[cha1n]

Are there any decent resorts that have free lifts or any operators that offer free lift passes?

I'm quite keen to get away for a week snowboarding. I've got my own equipment and am not too fussed about the terrain, so long as it's not full of flat areas.

The key factor is that it needs to be cheap, basic accommodation is fine. It's always the lift passes that make the cost too much!

Thanks for any info.

[nai]

Unlikely fo radults unless you go at the peripheries of the season. When I used to do budget trips it involved an overnight coach from London leaving Friday evening getting you into resort for 10ish Saturday then leaving Sunday night dropping you back in London Monday morning. It meant an extra 2 days off work but you did get 8 days on the slopes rather than 6 so effectively 33% extra skiing.

[dave]

There's plenty of places in the alps that do free lifts if you're booking accommodation in the area, but I doubt there's many that extend that into the winter.

[nai]

I bet there's a list of resorts with pass prices available online somewhere.  Bound to be smaller resorts with cheaper passes,  places that have come up on previous threads as cheaper options like Flaine & La Rosiere possibly?  Plus some former Eastern block countries that could be no doubt be done cheaply.

[cha1n]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Perhaps 2 for 1 is the best I'm going to get then, seems like it'd be a right faff trying to find all the free lifts at every resort and then rotating between the resorts to keep it interesting. Perhaps not so bad if you've got a car.

Just found out that my gf will be working in education for the next 3 months anyway and will have to go away during the school holidays, which leaves us with no chance of getting a good deal! Another year without snowboarding/skiing I fear...

[rodma]

Just found out that my gf will be working in education for the next 3 months anyway and will have to go away during the school holidays, which leaves us with no chance of getting a good deal! Another year without snowboarding/skiing I fear...

#firstworldproblems 

[lagerstarfish]

the Aviemore lifts used to let you work the lifts to cover lunch/tea breaks in return for a refund of the cost of the day's lift pass

thinking about it, this was over 20 years ago

[Stubbs]

Seen some cracking ski deals when walking past travel agents recently, may be worth going to speak to a real life person and seeing what you can get sorted? Last minute deal for Feb half term could work out well.

[SA Chris]

So you want to go to the Alps for a week, but are prepared to try and make the most of the free lifts? I believe most resorts have a policy of having one lift that's free to use for beginners and the hard up, but it's usually a pretty shit short tow and will go nowhere.

If you are going to make the effort to go, you might as well make the most of it, go for a shorter time and buy a pass for a few days and do what you are going there for, rather than scab about trying to get out of buying a lift pass, and have a shit time of the actual boarding. Or just keep an eye on the forecast, drive to Scotland on a good weekend and kip in the car.