Skiing is a not sport for those lacking snow pants with deep-lined pockets. From lift tickets and rentals, to gas money and lodges, a day on the slopes can leave little left over to indulge on aprés ski. If you’re like me and can’t afford season passes, think about these options instead:
Liftopia
If you absolutely need to ski for a weekend, bookmark this website. Enter the dates you want to book or the area you want to ski and Liftopia generates offers on lift tickets, as well as rental packages. Score deals as low as $50 to virtually every mountain in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Look into half day passes for morning or night skiing and investigate other perks for day passes; a free trip on the mountain coaster is included in passes for Gunstock and other mountains.
Rideshare
Reading-based company Ridj-It connects would-be adventurers who don’t own cars to other locals already planning a trip. If you’re a college student without wheels, or new to the city and looking to make friends, Ridj-It lets you link up with drivers and travel for free. For those who volunteer to drive, Ridj-It pays the cost of your trip when you fill empty car seats. Discounts are available to local mountains and riders recently have made trips to Loon Mountain, as well as treks to cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, tubing, and even dog sledding destinations across Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
If you’re looking to organize a bigger group of friends, or ride in more luxe style, check out Boston-based Skedaddle. The rideshare service rents luxury coaches with Wifi catered to your destination; the person who organizes the trip rides for free, the next 9 riders receive a discount, and then any remaining riders pay a flat fare for the trip. A sample trip to Okemo includes a lift ticket for around $70, and other trips to Mt. Snow, Portland, and Quebec City are between $25-$100.
Snowshoe
There are countless options for snowshoeing in Massachusetts and New Hampshire within a two-hour drive of Boston. Many ski mountains have trails for snowshoeing and offer rentals, and good places to start are the Weston Ski Track, deCordova Sculpture Park’s tours with Eastern Mountain Sports, and Pat’s Peak in Henniker, NH. Mass Audubon also has a list of their sanctuaries with snowshoe trails and rentals.
If you’re looking to break into snowshoeing without breaking the bank, REI’s Garage Sale is a good place to look for cheap, high quality snowshoes. If you’re merely looking for a spare pair for a friend, Ocean State Job Lot routinely stocks snowshoes and poles.
Outdoor Courses
REI and Eastern Mountain Sports offer courses via store locations throughout New England. Many intro courses are free (or close to free) to get you ready to get outside, while others like outdoor photography, compass use and orienteering, and snowshoe hikes are between $45-$75.
Ice Skating
Massachusetts DCR issues a list of all ice skating rinks with public skating times each winter. Do a quick Control + F for “rentals” and you’ll see the rinks where you can pick up skates for a day. Grab an insulated water bottle or mug, fill it with hot cocoa, and show off how you perfected skating backwards in 6th grade. Bonus points if your group comes with a theme: most authentic Nancy or Tonya outfit, dramatic reenactments of scenes from The Cutting Edge, or getting the whole rink to chant “Quack, quack…”
Or check out Boston Winter at City Hall Plaza. With a rocky start due to mild temperatures, the winter wonderland is now open for business with a winding skate path (rentals for $10) and an “urban lodge” with beer, snacks, and giant jenga.
Aprés Ski (Sans Ski) at a Fireplace in Boston
Boston Magazine has the authoritative list of fireplaces in Boston. As Southie residents, we can attest to the coziness of fireplaces at Local 149, Capo, and Bastille Kitchen. We have yet to try Night Shift Brewing, and with the addition of the Annex, we’ve now got a real fire under our butts to try it!
COLLEEN FLYNN 