Sliding On The Cheap - Sugar Bowl Deals and Discounts 2009-2010

Sugar Bowl Lift Ticket Deals and Discounts 2009-2010

Sugar Bowl (Regularly $66/$72)
$22	Community Ski and Ride Pass
SOLD OUT (as of 12/17/2009)!! Truckee Tahoe Community Foundation offers this benefit pass every year. $369 for 2 lift tickets to the 8 of the bigger ski areas and 2 of the smaller ones (valid Mon-Fri, non-holiday, and Sundays too at several resorts). You also get 2 tickets to 4 cross-country areas. It's a great deal if you're spending a week or two and wanted to try out all the resorts that Tahoe has to offer. The pass is fully transferrable, and two people can use the pass per day! So if you and a friend only used it for the bigger downhill resorts, it'd come out to around $22/day per person. [Multiple Resort Deal]
$25	Skiing for Schools
To support local schools, various resorts donate some or all proceeds from a limited quantity of discounted tickets to the Excellence in Education Foundation. You can pre-purchase them the week before at Porter's Ski Shops You should call first to confirm availability. Alpine and Homewood tickets will be available on-site -- no prepurchase necessary. Dates are: Sugar Bowl 12/19 and 3/20, Northstar 1/3, Boreal 1/24, Homewood 3/21, Squaw 4/11 and Alpine 4/18. Dates also listed in our calendar. [Multiple Resort Deal]
$35	SAC Ski Days
Support the Sierra Avalanche Center (which provides valuable snowpack stability info for backcountry travelers) by skiing inbounds for cheap! Must pre-purchase through the link on their website. Dates are: 1/15 Bear Valley; 1/24 Northstar; 2/20 Mt. Rose; 2/21 Kirkwood; 2/28 Alpine; 3/28 Sugar Bowl; 4/6 Heavenly. (Limited quantities, so check back a few weeks before each date and order early!) [Multiple Resort Deal]
$58	Pre-purchase at Helm of San Mateo
Pre-purchase lift tickets to save money. Recommend calling 650-344-2711 to confirm price and availability. [Multiple Resort Deal]
$58	Pre-purchase at Sports Basement
Pre-purchase lift tickets at any of the 4 Bay Area Sports Basement locations. Discounts for teen/child tickets as well -- click on the link. Call ahead to check availability. Bonus: Except for Squaw and Alpine, all tickets can be returned within 30 days for a full refund, and until 4/1/10 for store credit! [Multiple Resort Deal]
$59	Tahoe Card
$39.99 "Gold Tahoe Cards" (include a lift ticket for Sugar Bowl/Kirkwood valid early/late season and Mon-Thu non-holiday) are still available now (12/10) at these select Costco stores! Otherwise a Silver Tahoe Card for the same price only gets you a ticket good at Dodge Ridge (same restrictions) The card also gets you lift ticket discounts obtained by pre-purchasing "e-tickets" on-line, or at some resorts (Boreal, Dodge Ridge, Northstar, Sierra Summit) by simply showing card. Squaw e-tickets valid any day including holidays! Northstar discount ($10) only available Mon-Fri, non-holiday. Mt. Rose and Diamond Peak discounts only available non-holiday. Otherwise, prices listed here are for holiday/weekend rates. Prices even cheaper for non-holiday tickets for Diamond Peak ($34 Mon-Fri). Also includes: $10 lift ticket to Diamond Peak (non-holiday); $10 lift ticket for Sierra Summit (non-holiday); FREE trail pass to Tahoe XC; FREE trail pass for Royal Gorge. And finally, several free tune-ups and rental packages from various ski/board shops; Food freebies; Lodging and other discounts. Check the site for all the extras, along with the various restrictions. All orders include 1-year subscription to your choice of Freeskier or Snowboard Magazine. [Multiple Resort Deal]
$60	Pre-purchase at Helm of SJ/Capitola
Pre-purchase tickets at Helm of Sun Valley in San Jose (on Saratoga) or Capitola. Call first to check availability: 408.996.7669 (SJ) or 831.462.6800 (Capitola). Also available: Bear Valley Teen $39, Child $17.
