As usual, it’s going to be a little more expensive to ski at the Aspen Skiing Co.’s four mountains this winter. But we don’t know yet how expensive it can be.

The cheapest unrestricted four-mountain full season pass is $1,299, a $60 or 5 percent increase over last year’s pass price. The deadline to purchase this pass is Sept. 12; the most expensive unrestricted four-mountain pass will cost $2,079, after Nov. 14.

The cheapest one-day adult lift ticket will be $65, and while the most expensive one is unknown, there is a “good chance” it will be over $90, said SkiCo spokesman Jeff Hanle.

For the first time in about five years, SkiCo did not release its one-day lift ticket prices for the “holiday” period, which this season is from Dec. 19 to Jan. 5.

“We’ve elected not to give our competitors the advantage of seeing our prices before they release their prices,” Hanle said.

Last year, SkiCo announced its top one-day lift ticket price of $87 on July 31. Vail Resorts charged $92 for a one-day ticket at Vail and Beaver Creek over the year-end holiday last season, although it never officially “announced” its highest ticket price. Hanle said SkiCo will likely announce its top lift price in mid-December when all four SkiCo mountains are expected to be open.

“It’s not relevant” until then, Hanle said.

Pass comparison

SkiCo offers discounts on passes when purchased early, and the “super early” discount period this year runs from Monday, Aug. 4, to Sept. 12. The company also offers better pricing to local chamber of commerce members.

The “premier” chamber pass tops out at $1,759 if bought after Nov. 14.

The “premier” pass, without the chamber discount, starts next week at $1,769 and ends up at $2,079.

As in the past, the premier passes include discounts, such as 20 percent off ski tunes at Four Mountain Sports, and the passes are also good for summer lift rides on Aspen Mountain and at Snowmass Ski Area.

The popular two-day-per-week pass is going from $1,079 to $1,129, up $50 or 4.6 percent, if purchased during the “super early” period.

SkiCo is offering a total of 20 different season passes this year. The company has created a new class of passes specifically for “seniors” ages 65-69. In the past, seniors got passes as if they were chamber members. This year, they will get the same discount but have their own “senior” passes.

Prices for unrestricted four-mountain season passes have been going up each year for the last five years. In 2003, a premier chamber pass purchased in the “super early” discount period was $1,029. This year it is $1,299, a difference of $270, or an average increase of $54 per year. (See chart for more pass prices and visit www.aspensnowmass.com [1] for a complete rundown of prices.)

Everyone who had a season pass last year will need to get a new pass this season, as SkiCo is introducing new “radio frequency lift access” technology from the SKIDATA company. The new passes will look like the old pass, but will include more sensitive RF technology.

Skiers and riders will find 22 electronic ticket gates on the mountains this season, up from 15. The combination of the new high-tech passes and automatic gates should mean that the gates open just as the skier approaches, potentially allowing skiers to glide onto chairlifts in some locations without stopping.

The Classic Pass, a four- or seven-day pass available at select locations on certain dates, is also returning this season. An adult seven-day Classic Pass will cost $274, or $39 per day. The adult four-day Classic Pass is $169, or $42.25 a day.

Advance lift ticket sales offer skiers discounts this year, as they have in the past.

“We’re doing what we can to encourage people to book early and buy multiple days,” Hanle said, pointing out that new this year is a 5 percent discount on adult ski school lessons when purchased in advance and combined with a lift ticket and equipment rental.

Seven-day lift tickets purchased a week in advance break down to $65 a day until Dec. 12. At “peak season,” from Feb. 11 to March 26, seven-day lift tickets purchased a week in advance will cost $553, or $79 a day.

SkiCo has not released multi-day ticket prices for the holiday season, which runs from Dec. 19 to Jan. 5.
Capital improvements

SkiCo customers this coming winter will find a new high-speed four-passenger chairlift on the Sheer Bliss side of the Big Burn at Snowmass. The upper terminal of the new lift is higher than the old lift and will allow easier access to the Sneaky’s side of the Burn.
 On top of Sam’s Knob at Snowmass, a new restaurant is expected to open in December. “Sam’s Smokehouse” is a 175-seat family barbecue-style restaurant. The 7,800-square-foot building will also include a coffee bar for quick food and drink, and outdoor seats on the deck.

SkiCo will also be opening Sneaky’s Tavern in Base Village next door to the Treehouse children’s center. It’s an American bistro format that will be open for lunch, après-ski and dinner. Also expected to open in Base Village this winter is a restaurant/nightclub combo called Junk and Liquid Sky owned by restaurateur Scott DeGraff.

At Aspen Highlands, skiers and riders will find up to 18 new acres of gladed tree skiing in Deep Temerity between Hyde Park and Mushroom Chutes. The new run goes all the way down to the road that drains Highland Bowl.

At Buttermilk Mountain, the halfpipe will be even more extreme. The walls of the pipe will be 22 feet high instead of 18 to stay in sync with the size of the halfpipe that will be used in the 2010 Winter Olympics at Whistler/Blackcomb.

Work on the plaza around the Silver Queen Gondola’s lower terminal is expected to be finished by this winter, Hanle said. Skiers will find that the plaza will be all on one level, without the last four or five steps that previously led up to the gondola.

SkiCo spent more than $35 million on improvements for the coming winter.

Hanle said SkiCo staff employees still have a warm glow due to last year’s epic snowfall.

“But I don’t know if they really want it to be winter yet,” he said.

Aspen Mountain and Snowmass are scheduled to open on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, and close on April 12, 2009. Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk should open on Dec. 13 and close on April 5, 2009.

bgs@aspendailynews.com