Skiing- for the rich?

geosom

geosom

Member
In the wonderful land that is Great Britain skiing is seen as a recreational activity that is very exclusive. An activity that only the rich can afford.

A 2 hours pass for one of our "Snowdomes" Costs in the region of 75 dollars

Our gear is ridiculously expensive as well

In America does everybody that participate in the sport come from a wealthy background? It's pretty difficult in the UK if you're not financially well off.
 
I grew up middle-class as fuck. A lot of us have.

I just didn't start skiing until I was 15 because my parents weren't skiers.
 
12986282:louie.mirags said:
I grew up middle-class as fuck. A lot of us have.

I just didn't start skiing until I was 15 because my parents weren't skiers.
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Me too. Except more like 13 or 14
 
$75 for 2 hours??? Thats brutal! Skiing in Canada, I wouldn't say that you need to be wealthy, it's just like dedicating your time and money to hockey, basketball, etc. Definitely not that expensive in NA tho
 
are you serious? gear in england is soo cheap. try living in nz where some atomic punx are about 1.5 times as much as the ones i bought in uk. clothing is way cheaper too and is actually often cheaper than gear in switzerland or somewhere like that. like anywhere in the world though skiing is a lot cheaper than you think if you do it a lot and buy gear and passes at the right time. im not rich at all but i spend all my money i get on skiing so its alright as long as you dont pursue other expensive activities at the same time
 
Yeah the gear here really isnt all that pricey, snowdomes are pretty expensive but theres shitload of dryslopes dotted around the whole UK that allow a day pass for £10 / ~$15.
 
i've been working in a ski shop for the past 3 years so haven't had to pay full price for gear in ages but even at full price i don't think the gear is that bad compared to if i was to buy it abroad in france/ Switzerland for example. but if your a beginner who has never done the sport before and want to get kitted out from head to toe then its expensive and a big investment considering you don't know if you like the sport or not.

i think its considered a "rich persons sport" because you have to travel abroad to do it. if you think the normal family go away once every 1-2 years they would then have to sacrifice there summer holiday in order to partake init or fined an extra 1000 to go away again in the winter.

also traditional its something only rich brits have been able to do its only in the past 2 decades it has really opened up.
 
topic:geosom said:
In the wonderful land that is Great Britain skiing is seen as a recreational activity that is very exclusive. An activity that only the rich can afford.

A 2 hours pass for one of our "Snowdomes" Costs in the region of 75 dollars

Our gear is ridiculously expensive as well

In America does everybody that participate in the sport come from a wealthy background? It's pretty difficult in the UK if you're not financially well off.
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So for the same price you pay to go to the snowdome 6 times, I can buy a pass and ski at stevens all season long as much as I want. Benefits of living in the PNW
 
Its definitely a more expensive sport, yeah. I don't even want to calculate how much I spend on it a season. But my parents aren't very well off and I've been able to do it for 14 years by buying used, getting deals on passes, local shop discounts, etc. I live in Minnesota though and it doesn't even come close to the cost of hockey.
 
I am a middle class citizen. My dad,brother and I can ski a lot because:

-free season passes for working at the resort

- Pro deals from dad (prominent racer) on gear

- very cheap, small rented condo (like 500$ a season).

-Were all dedicated and willing to make changes for the sport we love.

My dad was a ski bum his first couple years out of college.
 
12986632:Trilliam_A. said:
I am a middle class citizen. My dad,brother and I can ski a lot because:

-free season passes for working at the resort

- Pro deals from dad (prominent racer) on gear

- very cheap, small rented condo (like 500$ a season).

-Were all dedicated and willing to make changes for the sport we love.

My dad was a ski bum his first couple years out of college.
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$500 a month? or for the whole season? Where is that at?
 
12986641:louie.mirags said:
$500 a month? or for the whole season? Where is that at?
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500$ for the whole season. Its small, rundown and in a rural shithole a mile outside my home mountain. It's literally one room with two beds, a poker table, a closet bathroom, mini fridge, and a microwave. We also bought most of the items.
 
That sucks. Much easier in countries with snow. My parents didn't have much for funds to put into it. I saved all my birthday/christmas money for gear/ season passes. Bought used gear. Most of the time when I was little would go to a free ski area with maybe 100' vert and 2 trails. Did a lot of backyard setup shredding and built booters at the sledding hill. As soon as I turned 14 I started working at a small ski area. Been working at mountains ever since.

Really wish there were parks though. Didn't get to ride a park more than maybe once or twice a year until I was 17 and could drive.

That's why I like to see the small mountains killing it. Sure it's awesome to have mega resorts decked out with everything, multiple parks etc. But I'm partial to the smaller hill that are more accessible to some people. If you're local free/cheap hill has a decent park, it doesn't matter where you are, how little vert you have you can have a hell of a time and get pretty damn good.

/Nostalgia fest

Shred on.
 
In Austrailia where there are only a handful of places you can ski, its not an activity for the poor. Accommodation (average condo with 4 beds) is about 2500 for the week, lift passes are like 500 for the week, plus food and transport isn't cheap.
 
