Snowy Luxury: Are Canadian Ski Lift Tickets Overpriced?
Canada, wintery wonderland for young and old. Country famous for its winter sports like hockey, ice skating, curling, but how about skiing? Canada is second largest country in the world, with this big space, many argue that ski potentials in Canada are just not overly well distributed due to long stretch of prairies and low lands. Yet some top ski resorts are located in British Columbia, Alberta and even Quebec. Winter paradise for ski and snowboard lovers. Who did not hear about Whistler or Lake Louise? Having said that how many skiers actually visit those resorts due to constant price hikes especially during affordability crisis?
By 2030, Ottawa hopes to increase tourist earnings by 40%, and in order to do so, it needs to draw “high-value guests.” In other words, Ottawa wants people to come over with money and preferably they spend it lavishly here.
The goal of Canada’s ambitious new plan is to create a more sustainable and regenerative tourist landscape while increasing the sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP by 40% over the course of the next seven years, expected to create an extra 85,000 direct employment. A wish that may never come true. The idea of increasing resort visits may infuriate Whistlerites who are worried about overtourism and its effects on the character of a town that is already changing quickly, but Canada’s Minister of Tourism Randy Boissonault was quick to point out that the new national strategy places a strong emphasis on drawing in visitors who will respect the land, the locals, and—to put it bluntly—will pay more to be here.
READ MORE: 10 Best Ski Resorts to visit in Canada
OK, who are those people? And how many of those perfect individuals actually come to Whistler or other Canadian resorts? What many skiers can notice is the lack of snow, skyrocketing ski lift ticket prices and less skiers, no actual people with Rolls Royce and Bugattis arriving at ski resorts. Has the plan failed?
However the Minister of Tourism wishes, the core of Canadian tourism is local Canadians and Americans who look for white powder and affordable accommodations, lift tickets and good food choices compared to other world known resorts. But how do Canadian ski resorts actually compare to the world? Did the Minister of Tourism compare and evaluate famous Canadian resorts with other world top ski destinations? Perhaps, perhaps not.
Canadian Ski Resorts Compared to other World Ski Resorts
Whistler Facts
| Whistler Mountain | Blackcomb Mountain | |
| Vertical | 1,530 metres 5,020 feet | 1,609 metres 5,280 feet |
| Top Elevation | 2,182 metres 7,160 feet | 2,284 metres 7,494 feet |
| Skiable Terrain | 4,757 acres 1,925 hectares | 3,414 acres 1,382 hectares |
| Terrain Type (beg/int/adv) | 20%/55%/25% | 15%/55%/30% |
| Trails | 100 + | 100 + |
| Parks & Pipes | 4 Parks | 4 Parks1 Halfpipe1 Snow Cross Track |
| Total Number of Lifts (plus PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola) | 19 including; 2 high-speed gondolas 2 high-speed 6-packs 5 high-speed quads 2 triple chairs 8 surface lifts | 12 including; 2 high-speed gondolas 1 high-speed 6-pack 6 high-speed quads 1 triple chairs 3 surface lifts |
| Total Hourly Lift Capacity | 36,148 skiers per hour | 33,791 skiers per hour |
