Buying your "Early Bird" season ski pass has been the talk about town this week as today is the last day to purchase them before the prices skyrocket. Fortunately, the NZ ski association lets you pay your pass off in three installments which is crucial for people like housekeepers and in-room-dining servers making close to minimum wage. Also helpful was the fact that yesterday was payday.
Residents of Queenstown have a few options for skiing. The two closest ski lodges are The Remarkables (40 min. away) and Coronet Peak (20 min. away). Another option which is a couple hours away is Mount Hutt. Here are the pass options (all early bird prices):
NZ Ski pass: Unlimited skiing on all three mountains ($999)
Queenstown pass: Unlimited skiing on The Remarkables and Coronet Peak ($889)
Remarkables pass: Unlimited skiing on The Remarkables ($499)
Coronet Peak night pass: Unlimited skiing during Friday and Saturday nights ($99)
Mount Hutt pass: Unlimited skiing at Mount Hutt ($699)
Yikes! Expensive, right?! I knew skiing was a lot of money but I was blown away by how pricey everything was. Sean and I decided to follow our flatmates' leads. Both Kathryn and Andrew bought a Remarkables pass and added on weekend night skiing at Coronet Peak for an extra $99. There was also an option to purchase some group lessons for a huge discount when buying the early bird season pass. I opted for this since I don't really know what I am doing but Sean is just going to go for it.
The mountains open up mid-June. It's quite easy to see where my money from teaching classes will go in the next couple months: ski lessons, very used and affordable skis, boots and poles and some kind of used jacket. Back to the classified ads we go. I have no idea what I'm getting into, but I hope it will be fun and worth it!
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