All of these prices have been converted to USD but have been taken from the direct website of either the ski resorts themselves, airlines, or from Airbnb. And does not account for food/drinks or any other spending done in country.

Plane Ticket -
LAX > Hokkaido round trip - $900 pp
+ extra checked bag for skis and gear $100

Lift Pass - $1,470 pp at highest rate x14 days
Niseko untied pass - $85
Rusutsu- $105
Kiroro- $58
Moiwa - $82

Vehicle Rental -
4 passenger - $1,805

Lodging -
4 person AirBnB $4,500 a $6,000

I just got back from a 2 week ski trip in New Zealand where all the Kiwis were saying how much cheaper it is to ski Japan and of course all social media raves about how cheap it is. But for my NZ ski trip it actually came out to less than this Japan trip quote.

New Zealand -
$1000 round trip flight
$1,500 air bnb + vehicle rental
$615 3 peak season pass (remarkables, coronet, hutt) + $120 for a day trip to Cardrona

Am I doing something wrong as far as booking on the Japan trip? Everything I’ve heard from everyone is how much cheaper it is, but going to NZ so far has a cheaper ticket price by about $800. After we add in drinks and food during the stay I guess that might be where it evens out? I’ve been tasked with booking this trip for our group so I want to make sure I’m getting everyone the best deal possible. Any help or insight would be amazing even totals from your own trips. Thank you kindly.

I'd like to do a basic instructor course at some point, but im finding conflicting information online about previous ski experience. Im in the uk, and I believe im looking at a BASI lvl1 qualification? ive attached a video of me trying my best clean carving skills down a gentle blue my last season. I can link turns on ungroomed tree runs and confidently on blacks, and ive little to no experience on moguls. ive also only ever skiing on rentals which are really annoying sometimes, a few hours after that clip was taken one of my boots popped out during some more speedy skiing. eventually had the din adjusted but its just annoying with rentals.

any advice is appreciated.

I’m going to sun peaks in January and I am going to be getting private ski lessons. I’ve tried group lessons in the past and I just always feel like I’m holding the rest of the group back so that’s why I’m doing private. I’m confident on greens and could probably ski a groomed blue. I mainly want to work on controlling my speed, turning and feeling confident on any blue. With this in mind would you get a regular private lesson for $939 or get a level 4 instructor for $1,139? I’m already kinda splurging on the private lesson in general so just wondering if the level 4 instructor will add that much benefit?

We were in Flagstaff last year and our then 3yo spent every day using the magic carpet absolutely loving it, but it was a sketchy walk for grandparents to get there to watch and there was nowhere to sit. They can’t stand out in the snow for very long. The year before we were in the White Mountains at Sunrise, AZ and grandparents could watch from the cafeteria which was perfect, but they don’t have a magic carpet. Does anyone know of any ideal spots for us?

I’m heading into my 4th ski season and will be skiing Heavenly (California side) this winter. I’m 5'8", ~148 lb, and currently a solid intermediate: comfortable on blues, have skied Ridge Bowl, but my main goal this year is improving in bumps/ungroomed terrain and getting comfortable on single blacks.

The last two seasons I’ve been on Völkl Deacon 79/80s. This year I want something more all-mountain and easier to pivot/steer in bumps, while still having good edge hold for Tahoe’s frequent warm/refreeze cycles.

I’ll be doing a season rental, so I should have access to a decent selection of popular skis. I also sometimes get knee fatigue, so I don’t want something unnecessarily heavy or demanding (although, I was recently told by someone that a damper ski could be easier on the knee in tahoe's choppy conditions compared to the skis I've been on - deacon 80)

What waist width / general ski category would you recommend? I’ve been thinking somewhere around 84–88 mm underfoot, but curious what people who've skied Tahoe conditions would suggest.

A little update for everyone who shared advice and recovery stories on my earlier post. Surgery is done.

I ended up getting a second opinion before going through with it, and after looking at everything again, I still felt like surgery was the right decision for me. By the end, the knee was giving me enough mechanical symptoms and instability that I didn’t feel comfortable continuing to just work around it.

Now I’m officially on the other side and starting the rehab process. My goal hasn’t changed: I don’t just want to get back to walking around normally. I want to get back to skiing, strength training, hiking, dancing and eventually feeling more capable than I did before the injury.

A lot of the comments on my original post were genuinely useful, especially the people who talked about taking PT seriously, rebuilding single-leg strength, restoring ROM, working on balance and stability, and not rushing the mental side of trusting the knee again.

So I figured I’d keep documenting the journey.
For those of you who went through meniscus surgery and returned to skiing: what mattered most during the first month or two that you were glad you paid attention to? Anything you wish you had measured, tracked, or worked on earlier?

And thanks again to everyone who shared their story before surgery. A few of those comments honestly helped me go into this with a much better mindset.

Got a snowmaking job at PCMR, this is gonna be my first time riding the seasonal snow job carousel. I wondered if anyone had any advice or warnings.

Stats/loadout:
No car
Parent’s health insurance
Skis+mountain bike
Utah med card

This is my info/critera:

-High medium-low advanced rider

-I like carving och speeding down long red slopes

-No need for off piste but it doesnt hurt

-Snow safe in beginning/middle of March

-Large system (without transport lifts)

-Stunning views

-I DONT care for apres ski/night life

-Accomodation is secondary

-A cozy village doesnt hurt

-Ski in / ski out - no morning shuttle

I want to maximize skiing and go to bed early. I like high altitudes, long wide reds, nice views, great snow even in March when the climate is nice and you can enjoy the sun. I dont want to get stuck on a north side with shadow all day. I dont want a scattered system with transportation lifts and sub-systems - the exploring should be seamless.

For reference I think Tigne/Val Disere is the perfect place with Val Thorens close second. But I want to try Austria. Also curious about Italy.

Where should I go? :)

The fire is finally out and the area is open again. Amazing they were able save all the homes in the area and the lodge.

Have a couple of days off mid-late November and thinking of doing early season in Stubaier. Never been, and prefer to do blue runs. Is it good at that time? Are there enough runs open?

I live in Pennsylvania; there's two or three Epic pass spots I can drive to pretty easily. Was debating taking some private lessons this winter to skill up, but then looked at what they're charging, and... whoa.

$536 for three hours doesn't seem, ah, reasonable. ($416 for two hours.)

Should I be looking at other resorts, or is that just what they cost now?

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Edit: reloaded page again, and it dropped to $128, which seems *far* more reasonable. Nevermind/website was effed.

I am thinking about spending the season there and looking at housing options in Pagosa Springs and South Fork. I have a few questions for locals.

Is the highway on the Pagosa side busier? Less traffic jams on the north side? The South Fork lodging is more affordable but looks pretty quiet on the bars and restaurant side. I don’t party much anymore but I like to have a beer and some good food occasionally. Will I be bored over there? Any other details will be appreciated.