12986790:nez said:
In Austrailia where there are only a handful of places you can ski, its not an activity for the poor. Accommodation (average condo with 4 beds) is about 2500 for the week, lift passes are like 500 for the week, plus food and transport isn't cheap.
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Yup, I grew up in Sydney and while most of my friends went on lots of Euro holidays or to Bali or other tropical places a few times a year my parents just saved to go skiing for a weekend or a week if we were lucky, then finished school, said fuck uni, and now im a full time ski bum. best decision ever.
 
Id say ya for the rich but if you buy last years gear and find a rad little mountain with a park its pretty cheap. We live in canada and buy passes at a hill in minnesota $600 for a family of 4 and has a super fun park. Huge fan of minnesota cool people and cool hills
 
having spent half my life as a rich kid and the latter half "dirt fucking poor selling shit to help mom pay rent" to uni student(with a total debt when i leave uni of £94,000), I have been both fortunate and unfortunate to see skiing from both sides of the spectrum. When i was a kid, we used to go up to my local mountain in italy (piancavallo) and shred, when ire turned to the UK dirt poor with my mom, i couldnt afford to ski at all.. even had to sell my gear..

But as a uni student, i can go every two weeks with my freestyle team, and to france twice a year (new years and easter). I do this by compromising a lot but its worth it..

The simple fact is that unless you have a job that gives you a relatively good wage, or like me have a lot of student loans that help you survive uni (barely), it is unlikely that you will afford the sport... in the UK and france. As for our friends in the States and Canada, I don't know.
 
I often think about how much money I'd have if I didn't ski. This last year I've spent about £1000 on ski gear, then at least another £1k on going skiing. I'm really struggling for money to survive the last 5 weeks of term haha
 
12986865:PDoyle said:
Just so people know, the snow fridges are actually more like $40 for 2-3 hours.
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Depends on whether you can get a discount or not.

If I go with my uni it's £22 ($37) for 3 hours. That's wednesdays only so the park is shit they run begginer lessons through the park, oblivious to anyone who might want speed going into the lower rails.

On thursday/friday (full park days, when the park is good) it's £34 ($57) for two hours.

It's not worth going on wednesdays, so yeah it's like $60 for two hours.
 
come down to Australia gear cost a fucking mint, i mean I got my bindings from the dump and passes are fairly expensive but the biggest problem is petrol i am looking at like 150$ worth of petrol to get to my "local" mountain and a 5.5 hour drive just for a weekend trip. It is also consider quite an exclusive sport as there isn't many places to ski so just traveling to the slopes is expensive then your looking at tickets and accommodation so if your taking your family you have to be pretty wealthy.
 
Do the indoor skiing places sell season passes?

In Michigan skiing is not too expensive compared to other places but it still rips a hole in my pocket, vibes to NZ and Britain.
 
12986652:Trilliam_A. said:
500$ for the whole season. Its small, rundown and in a rural shithole a mile outside my home mountain. It's literally one room with two beds, a poker table, a closet bathroom, mini fridge, and a microwave. We also bought most of the items.
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Holy shit dude, that sounds amazing.
 
12986868:*DUMBCAN* said:
Depends on whether you can get a discount or not.

If I go with my uni it's £22 ($37) for 3 hours. That's wednesdays only so the park is shit they run begginer lessons through the park, oblivious to anyone who might want speed going into the lower rails.

On thursday/friday (full park days, when the park is good) it's £34 ($57) for two hours.

It's not worth going on wednesdays, so yeah it's like $60 for two hours.
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Yeah same for me, its £22 if I go with uni to castleford on wednesday. Not a bad price but youre not paying for much. I dont have a car so its almost impossible for me to get to any freestyle nights, theyre expensive though. £35 (about $60) for 2 hours in Hemel on a friday
 
12986946:TomHolwill said:
Yeah same for me, its £22 if I go with uni to castleford on wednesday. Not a bad price but youre not paying for much. I dont have a car so its almost impossible for me to get to any freestyle nights, theyre expensive though. £35 (about $60) for 2 hours in Hemel on a friday
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It's not just the £35 it's the travel getting there. I went on Friday and it's £22 on the train from central and £42 for the evening. Chuck cabs and some food on it and it's almost £100..
 
12986973:xnickGT said:
It's not just the £35 it's the travel getting there. I went on Friday and it's £22 on the train from central and £42 for the evening. Chuck cabs and some food on it and it's almost £100..
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Is there no-one you know who drives? Like there are a few guys I know with cars and they go up whenever they want, I go with them sometimes and it costs us like £2.50 each
 
I'm straight out of middle class, and my parents always make me pay for my own gear, so i usually beat the crap out of my gear and just spend all my money on a pass. And a season pass here in CT is about $500, which is ridiculous for a 250ft vert hill. Its not exclusively for the rich, but it does help if you have a little extra cash.
 
lots of poor kids ski and snowboard in canada. in ontario at least. maybe its just at my hill but I taught school groups mid week this season and we had schools from some pretty rough areas come out. but most people who come out regularly are either really into it or people who have a lot of money.
 
i ski i didn't come from middle or high class i came from a father that was a big ski instructor ski bum going on 18 years on the snow and I'm still broke as fuck haha
 
In Switzerland it IS expensive as fuck...

