Skiing

stellios

For anyone that has been skiing before. Is is better to book lift passes and gear before you go, or when you get there?

Civilian_Target

You can book the ski equipment in advance if you like. You can usually get a discount through your hotel. However, if you're going to a good ski resort I wouldn't do that, simply because:

1) If you're paying a lot for your pass, and you know how to ski, it's worthwhile getting good skis - if you want cheap skiing start with a cheap resort, not cheap skis.
2) If you're a beginner, you'll probably want to start with easy, beginner skis, and then upgrade during the week. That's not so easy to arrange online.

For the skipass, you should buy it on location

Lenmeister

If you're a beginner then you're better off booking everything beforehand. It cuts out alot of hassle, especialy if ye don't know much about skiing. In most resorts, the prices generally aren't very much different when booking before as opposed to when you get there. I found that the places I went to, the hotels usually offered the lift pass at the same rate as the resort, sometimes cheaper.

And if you're only beginning then I wouldn't worry too much about the equipent you get, you're not going to improve that much in your 1st weeks skiing to warrant changing your skiis halfway through. Only reason to change is if it doesn't fit right or there's some other mechanical problem with the equipment.

So imo just book everything beforehand - hassle free and saves you tons of time.