Six day lift passes covering Vail's four resorts in Colorado are currently being sold online at $510 on the company's snow.com site. The site says this advance online purchase price represents a $204 saving on the price you'd need to pay if you bought the ticket in resort at a ticket window for $714 which equals £440 This is believed to be the first time a six day ticket has gone above $700 (US)/£400 (UK)
Vail resorts lift ticket pricing has long been very fluid, changing frequently and at short notice particularly for a one day pass. This model does bring some of the highest lift ticket prices in world skiing for those who don't buy in advance online, although at the other end in low season at the start and end of the season prices drop to among the lowest in the world for major resorts for those who DO buy in advance online.
In recent years the company has offered increasingly large discounts for online advance purchase and its Epic Season Pass, when purchased in the spring and summer ahead of the following season, increasingly costs much less for unlimited access to the slopes all season than buying a standard six day pass for fixed holiday dates.
The 2013-14 Epic Passes, covering 10 resorts with Vail's count reaching nine having purchased two more areas in the Midwest to add to their four in Colorado and three in California, with the pass also covering separately owned A Basin, will be released in March/April at their lowest price.