Tight-Ass Tips for Snow Trips in Oz
Thought I’d kick off a thread about ways to save money on snow trips in Aus. Feel free to offer up your tips.
Here’s a few for riders with families:
- Kids 5 and under ride free at some (all?) mountains in Oz. You can even get a free season pass. Unfortunately you cannot combine this with lesson packages to get cheaper lift/lesson deals.
- Some lodges offer discounted lift tickets in partnership with the lift company.
- Not sure about other mountains, but at Hotham there is an unadvertised ticket voucher system where you can bulk-buy lift/lesson tickets for kids and get a decent discount. You need to buy 10+ but they can be used any time during the season and for any of your kids. They also need to be pre-purchased 48 hours before you want to pick them up. I find them quite flexible because you don’t have to use them consecutively. The only downside is you have to go into a ticket office each morning to exchange them for a lift/lesson ticket.
example costs for all day lift/lesson for 2 kids for 5 days each:
Regular Hotham 2 x 5 day consecutive all day lift/lesson = 2 x $639 = $1278
Peak season lift/lesson 5 days x 2 via lodge partnership = 2 x $620 = $1240
Bulk-buy 10 vouchers all day lift/lesson = 10 x $116 = $1160
Oz Snow Adventures offer 10% discounts to Boardworld members, so give them a try when you’re pricing around for accommodation in Thredbo and Jindabyne.
I’ll tell you the best way to go to the snow cheap…...
BE A UNI STUDENT (or finish uni but still have your card)
Either way you get discounted tickets at Buller any day of the week $80ish instead of $109 or whatever it is. Or go to Buller on Tuesdays and you can get lift tickets for $49!!!!!!!! I did days last year when I spent $100-120 with lunch and dinner purchased and carpooling with 1 mate (for petrol, gate entry and chain costs)
I know that Hotham has uni tightass fridays as well but not sure on pricing! Pretty sure they don’t even ask you for uni ID when you purchase a Buller B-Tag online and have it delivered to your home instead of picking it up!
If you plan to go for more than 6 days (and/or keep your car for multiple seasons) buy chains outright.
They are like $15 a day, have to be fitted every time and can often be dodgey / ruined.
Or you buy some outright for like $120 - $150 and they can be used everytime you go down.
It’s a no-brainer to me…
Even before I had access to cooking facilities on snow I took a packed lunch!
Rolls get squashed less than bread.
I used to bake a couple of par bakes fresh every day (but I am a fresh bread snob!)
If you plan to go for more than 6 days (and/or keep your car for multiple seasons) buy chains outright.
They are like $15 a day, have to be fitted every time and can often be dodgey / ruined.
Or you buy some outright for like $120 - $150 and they can be used everytime you go down.
It’s a no-brainer to me…
Yeah good idea. I paid about that much for my previous chains on the old car and they worked fine. Bought some better ones for the new car and paid a lot more, but the quality difference is obvious. For a start the new ones are much heavier due to having more steel in them.
Pakc lunch. i left mine in NBG’s ute and we went there to loose our jumpers i scoffed it down then. Both days we rode i ate my own lunch, thats at least $40 saved there
I took a packed lunch!
Pakc lunch. i left mine in NBG’s ute and we went there to loose our jumpers i scoffed it down then. Both days we rode i ate my own lunch, thats at least $40 saved there
Yep after a weekend of woefully underwhelming and overpriced food last time I’ll be going the packed lunch route next week.
Do you guys carry food in your pockets? I usually stash a sesame bar or something.
Do you guys carry food in your pockets? I usually stash a sesame bar or something.
I wear a pack so adding a couple of sangas in there won’t be an issue for me.
Do you guys carry food in your pockets? I usually stash a sesame bar or something.
I carried a backpack for 10 years… bladder and lunch was all that was in it… But nowadays the backpack gets left in the aforementioned on hill kitchens 
DRC
Go the bread roll or even bagel to hold up longer especially you borders who spend all your time on your arse 
Nah leave it in the car
Car is a great idea… but knowing my luck I would park in Perisher car park and find myself starving in Guthega or Blue Cow and then by lunch and defeating the purpose of a packed lunch… cause I would throw out the one i didn’t eat too!
Yep, packed lunch is a no brainer.. usually I make sandwich wraps (lavish bread, with mayo, jarlsberg cheese, ham/salami/turkey and lettuce.. easy to make.. and just wrap in foil/glad wrap.. easy to eat too.. (and if your fast enough can be done on a chair lift - I cut mine in half and wrap each half so I can do this)
also little snacks,, like putting lollies in a sandwich bag, or as a few mates and I have dubbed them “pocket chocolates” - buy the fun size share packs when they are on special (they have been half price twice in the last 2 months) usually get Twix, twirl, mars, snickers, milky top freddos, etc. And take a few of each in my pants cargo pockets.. they are awesome for a little snack on a chair or while waiting for people..
we plan to pack a massive picnic lunch one day and sit, either at the top of mt.p or over the back of blue cow, either top of the perisher quad or over closer to pleasant valley as a group and eat!! Instead of 10 of us paying 20 each.. (200 total) we can do this for 50-75 depending how much we want to eat etc.
Also the shelf ready individually packed twiggie sticks are awesome..
The last weekend we did just cost us, 30 each in petrol, 60 each for accom (1 night) and 30 in food..120 all up.. not bad!
usually I make sandwich wraps (lavish bread, with mayo, jarlsberg cheese, ham/salami/turkey and lettuce.. easy to make.. and just wrap in foil/glad wrap.. easy to eat too.. (and if your fast enough can be done on a chair lift - I cut mine in half and wrap each half so I can do this)
At first I was like YUM! 
(anyway we could sneak some avo in or is that soggy city?) Good idea on being quick/easy to eat as well.
also little snacks,, like putting lollies in a sandwich bag, or as a few mates and I have dubbed them “pocket chocolates” - buy the fun size share packs when they are on special (they have been half price twice in the last 2 months) usually get Twix, twirl, mars, snickers, milky top freddos, etc. And take a few of each in my pants cargo pockets.. they are awesome for a little snack on a chair or while waiting for people..
and then I was 
Yeah I don’t get chocolate.
It’s so anti climatic.
I eat it and it doesn’t make me happy, it doesn’t give me energy and it doesn’t even taste that good.
All I end up getting is mouth ulcers from the sugar content… 