Schweitzer ‘moves out of value-priced’

Schweitzer Mountain Resort is increasing its season pass prices by $100 or more next season — moving further away from the discount rates local resorts once embraced.

Tom Chasse, Schweitzer’s general manager, said the new rates more accurately reflect the cost of doing business at the Sandpoint ski hill, which recently announced $10 million worth of improvements for next season, including a new chair lift.

Letters went out last week advertising “early bird” specials of $599 on adult season passes for the 2007-2008 season, an increase of $100. After Halloween, buying an adult pass will cost $999 — a $300 increase over the current season.

Alan Barber of Sandpoint said he was stunned when he read his letter. Prices are also going up for Schweitzer’s weekday passes, which he and his wife have purchased for the last six years.

“It kind of a quandary for people in our situation,” Barber said.

The couple, who are semi-retired, ski 10 to 12 times per season. Schweitzer’s Sunday-through-Friday pass will cost $399 next season, which may or may not pay off for them. “We’re still thinking about it,” Barber said.

Buying a season pass is always a gamble, he noted. Skiers and snowboarders shell out the hundreds of dollars up front, then take their chances on mild winters and injuries. Barber tore a muscle earlier this year. “My season ended right then,” he said.

In 1999, Schweitzer followed the trend of many other Western ski resorts, slashing rates and selling adult season passes for the cutthroat price of $199. The strategy was to boost attendance by making the passes affordable for even casual skiers. Schweitzer sold about 12,000 season passes that year.

Many people remember the days of deep discounting and forget that a decade ago Schweitzer’s adult season passes cost $550 to $650, Chasse said. “Even at that price point, Schweitzer went through a bankruptcy,” he noted.

Though the $199 passes increased the number of skiers on the slopes, the resort continued to struggle financially, Chasse said. Season pass prices increased in the intervening years. As Schweitzer’s management team budgeted for the 2007-2008 season, “this is the price point we landed on,” he said.

Buying a pass will be more of an investment, said Chasse, who anticipates that the higher prices will encourage pass holders to ski more, which in turn boosts Schweitzer’s retail revenue.

Schweitzer has about 8,000 season pass holders, but even on a sunny, “bluebird” Saturday, only about 1,600 of them are skiing or snowboarding, according to Chasse. That means they aren’t eating at resort restaurants, buying lattes or getting their skis tuned either, he said.

Even with the recent price increase, Chasse said Schweitzer’s season passes are competitive compared to similar Northwest resorts, including Crystal Mountain in Western Washington and Fernie Alpine Resort in British Columbia. Those resorts advertise adult season passes from $850 to $950.

“We don’t feel like we’re premium-priced, but we’re moving out of the value-priced,” Chasse said.

Schweitzer is, however, the most expensive Inland Northwest ski resort. Competitor Silver Mountain is currently advertising season pass specials for $325. Mt. Spokane, which is a nonprofit, is advertising early season passes at $229 — its eighth straight year without an increase.

“One of our missions as a nonprofit is to keep skiing affordable,” said Brad McQuarrie, Mt. Spokane’s general manager.

With Schweitzer’s prices going up, some season pass holders will try out a new resort, predicted Dan Aeschliman, past president of Schweitzer Prime Timers, a group of over-55 skiers that patronizes the mountain.

Since he and his wife, Wendy, live near Sandpoint, they’ll stick with Schweitzer, buying the Sunday-through-Friday pass. But Spokane and Coeur d’Alene members of their group could migrate to Silver Mountain, Mt. Spokane or 49 Degrees North next season, Aeschliman said.

He also questions whether Schweitzer is in the right geographic location to position and price itself as a destination resort. “We’re really too close to the coast and not high enough,” Aeschliman said. Winters can be mild and fog can sock in Schweitzer Mountain for days at a time, he said

“We’ll pay the increase, but it won’t taste good,” he said. “Their market, we think, has to be local and they have to treat the locals right.”