Lift pass prices this season

We hold an adult one day lift pass price for all 184 resorts in the database, checked each season and quoted in euros at the walk up rate. Across the whole set the median is €58, with the full range running from €30 to €90. This is a snapshot of what the current season looks like, not a trend line: we do not hold verified prices from previous winters, so any claim here about rises or falls would be invention rather than reporting.

One day walk up prices are also the least flattering number a resort has. Six day passes, early booking rates, family tickets and regional season passes all cost meaningfully less per day. Treat the figures below as a like for like comparison between resorts rather than as what you will actually pay for a week.

Sorted by median day pass across the resorts we cover in each country, with the count so you can see how much each median is carrying.

1. 1Poland4 resorts · range €38 to €38 · cheapest Bialka Tatrzanska at €38€38
2. 2Bulgaria3 resorts · range €40 to €45 · cheapest Pamporovo at €40€42
3. 3Slovenia3 resorts · range €42 to €43 · cheapest Vogel at €42€42
4. 4Scotland5 resorts · range €40 to €45 · cheapest The Lecht at €40€44
5. 5Germany7 resorts · range €42 to €60 · cheapest Willingen at €42€48
6. 6Spain5 resorts · range €47 to €60 · cheapest Astún at €47€50
7. 7France37 resorts · range €40 to €72 · cheapest Chamrousse at €40€52
8. 8Andorra9 resorts · range €48 to €56 · cheapest Vallnord Pal Arinsal at €48€52
9. 9Finland5 resorts · range €52 to €55 · cheapest Ruka at €52€52
10. 10Sweden3 resorts · range €55 to €58 · cheapest Riksgränsen at €55€56
11. 11Italy25 resorts · range €42 to €75 · cheapest Sella Nevea at €42€58
12. 12Norway8 resorts · range €55 to €62 · cheapest Narvikfjellet at €55€58
13. 13Austria40 resorts · range €51 to €71 · cheapest Axamer Lizum at €51€63
14. 14Switzerland26 resorts · range €68 to €90 · cheapest Champéry at €68€78

The gap between the top and bottom of that table is the real story. Switzerland prices at a different level to everywhere else in the dataset, and the eastern European and Pyrenean resorts sit far enough below the Alpine average that the saving covers a good part of a flight.

1. 1JahorinaBosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina · 52 km of piste€30
2. 2GudauriGeorgia, Georgia · 75 km of piste€32
3. 3Bialka TatrzanskaKotelnica Białczańska, Poland · 15 km of piste€38
4. 4KotelnicaPoland, Poland · 5 km of piste€38
5. 5SzczyrkPoland, Poland · 20 km of piste€38
6. 6ZakopanePoland, Poland · 14 km of piste€38
7. 7ChamrousseIsère, France · 90 km of piste€40
8. 8PamporovoRhodopes, Bulgaria · 29 km of piste€40
9. 9Sainte-Foy TarentaiseTarentaise, France · 45 km of piste€40
10. 10The LechtCairngorms, Scotland · 20 km of piste€40
11. 11BorovetsRila, Bulgaria · 58 km of piste€42
12. 12Puy Saint VincentÉcrins, France · 75 km of piste€42

Low price and small area are not the same thing, which is the point worth making here. Several of these resorts carry a hundred kilometres or more of piste for the price of a half day elsewhere.

1. 1ZermattValais, Switzerland · 360 km of piste€90
2. 2St. MoritzEngadin, Switzerland · 350 km of piste€88
3. 3VerbierValais, Switzerland · 412 km of piste€85
4. 4Arosa LenzerheideGraubünden, Switzerland · 225 km of piste€82
5. 5Davos KlostersGraubünden, Switzerland · 297 km of piste€82
6. 6Grindelwald WengenJungfrau, Switzerland · 213 km of piste€80
7. 7Flims Laax FaleraGraubünden, Switzerland · 224 km of piste€79
8. 8AndermattUri, Switzerland · 180 km of piste€79
9. 9LaaxGraubünden, Switzerland · 224 km of piste€79
10. 10Saas FeeValais, Switzerland · 150 km of piste€79
11. 11ZinalSwitzerland, Switzerland · 115 km of piste€78
12. 12Thyon-Les CollonsLes 4 Vallées, Switzerland · 412 km of piste€78

At this end you are usually paying for vertical, lift capacity and a season that starts early and finishes late, and in a few cases for the address. Whether that is good value depends entirely on how many days you ski and how much of the terrain you will use.

For a week away the lift pass is rarely the biggest line. Accommodation and travel usually are, and food on the mountain closes the gap faster than most people budget for. A resort with a €50 pass and expensive beds can easily cost more than one with a €70 pass and a cheap apartment two stops down the valley.

Our cheapest lift passes guide ranks the same field on price alone, and the biggest ski areas guide is the useful counterweight when you want to see what the money buys.