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Resort lift fees are on the way up

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Times staff

THE ski industry is feeling the pinch of increased fuel costs, and many resorts in California and Colorado have posted increases in this season’s daily lift-ticket prices.

“It’s very expensive to run a ski resort. Our biggest costs each year come from fuel and labor,” said Dana Vander Houwen, a spokesman for California’s Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. “We expect fuel costs to increase significantly.”

At Mammoth Mountain, peak one-day lift tickets for adults cost $70, up from $63 last year; midweek tickets have increased from $58 to $61.

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You can save by buying multiday tickets, which begin at $49 a day for midweek skiing.

Mammoth opened for downhill skiing Nov. 10. As of last week, no date had been set for opening its Tamarack Cross-Country Ski Center.

In the Lake Tahoe area, many ski resorts were planning to have opened by this weekend, weather permitting. Many increased daily lift ticket prices. (Prices listed are for adults.)

At Heavenly, for instance, peak season lift tickets cost $70, or $2 more than last season. At Northstar-at-Tahoe, the price is $63, up from $61 last season.

At Squaw Valley, it’s $65, up from $62. Kirkwood is $62, up from $59. Alpine Meadows is $41, up from $39.

Sugarbowl is keeping weekend and holiday prices the same, at $59, but it increased weekday prices by $2, to $46.

Closer to Los Angeles, Bear Mountain and Snow Summit, as of last week, had not announced an opening date. Peak lift tickets will cost $62, up from $3 last season, said Marty Ward, spokesman for Big Bear Mountain Resorts.

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In Colorado, an early snowfall greeted early-season skiers, but so too did increases in lift prices. Some were approaching $80.

At Aspen/Snowmass, lift tickets, at $78 per day, are $4 more than last year. Jeff Hanle, spokesman for Aspen/Snowmass, attributed the increase to the rising costs of doing business and a “tremendous increase in energy and healthcare costs.”

At Keystone and Breckenridge, which opened Nov. 11, lift tickets are $75 per day.

Vail, expected to have opened this weekend, is charging $59, the same as last year, for the first week. Later prices, which typically vary by the date, had not been set, Vail spokeswoman Kelly Ladyga said last week.

Loveland, Colo., which opened Oct. 14, has increased prices by $2, to $50.

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