Before I moved out to Durango, I used to visit friends here or in the front range about once a year for a ski trip. I'm not saying its within the rules, but I've "rented" somebody else's Epic pass for a week, $50/ a day, through craigslist. Wayyy cheaper than buying day passes. It also gives you the freedom to ski all the resorts on their pass, and opens your options for weather dependent decisions. Also keep an eye out for discounted passes at grocery stores in the bigger cities/towns, I haven't seen any in the past couple years, but then again I haven't been looking specifically. If you can't find the hookup thataway, it's always better to check liftopia.com a couple weeks before your trip. It'll usually be about $40 cheaper than paying full price at the walk-up window. I always couch surfed to keep things cheap and repayed my homies for the hospitality in beer and bud. Some of them even hooked it up with some buddy passes through the resort or shops they've worked at. Pack your lunches so you can splurge on apres beers, and peep the coupons in the Westword/Telegraph/etc for deals at the dispensary. Every little bit helps to keep your wallet full, so you can afford to ski fat stacks