should You Keep Your Ski Lift Pass?
Ski lift passes use RFID technology and need to be kept close by to save time and allow easy, simple passage onto the ski lift systems.
We advise keeping your ski lift pass:
- In a dedicated pocket, most ski jackets have side arm pockets or chest pockets to keep the lift pass.
- Away from your phone, to ensure your phone doesn’t interfere with the RFID technology.
- In a zipped pocket, so you don’t lose it.
- On it’s own, keep other passes away from each other.
