The latest volley in the battle to offer the best annual ski pass deal in Switzerland has been fired by the 4 Valleys lift company who have announced that under 25s will now be able to get a season pass for 400 Swiss Francs – about £325 - less than a third of the normal adult price (1,402 Francs). The price also applies to children (usual price over 800 Francs, although children born after 2011 so over 6 are free anyway).
The offer comes after season pass price discounting first from Saas Fee last season and then by a consortium of resorts including Villars this coming winter. It mirrors a price war over season passes in the US several winters ago.
In the case of the 4 Valleys, the lift pass consortium says the discount is an attempt to help and encourage young adults to be able to afford to go skiing or boarding at a time when skier numbers are slowly dwinding, they describe the initiative as a, "Long term investment."
Although the price of the discounted pass is a little more than a 6 day ticket, young adult skiers/boarders expecting to ski in the area more than a week or to ski in other leading ski areas may save money by buying the season pass.
That's as holders also qualify for 6 days of skiing in Chamonix and in Italy's Aosta Valley as well as up to 5 days of skiing in each of the Portes du Soleil, Vail Group resorts (Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone and many others), Grandvalira and Silvretta Montafon plus 3 days of skiing in the Sierra Nevada and a half priced 1- to 5- day ski pass in Arosa/Lenzerheide, as well as many other local offers.