I pay 1260 francs (1400usd) for the whole season (Nov-Apr), which includes 3 places though

Food is expensive too, only way to keep it cheap is bring it with you

Transport is also like another 1500 (1700usd)

Last but not least gear is also expensive if you buy it in Switzerland

the whole thug thing with skiing is such a joke, we're all white people who can afford a pretty expensive hobby
 
12987170:SkiingAintCrime said:
the whole thug thing with skiing is such a joke, we're all white people who can afford a pretty expensive hobby
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The thug clothing is expensive too. Not sure what outerwear you're referencing?
 
It literally costs me £1.80(though I'm going to struggle to pass for under 15 on the bus next year) for the entire day in the UK. Skis were £200 all in a couple years ago and all my outerwear(other than boots) was under £100, that was also a couple years ago.

Ski touring is the real gold-digger, Having bought (IMO) a pretty damn good setup has(will have) costed me 1500+...
 
12986859:*DUMBCAN* said:
I often think about how much money I'd have if I didn't ski. This last year I've spent about £1000 on ski gear, then at least another £1k on going skiing. I'm really struggling for money to survive the last 5 weeks of term haha
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Here's a tip. If money's tight don't by new stuff every year. Actually even better don't buy new stuff unless you're old stuff no longer works. Also buy stuff from friends. I still use this 4 square coat I bought for $40 from a friend I worked with 5 ish years ago. On the same boards since around then.

Also even if you do break your skis there are always people selling used skis that are in decent shape for cheap. They get new stuff and no longer need the old stuff.

If you're growing out of your old gear then you have to buy new stuff but other than that, if it ain't broke keep using it.

As far as the cheap gear thing I bought a pair of K2 public enemies in very good shape with bindings for $31 this season.
 
12987254:louie.mirags said:
The thug clothing is expensive too. Not sure what outerwear you're referencing?
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technical outerwear as well as cotton steeze stuff is expensive af here... was just putting the thug thing in because that's what a lot of people see us as, the white guys with too lang hair and too long tees acting black, even though everyone paid a shitton of money for their steezy G appearance (not that I dislike it, I myself wear tall tees even though I know it's kinda ironic lol)
 
12987292:SkiingAintCrime said:
technical outerwear as well as cotton steeze stuff is expensive af here... was just putting the thug thing in because that's what a lot of people see us as, the white guys with too lang hair and too long tees acting black, even though everyone paid a shitton of money for their steezy G appearance (not that I dislike it, I myself wear tall tees even though I know it's kinda ironic lol)
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Everyone as in older folks? My non skiing friends think skiing looks boss as fuck. They love watching edits and always comment on the steeze. The older generation always going to hate.
 
Can people also post the minimum wages in countries where they are quoting prices or complaining about them? Price is relative.
 
I was born in an average slightly poorish family. however my older brother used to manage to get free gear and skis and all his old shit got passed down to me luckily. I literally got 5 pairs of volkl 2008 volkl walls and some 2006 gotamas in my garage. lucky me
 
I live in the UK but have spent the last 3 winters living abroad, 2 in canada, 1 in france. If your gonna do a couple trips a year from the UK and some fridge action then I can see it being very pricey but if you do it the way I do it, it's not too bad.

I use my gear till its totally beat. My pow skis are ex demo and were largely discounted and my park skis were $20 of a friend and lasted me a season and a half until they died. My outerwear is all pretty old but I look after it well so its lasted. One thing I dont skimp on is boots.

I work for the Hill so don't have to pay for a pass and earn enough for rent (in a pretty basic shared apt), food and some maintenance. I save a bit of money in the summer to afford a few trips to other resorts and to get whatever gear I need but can still afford to have some fun in the off season. Yeh, I base most of my working life around skiing but I don't work myself into the ground and i'm certainly not rich. So no, not necessarily a sport for the rich.
 
12987170:SkiingAintCrime said:
In Switzerland it IS expensive as fuck...
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BUT:

12987306:broto said:
Can people also post the minimum wages in countries where they are quoting prices or complaining about them? Price is relative.
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Here a sweet mapchartinfographicthing on European average wages:

fZcVSuI.png
 
the key is it to get a job in one of the domes! i ride for free all day every day at MK and I've got a friend who works a Hemel who sorts me out lift tickets which softens the blow a little.

also try and meet as many people as you can on seasons and things which you can tap up on later dates to sleep on the couch/sort you out cheaper tickets. Networking is a fail safe way to make trips cheaper! Just be sensible, if you don't need new gear, don't buy it!! its certainly not the cheapest of sports, but i don't think its the most expensive; horse riding for example is stupid amounts of money if your serious about it!
 
It depents, for a lot of us we are all rich and drive suvs, but a great majority of us drive subarus circa 2001. So it doesnt really matter I the US
 
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