Skiers and snowboarders have only three more days to buy their student season passes at the discounted rate for this season at Willamette Pass Ski Area.
Until 7 p.m. Wednesday, students who are enrolled in at least six credit hours can buy a student Gold Passport with unlimited access to the mountain this season for $299 at ULLR Sports Shop. Starting Thursday morning, prices go up to $359.
Willamette Pass spokeswoman Kameron Condos said they offer student discounts because students generally have less money, and school schedules might make their recreation time scarce.
“Students are usually short on funds, and it’s harder for students to get up as much as adults,” Condos said.
There are also other options available for students who don’t know if they will use a season pass enough to make it worth their money.
Silver Passports can be purchased for a $49 membership price, and are available to everyone. Purchasers of the Silver Passport need to give a valid credit card number at the time of purchase. Each pass holder will receive a wrist band with his or her picture on it, and each day the pass is used, the credit card on file will automatically be charged $25 instead of the regular price of $34.
Willamette Pass will offer a paid bus service to the mountain again this year. More details about this will be available at ULLR as the season nears.
This year, Willamette Pass is unveiling its new six-person chairlift, which is one mile in overall length and has the capacity to transport 3,000 skiers per hour.
“It’s the only one in Oregon,” Becky Kinney, sports marketing major and sales associate for ULLR said.
The six-person high-speed chairlift is the biggest and fastest in Oregon. ULLR store manager Josh Cornutt said this will make it possible for more people to ski, but will not crowd the mountain, as some may think.
“It will redistribute people on the mountain so it will be less clogged,” he said.
Students who wish to purchase a pass need to bring a student ID and current schedule of classes to prove they are enrolled.
Also, when students print schedules off DuckWeb, the print-name option should be used so the student’s name is printed on the schedule.