The answer to Tahoe’s $1,000 ski weekend

My friend John took his family to Northstar, the pre-eminent ski area at North Tahoe, the other day for a one-day ski trip. He generously covered lift tickets for his son and three young grandchildren and spa treatments for his wife, daughter and daughterin-law. As he tallied the day’s receipts, he was hit with sticker shock.

“When it was all done, I was in for a thousand-dollar day,” John said. “I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

The $1,000 ski day has become all too common for out-of-towners. Price has always been an issue at ski areas, but in the past five years, you can get a collective bill that can blow your hair back.

The high prices aren’t always a matter of ski areas leveraging every dollar they can get — though they get blamed for it. At Northstar, for instance, people want high-speed lifts, perfect grooming, food, drinks and services at mid-mountain, plus nearby lodging that at least borders on luxury, and that all adds up quickly.

A well-thought-out strategy can help you whittle down your costs. Start planning now, on the eve of one of the two biggest ski weekends of the year — Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents Day — and put the focus back on what really counts: weather, surface conditions and fun.

This is how to do it:

Be savvy about lift tickets

You can cut the costs if you buy lift tickets online, in advance, direct with a ski area, or through a warehouse store, such as Costco, for weekdays. At SquawAlpine, the window price of a lift ticket is $179. You can get it down to $89, for instance, for Tuesdays and Wednesdays, two weeks in advance.

If you ski more than once per season, the cost of a season pass can be as low as two or three days’ worth of skiing. They often go on sale right at the end of the season. In many cases, your reward for buying a season pass early is that it is good in March, as well as the next season. Some passes are good at multiple ski areas.

The risk of the advance purchase is bad weather, where wind holds on lifts can cut off access to higher terrain, or a blizzard can move in with low visibility. Before booking in advance, analyze weather outlooks and forecast models.

Look beyond the big resorts

Lift tickets, lodging and rentals cost less at nonmarquee areas outside of Tahoe such as June Mountain, Mount Shasta, Bear Valley, Dodge Ridge and Yosemite. The lowest-priced lift tickets are at the shorter hills, such as at Yosemite and Mount Shasta, each at $59. Lodging rates in Mount Shasta mostly range $60 to $100 for a weekday in advance, and the higher-end Mount Shasta Resort rates start at $97.

Hunt package deals

The window rate at Squaw and Alpine, is $179 per ticket, and with a Tahoe Super 4 Pack, where you get lift tickets for four days, with interchangeable dates, the costs goes under $110 per ticket, a 39 percent discount.

At most ski areas, you can often get a package deal that includes rental gear, lift ticket and a beginner lesson that is priced for about the window price of a lift ticket. For newcomers, it also provides the best experience possible right off.

Also, consider going in a group or with another family, where you can share lodging and and split up costs, as long as you do not exceed occupancy limits. In Tahoe, the ongoing conflict over rental vacation homes can explode when too many people show up, and then take up too many parking places and make too much noise.

Lodging: Consider casinos

Book a room at a casino in Reno or South Lake Tahoe. During the week, casino rooms can go for $49 a night, more than double that on weekends, more than triple that on vacation weekends. Other options include booking rentals near lesserknown ski areas, or go together with a group and rent a large house and split the cost (see above).

Pack your own food

Eat breakfast off-site and then pack power bars, snacks and water to save lunch costs. One person with a light backpack can carry everything for a small group. A $5 hamburger in town will cost you $10 or more at a ski resort, and a family of four for lunch can end up with a meal tab that runs $50 and higher.

Ditch downhill, go cross-country

After your initial equipment investment for a crosscountry setup, you can venture off into the side- and backcountry and ski for free on snowed-over trails and Forest Service roads. Royal Gorge, for instance, is priced at $35 and provides six trail systems with 137 trails and access to 6,000 acres.

Tom Stienstra is The Chronicle’s outdoor writer. Email: tstienstra@ sfchronicle.com Twitter: @StienstraTom Facebook: www.facebook.com/ tomstienstraoutdoors