| Longest Run | 11 km/7 miles Peak to Creek | 11 km/ 7 miles Green Road down Easy Out |
| Mountain Restaurants | 9 | 9 |
| Snowmaking | 315 acres/127 hectares | 382 acres/156 hectares |
| Season dates | late-November – mid-April | late-November – late-May |
Daily Ski Lift Ticket Price: $269
Lake Louise Stats
| VERTICAL RISE: | 991 METRES (3250 FEET) |
| TOP ELEVATION: | 2637 metres (8650 feet) |
| SKIABLE AREA | 1700 hectares (4200 acres) |
| LONGEST RUN: | 8 kilometres (5 miles) |
| NUMBER OF RUNS | 164 named runs across four mountain faces |
| NUMBER OF LIFTS | 11 (1 Gondola + 7 Chairs + 3 Carpets) |
Daily Ski Lift Ticket Price: $155
Sun Peaks Stats
| Ski Area | 4,270 acres of terrain Second largest ski area in Canada! |
|---|---|
| 2,152m (7,060′) | |
| Burfield Chairlift Summit Elevation | 2,080m (6,824′) |
| Village Base Elevation | 1,255m (4,116′) |
| Skiable Vertical | 882m (2,894′) |
| Sunburst Express Chairlift | Base Elevation 1,255m (4,117′) Top Elevation 1,850m (6,069′) |
| Sundance Express Chairlift | Base Elevation 1,255m (4,117′) Top Elevation 1,730m (5,679′) |
| Elevation Chairlift | Base Elevation 1,550m (5,085′) Top Elevation 1,863m (6,112′) |
| Crystal Chairlift | Base Elevation 1,764m (5,787′) Top Elevation 2,080m (6,824′) |
| Morrisey Express Chairlift | Base Elevation 1,277m (4,189′) Top Elevation 1,675m (5,495′) |
| Orient Chairlift | Base Elevation 1,277m (4,189′) Top Elevation 1,525m (5,003′) |
| Burfield Chairlift | Base Elevation 1,198m (3,930′) Top Elevation 2,080m (6,824′) |
| West Bowl T-Bar | Base Elevation 1,903m (6,243′) Top Elevation 2,069m (6,788′) |
| Bowls | 2 alpine bowls |
| Longest Run | Up to 8km (5 miles) long |
| Trails & Glades | 139 trails, including 19 gladed areas |
| Terrain Type | 10% novice (green circle) 58% intermediate (blue square) 32% advanced and expert (black diamond and double-black diamond) |
| Terrain Park | 10 acre terrain park |
| Types of Lifts | 13 lifts, including 3 high speed quad chairlifts, 4 quad chairlifts, and 6 surface lifts |
| Lift Capacity | 14,000 riders per hour |
| Annual Snowfall | 6m (237″) of powder |
| Nordic (Cross Country) | 34km of groomed and trackset trails 19km of backcountry trails |
Daily Lift Ticket Price: $169
Mont Tremblant Stats
SKIING AREA
- Skiable terrain: 305 hectares (755 acres)
- Glades: 73.4 hectares (178 acres)
- Total length of trails: 81.9 km (50.8 miles)
- Longest trail: Nansen, 6 km (3.7 miles)
- South Side vertical drop: 645 meters (2116 feet)
- Maximum slope degree: 42°
- Snowparks: 3
LIFTS
- Capacity: 27,830 skiers / hour
- Gondolas: 2
- High-speed 4-passenger chairlifts: 6
- 4-passenger chairlifts: 1
- 3-passenger chairlifts: 1
- Magic carpets: 3
- Cabriolet: 1
Daily Ski Lift Ticket Price: $135
Ontarios Best Choice – Blue Mountain Stats
TERRAIN
Elevation: 720 feet
Skiable Acres: 364 acres / 147 hectares
TRAIL SYSTEM
Trails: 43 named trails
Night Trails: 30 lit night trails
Longest Run: Gord’s Groove – 1.6km (1 mile)
SNOW
Snowmaking: 360 acres / 145 hectares
LIFT SYSTEM
Summer Gondola: 1
High-Speed Six: 5
Quad: 1
Triple: 1
Surface Lifts: 4
Uphill Capacity: 26,750 per hour
Daily Ski List Ticket Price: $159
Kitzbühl Austria Stats
 MOUANTAIN TOP2000 m |  MOUANTAIN LOW800 m |  MOUNTAIN ELAVATION1200 m |
 BEGINNER SLOPES101 km |  INTERMEDIATE SLOPES61 km |  DIFFICULT SLOPES17 km |
 T-BAR LIFT ETC.15 |  CHAIRLIFT ETC.28 |  GONDOLA ETC.11 |