$60	REI prepurchase
Starting Dec 1, REI members ($20 for lifetime membership) can prepurchase discounted lift tickets at any of their Bay Area stores. You should call first to confirm availability. Northstar tickets can also be exchanged for adult beginner ski or snowboard packages ($99-$114 value!) or can be used as a $75 credit towards children's lesson packages. Cannot be used for a Parent Predicament ticket. Northstar ticket can be used at Sierra and you get a $7 food/beverage/retail credit. [Multiple Resort Deal]
$62	CORE Daily Pass
Sign-up for the CORE Daily Pass for $19. Gets you $10 off every daily lift ticket for the rest of the season via a scannable pass that lets you go directly to the lift (it's linked to your credit card). That's $62 on holidays and $56 anytime else. (So you'll have to go at least twice to make your money back.) Will also work for youth and children to get $10 off of their lift tickets. You'll automatically be enrolled in the "Core Rewards" program, which allows you to earn points for every dollar you spend at the resort and can be redeemed for food vouchers, retail discounts, etc. Core Rewards details here. There are also 5 "CORE Appreciation Days" where members get to ride for $39: 12/13, 1/29, 2/26, 3/26, 4/9
$63	BeyondWork pre-purchase
Pre-purchase tickets at discounted prices. The catch? Your company must be registered with BeyondWork -- you'll need to check with your HR/Benefits department. Tickets are all e-tickets, so you can print at home. Sierra ticket includes $7 food & beverage voucher, unless exchanged for one of the following: Beginner package or $75 credit towards children's lesson package. (Exchange also available at Northstar). Child and Teen tickets available for Heavenly and Northstar. [Multiple Resort Deal]
$63	Pre-purchase at Any Mountain Kiosk
Kiosks at selected Any Mountain locations (they had one at Westgate) let you pre-purchase lift tickets at a discounted rate. Northstar Child = $21, Sierra Child = $17. Sierra Young Adult (13-22) 3-Pak = $111, Sierra Adult 3-Pack = $135. Heavenly Senior = $65, Heavenly Child = $40, Heavenly Teen = $65. Sugar Bowl Young Adult (13-22) = $52. [Multiple Resort Deal]
$66	Ski Tahoe North Interchangeable Lift Ticket
NOTE: this deal not available to northern CA or western NV residents anymore! :-{. So only non-locals can buy this 3-7 day pack of vouchers that are good at any of the North Lake Tahoe downhill reports. This is an excellent discount anytime for Northstar and Squaw, and during holidays, Sugar Bowl too. However if you use it at Homewood or Diamond Peak, you've paid too much. Also, there are usually cheaper ways to ski cheap at Alpine and Mt. Rose. What's good is that they don't have to be used on consecutive days, and they can be shared! $8 shipping by USPS (allow 1 week) or you can have them hold them for pickup at the Visitors Information Center in Tahoe City for no charge. [Multiple Resort Deal]
$95	SnowBomb Bus
$95 gets you a ride, continental breakfast and a lift ticket. ($115 for Squaw, $109 for Heavenly.) Pickups in Oakland, Pleasanton, San Carlos, San Francisco, San Rafael, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and Walnut Creek (depends on trip). Dates at the link, or on our calendar. $55 bus ride only. [Multiple Resort Deal]
$105	Bay Area Ski Bus
$105 (Heavenly $119 & Squaw +$125) buys you a ride up to and back from the resort on a luxury bus (no dealing with driving, or worse still, chains), a lift ticket for Heavenly, Kirkwood, Northstar, Sierra, Squaw, or Sugar Bowl, continental breakfast and apres-ski drink/snack. $65 bus ride only. Enter my e-mail, in the "Referred By" box to receive $10 off of your first trip. Convenient pick-ups in Oakland, Pleasanton, San Carlos, SF, San Rafael, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and Walnut Creek. Recently added trips from Sacramento/Vacaville and Stockton/Tracey. They've also got teen and family buses, and longer trips to North and South Lake Tahoe, Colorado, Utah, BC and France(!) Great crew - check out the site for more details! We also will have the dates in our calendar. [Multiple Resort Deal]
$126	Nisei Ski Club Weekend Bus Trips
The Nisei Ski Club charters 3-5 weekend bus trips every year to Tahoe. The buses pick-up in San Jose, El Cerrito, Sacramento, leaving Friday evening and returning on Sunday evening (departing straight from ski area). Lodging in Reno with shuttles to and from ski area included. Also included: 2 dinners on bus, Friday/Saturday; 2 breakfasts on bus, Saturday/Sunday; apres-ski drinks and snacks. Lift tickets are additional, but reasonable (discounted group rate, purchased on the bus w/cash). Bus+lodging+meals = $160 (non-member price), less $15 with discount code SITC15. Prices listed based on ($145 discounted trip + lift ticket) so keep in mind that it's $252 for 2 days of skiing+lodging+bus ride+meals on bus! Dates in our calendar. [Multiple Resort Deal]