Whether you grew up skiing every weekend or sitting at home and wondering why the hell kids in your school were coming in on Monday mornings with doofy tags on their jackets, there is one indisputable fact: skiing is some expensive ass shit. By time you pay for lift tickets, snow pants, a real jacket and gloves that weren’t purchased at the bodega, you’re deep in the financial winter doldrums.
That would be enough to keep most of us indoors until summer comes back. BUT … our friends at the NYC Snow Bus are back with an even better deal this year: not only are they offering cheap bus trip deals to two new mountains this year, now they’re also offering you clothing rental, so you don’t even have to buy your own jacket!
The Snow Bus, run by the good folks behind the Beach Bus (a tight competitor for our Favorite Thing Ever) has vastly expanded its offerings this year. Quick primer if you’re not familiar: the buses are convenient, cheap travel to nearby ski resorts, that pick up and drop off in five locations: in front of the Barclays Center, Williamsburg (Metropolitan Ave and Marcy Ave) in Union Square (14th Street and Third Avenue), Astoria (Broadway and 31st Street) and also this year, the Upper West Side (Amsterdam Avenue and 72 Street).
It’s a good time bus ride that comes from free snacks and stuff, good vibes, and usually everyone goes out for beer upon return (and if you don’t take my word for it, listen to this jerk at the NY Post).
Destinations
Mountain Creek in New Jersey (90 minutes away) is back, plus they’ve added longer trips to Gore Mountain upstate (4 hours away) and Whiteface Mountain (5 hours away), nearly every weekend throughout the winter. Those Gore and Whiteface trips leave in the wee hours of the morning so you get a full day of it.
Prices
Tickets for the trip cover a range depending on what package you get, but they start at $40 for a bus ride to Mountain Creek, and go up to $115 for bus, lift ticket, equipment rental and lessons. For Whiteface, it goes from $70 to $140, and for Gore it’s $65 to $160. See the full price list here.
Clothing rental
If you’re like this reporter who stubbornly refuses to ever be adequately prepared for winter, actually buying ski attire is daunting, because them jackets and special pants are none too cheap. So maybe I temporarily “borrowed” stuff from REI last year. But now you can actually rent that stuff right from the Snow Bus folks! For now, email hello@nycsnowbus.com to arrange rentals; eventually you can do so through the site RentRideReturn.
Rental prices:
Jackets/Pants
$25/day
Gloves/Goggles
$15/day
You can order the clothes and grab them at the bus pickup location, or have them delivered to you for a $10 fee.
Bonuses
The bus ride comes with deals from local merchants too: Free Red Bull, Chameleon Coffee and Runa Tea on the bus, along with free Brick Bars energy bars, plus a free custard with purchase at Shake Shack. After the bus drops you off, the Snow Bus gang usually takes everyone out for beers too.
Click here to make reservations and find out more info!