 SNOWPARKYes |  NIGHT SKIINGYes |  SNOW CANNONS1102 |
Daily Ski Lift Ticket Price: 73 Euros = $108 CAD
Ischgl Austria Stats
| MOUANTAIN TOP 2872 m | MOUANTAIN LOW 1377 m | MOUNTAIN ELAVATION 1495 m |
| BEGINNER SLOPES 47 km | INTERMEDIATE SLOPES 142 km | DIFFICULT SLOPES 49 km |
| T-BAR LIFT ETC. 13 | CHAIRLIFT ETC. 25 | GONDOLA ETC. 7 |
| SNOWPARK Yes | NIGHT SKIING No | SNOW CANNONS 1200 |
Daily Lift Ticket Price: 72 Euros = $108 CAD
Obersdorf Germany Stats
| Black Pistes Expert Trails | 3 | 4km |
|---|---|---|
| Red Pistes Intermediate Runs | 21 | 30km |
| Blue Pistes Easy Trails | 14 | 10km |
| Downhill Total Length | 44km | |
| Cross Country Total Length | 70km | |
| Ski Lifts Number of Lifts | 26 | |
| Total Piste Length | 44km |
|---|---|
| Highest Lift | 2,220m |
| Resort Height | 820m |
Daily Lift Ticket Price: 62.90 Euro = $94.35 CAD
Val d’Isère France Stats
Resort altitude: 1850m
Highest point: 3480m
Vertical drop: 1930m
Ski areas: Espace Killy, combining Tignes and Val d’Isère
Pistes: 300km (of which 57% beginner/intermediate, 25% advanced, 18% expert)
Lifts: 96
Best for: Advanced and expert skiers, although there is also plenty to keep beginners and intermediates entertained. Quite a lot of the blue runs are on the upper slopes.
Daily Ski Lift Ticket Price: 66 Euro = $99 CAD
St. Moritz Switzerland Stats
Black Pistes Expert Trails 9 35km
Red Pistes Intermediate Runs61245km
Blue Pistes Easy Trails1870km
Downhill Total Length350km
Cross Country Total Length180km
Ski Lifts Number of Lifts24
| Total Piste Length | 350km |
|---|---|
| Highest Lift | 3,300m |
| Resort Height | 1,850m |
Daily Ski Lift Ticket Price: 90 CHF = $140 CAD
Bjelasnica/Jahorina Bosnia Stats
Bjelasnica:
| Resort Altitude | 1270m |
| Highest Lift | 2067m |
| Total Piste | 13km |
| Longest Run | 3km |
| Total Lifts | 8 |
| Chairlifts | 3 |
| Drag Lifts | 5 |
| Snow Parks | 1 |
Daily Lift ticket Price: 47 BAM = $35 CAD
Jahorina:
1300 m – 1890 m (Difference 590 m)
Ski slopes »
Total: 52 km
| Easy | 25 km | (48 %) |
| Intermediate | 24 km | (46 %) |
| Difficult | 3 km | (6 %) |
Ski lifts » Total: 17
Daily Lift Ticket Price: 86 BAM = $64 CAD
Is Canada top Ski Destination?
Compared to other world known ski resorts, Canada has lots to offer, yet are we world known ski country, no! Other countries like Austria, Switzerland, Germany and France take the pole position when it comes to best world known ski destinations. Many of those ski resort locations offer glacier snow which means skiing all year long. As we can also see from stats, even the most known ski resorts in Europe offer cheaper daily lift tickets than any ski resort in Canada.
What does that mean?
To ultra rich and famous, basically nothing. They will go wherever they please, in this case they will choose probably the world best known resorts. But what does it mean to the local economy here in Canada?
Well, the resorts can tell the best story. If we take into account that world travel has been reduced over the past few years, resorts selling their apartments, fewer skiers, less snow and increased cost of living in Canada, one can only assume the poor situation Canadian ski resorts are into.
Dream of having 40% more ski tourism in Canada by 2030 is just a publicity stunt many could argue. Perhaps Canadian economy depends more on locals rather than ultra rich from abroad!
