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Top of price mountain, and proud of it

Vail Resorts is touting its $81 lift tickets, topping what Aspen charges, as evidence it is the place to ski for the jet set.

DENVER - Businesses usually don't trumpet having the highest price around, but in the ski business it has become something to brag about.

Vail Resorts, one of the jet set's favorite winter playgrounds, this season said its top lift ticket price at its Vail and Beaver Creek ski areas is $81 a day - $3 more than Aspen, its nearby competitor for the high-end skier.

Vail Resorts CEO Adam Aron said the company invested more than $100-million at its resorts last summer and "it is reasonable to put in a modest price increase to get a return on the investments." Spokeswoman Kelly Ladyga said the resorts are paying more for energy.

But Aron contends there is a "certain cachet" to charging top dollar.

"Vail and Beaver Creek do have the highest lift ticket price in the United States. And yes, we're actually, as opposed to hiding from that fact, we're proud of that fact," he said. "If the resort is capable of successfully charging the highest lift ticket prices in the country, that may be an indicator that it really is the best vacation experience."

Maybe so, but some snowriders were stunned by the news.

"I think it is outrageous," said Sarah West, 25, a snowboarder from suburban Denver. "I don't think I would ever go, ever. You'd have to have gold snow to make it worth it."

Vail's big-name competitors, from Mammoth Mountain in California to Stratton in Vermont, charge in the low $70s for a single-day peak season ticket. Idaho's Sun Valley charges $69, while Jackson Hole in Wyoming charges $73. Smaller areas, like Loveland and Arapahoe Basin in Colorado, charge about $50 during peak season.

At Aspen, which has had the highest single-day price in many previous seasons, executives said they were happy for Vail to have "the dubious honor" this year.

"It can make your brand inaccessible to people," said David Perry, Aspen's vice president for marketing. Still, he acknowledged the top price does carry some prestige.

"Ferrari is not ashamed to charge half a million dollars for one of their cars," he said.

Despite the rising price of single-day tickets, the ski industry nationwide has been in a discounting war since 1999, when some Colorado resorts cut season passes to as low as $300 from their standard rate of $800 or more.

David Dillon, president of the trade organization Ski Vermont, said season passes and multiticket deals mean few snowriders pay the full ticket window price. Tourists get lift tickets as part of a travel package or can seek out discounts elsewhere.

"There is no reason to pay full walkup rates for lift," Perry said. "All you have to do is the tiniest bit of advance planning."

Aron predicted Vail and Beaver Creek will sell nearly 2.5-million lift tickets despite the high price.

[Last modified January 3, 2006, 01:57:16]