It’s presale season for lift passes, in both Nordic and alpine skiing. During this window, resorts offer discounts ranging from 10% to 50%. But it’s worth knowing whether a season pass is actually the right choice for you — resorts also offer other passes that might suit you better, such as the well-known 6-day or 10-non-consecutive-day options. According to our calculations, you’ll need to ski somewhere between 12 and 18 days on average to get your money’s worth from a season pass.
Alpine skiing: 8 to 25 days to break even
We analysed 26 season passes from large, medium and small ski resorts across the Alps. From Les 3 Vallées to Gresse-en-Vercors, the vast majority run season-pass presales. That means if you buy before the season starts, you don’t pay the standard public price, but a discounted rate. More than 80% of sales typically happen during the presale window. This year, the average discount is 34%. Some resorts run the offer right up until the pistes open, while others only offer it in September.
If you pay full price for your pass, you’ll need to ski for 18 days on average to break even. If you buy it in presale instead, you’ll only need 12 days to cover your costs. In detail, at Gresse-en-Vercors, Saint-François-Longchamp and Villard-de-Lans, 8 to 10 days of skiing is enough, whereas in Les Portes du Soleil, you’d need 16 days of skiing to break even on a season pass bought in presale during October.
Paying full price, you’ll need 12 to 25 days of skiing to break even on your season pass. At €279 for the season pass, Gresse-en-Vercors still offers the best value for money. Its season pass costs a little under the price of 12 day passes. In Les Sybelles, Chamonix, the Haute-Maurienne and the Grand Massif, you’ll need over 20 days of skiing to break even on a full-price season pass. Les Sybelles has the most expensive season pass of all, equivalent to 25 day passes.
Season passes converted into day-pass equivalents:
| Resort | 2027 base price | 2027 discounted price | Break-even at full price (days) | Break-even at presale price (days) |
| Les Sybelles (La Toussuire, Le Corbier, Saint-Sorlin, Saint-Jean-d’Arves) | 1521 | 760.5 | 25 | 13 |
| Mont-Blanc Unlimited | 2604 | 1466 | 26 | 15 |
| Chamonix | 1400.8 | 913.8 | 24 | 15 |
| Haute Maurienne pass (Val Cenis, Bonneval-sur-Arc, Aussois, La Norma, Valfréjus) | 880 | 440 | 20 | 10 |
| Grand Massif (Flaine, Samoëns, Morillon, Les Carroz, Sixt) | 1316 | 658 | 21 | 10 |
| La Clusaz | 1095 | 760 | 19 | 13 |
| Valloire – Valmeinier | 1098 | 439 | 20 | 8 |
| Les 3 Vallées (Courchevel, Méribel, Les Menuires, Val Thorens, Orelle) | 1620 | 19 | 0 | |
| Les Portes du Soleil | 1108 | 977 | 15 | 13 |
| Le Collet d’Allevard | 542.5 | 325 | 18 | 10 |
| Les 2 Alpes | 1227.5 | 771 | 18 | 11 |
| Évasion Mont Blanc (Saint-Gervais, Megève, Combloux, La Giettaz, Les Contamines) | 1189.5 | 890 | 18 | 14 |
| Orcières Merlette 1950 | 799 | 439.5 | 16 | 9 |
| Villard-Corrençon | 714 | 414 | 16 | 9 |
| Le Grand-Bornand | 754 | 505 | 14 | 10 |
| Alpe d’Huez | 1127.5 | 771 | 17 | 11 |
| Les Orres | 788 | 630.4 | 17 | 14 |
| Les Orres | 788 | 630.4 | 17 | 14 |
| La Forêt Blanche (Vars – Risoul) | 970 | 727.5 | 17 | 13 |
| Espace Diamant | 846 | 549 | 16 | 11 |
| Montgenèvre | 959.5 | 659.5 | 16 | 11 |
| Les Gets – Morzine | 915 | 549 | 16 | 10 |
| Hauteluce/Les Contamines | 865 | 605 | 16 | 11 |
| Châtel – Liberté | 757 | 546 | 14 | 10 |
| Saint-François-Longchamp / Valmorel | 825 | 495 | 14 | 8 |
| Gresse-en-Vercors | 279 | 259 | 10 | 10 |
Nordic skiing: 5 to 18 days needed
On the Nordic side, the same rule applies, except that there’s also a regional and national reciprocity system for lift passes. This lets you buy a departmental or national season pass tied to one resort and ski without extra cost at other resorts across the wider area.
Just as with alpine skiing, you’ll need 12 days of skiing on average to break even on an adult season pass, or 10 days if you buy it in presale. That said, you’ll break even faster if you stick to skiing at the same resort (as little as 9 days in presale), compared with taking out a departmental or national Nordic Pass. For departmental passes, you’ll need 14 to 18 days of skiing. For the national pass, it can take up to 18 days.
| Nordic ski area | Price (excl. presale) | Equivalent in day passes (if bought in presale) |
| Aussois Val-Cenis season pass | €61 | 8 (7) |
| Bessans season pass | €114.5 | 11 (9) |
| Chartreuse season pass | €74 | 9 (8) |
| Les Saisies season pass | €156 | 15 (13) |
| Savoie Grand Revard season pass | €156 | 14 (10) |
| Les Glières season pass | €97 | 10 (8) |
| Vercors season pass | €161 | 12 (9) |
| Aravis season pass | €136 | 12 (10) |
| Nordic France season pass | €255 | 21 (18) |
| Savoie Nordic Pass | €176 | 14 (12) |
| Haute-Savoie Nordic Pass | €178 | 14 (12) |
| Drôme + Isère Nordic Pass | €172 | 14 (10) |
| Southern Alps Nordic Pass | €200 | 17 (12) |