A private ski area is a membership based type of

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

developed primarily for

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

, and other

winter sports Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold area ...

. Like a

country club A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offer ...

, private ski areas in North America offer exclusive memberships, usually based on an initiation fee and annual dues.Kirsner, Scot
"Havens; Member-Only Ski Areas: No Crowds"
''The New York Times'', February 20, 2004 In this context, it is the presence of exclusive memberships rather than private ownership that makes a ski area private. Private ski areas offer a range of public access. Many smaller or more rural areas allow day tickets (sometimes with a daily cap) and/or trial memberships to be sold. Highly exclusive areas, namely Montana's 13,450 acre

Yellowstone Club The Yellowstone Club is a private residential club, ski resort, and golf resort located in Madison County, just west of Big Sky, Montana. It is rated among the top 10 lifestyle estates in the world. History Real estate developer Tim Blixseth pu ...

near

Big Sky Resort Big Sky Resort is a ski resort in the western United States, located in southwestern Montana in Madison County. An hour south of Bozeman via U.S. Highway 191 in Big Sky, Montana, it is the second-largest ski resort in the United States by a ...

, do not sell day tickets and require "that prospective members show evidence of a net worth of at least $3 million and pay a membership deposit of $250,000." in addition to the $16,000 annual fee and the mandatory purchase of property at the resort. The Hermitage Club in Vermont has two days a year when residents of the nearby towns of Wilmington and

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

can ski for free. Furthermore, some of North America's more luxury public ski areas such as Colorado's

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

, Telluride, and

Vail Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the numero ...

now offer private clubs to supplement the publicly accessed skiing. Generally, large commercial ski areas in North America are not able to privatize access to trails or

piste A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. This European term is French

s due to the mandates of the federal bodies that own and seasonally lease public land to the commercial groups. Thus the private clubs and lodges at such destination resorts are limited to privately owned land, and membership may simply include a lifetime or family pass to the public skiing facilities.

Exclusivity of private ski areas

All ski areas can be seen as exclusive spaces due to the financial requirements of downhill equipment and day ticket or season ticket prices. Due to the most common construct of ski areas as for profit commercial enterprises, ski areas are already semi-private because they limit access through wealth, and by association social class. Exceptions to this include city or community owned ski areas such as Juneau, Alaska's

Eaglecrest Ski Area Eaglecrest Ski Area is a public ski area on Douglas Island in the U.S. state of Alaska, across Gastineau Channel from Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capita ...

and Sudbury, Ontario's

Adanac Ski Hill Adanac Ski Hill is a downhill ski area within the city of Sudbury in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is owned and operated by the City of Greater Sudbury. The public facilities include a main chalet (which includes seating, storage, washrooms, ...

, that focus on promoting recreation by subsidizing ticket prices, making used gear readily available, and youth outreach. Because of the Right to

Freedom of Association Freedom of association encompasses both an individual's right to join or leave groups voluntarily, the right of the group to take collective action to pursue the interests of its members, and the right of an association to accept or decline membe ...

, found internationally and in the

United States Bill of Rights The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Proposed following the often bitter 1787–88 debate over the ratification of the Constitution and written to address the objections rais ...

, private social organizations that do not perform a significant public function are not forced to accept members. Therefore, social organizations including

s and private ski areas are allowed to have 'invitation only' membership. Not all membership based ski areas operate with the high costs that the

has become known for since opening its doors in 2000. Vermont's Hermitage Club features an 80,000 square foot clubhouse with a lap pool, spa, bowling alley and teen center but has a more modest $75,000 initiation fee. HoliMont ski area in Ellicottville, NY began as a 13 family club in 1962 and is now the largest private ski area by members. HoliMont charges $3,600 per year per family and sells day tickets to visitors on non-holiday weekdays. In comparison, an individual season pass to

Whistler Blackcomb Whistler Blackcomb is a ski resort located in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. By many measures it is the largest ski resort in North America and has the greatest uphill lift capacity. It features the Peak 2 Peak Gondola for moving between ...

, a public resort and an official

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

host venue, costs the average adult $1,795 Canadian. Massachusetts'

Mount Greylock Ski Club Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

is another private ski club that stands in contrast to the high levels of exclusion and opulent facilities of the

. As one of the oldest ski areas in the United States, Greylock exists on the slopes of one of Massachusetts highest peaks but only operates two small surface lifts, one powered by a salvaged Ford motor. In 1950, when membership cost $3, Greylock had a 2,000 person membership and a waiting list. Today Greylock has ample space with only 150 current members at a family rate of $150.Mount Greylock Ski Club Membership Info
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Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

;Ontario Due to the small size of Ontario's ski areas, many 'public' ski areas are at least partially on private land, and many private ski areas offer passes to non-members. This blurs the distinction between a public, and an exclusive or private ski club. The list following includes notable clubs advertising their private status. *

Alpine Ski Club The Alpine Ski Club (ASC) is a club of ski mountaineers based in the UK and the first ski mountaineering club in Great Britain. Membership is open to experienced independent ski-mountaineers who fulfil the minimum entry qualification. Aspirant me ...

Beaver Valley Ski Club Beaver Valley Ski Club is a private skiing and snowboarding club located in Beaver Valley, Ontario, Canada. It is situated on a steep sided section of the Niagara Escarpment adjacent to the Bruce Trail. It features some of the steepest runs and ...

Caledon Ski Club Caledon Ski Club is a private ski and snowboarding club in the Caledon Hills. It is located just outside the village of Belfountain, about 45 minutes northwest of Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian provinc ...

* Craigleith Ski Club * Georgian Peaks Club *

Mansfield Ski Club Mansfield Ski Club is a ski resort near the village of Mansfield, Ontario, northwest of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Statistics *Vertical drop: *Number of runs: 15 *Number of lifts: 7 *Snowmaking Snowmaking is the production of snow by forc ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

California

* Buckhorn Ski and Snowboard Club – Three Points

Massachusetts

– Williamstown

Michigan

* The Homestead –?

Glen Arbor Glen Arbor Township is a civil township of Leelanau County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 859 at the 2010 census. However, the population of the town expands rapidly during the summer months as a result of it being a summe ...

* The Otsego Club & Resort –

Gaylord Gaylord is a name of Norman French origin, from the Old French ''gaillard'' meaning "joyful" or "high-spirited". It may refer to: People *Gaylord (given name) Surname *Bill Gaylord (born 1967), British former alpine skier *Charles Gaylord (1936 ...

Montana

– Big Sky

New York

* HoliMont – Ellicottville * Hunt Hollow –

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

* Cazenovia Ski Club – Cazenovia

Vermont

* Bear Creek Mountain Club –

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

* Chapman Hill Ski Area – Williston * The Hermitage Club At Haystack Mountain – Wilmington * Quechee Lakes Ski Area – Quechee

Washington

Meany Lodge Meany Lodge is a ski area located in Martin, Washington near Stampede Pass, Washington, United States. It was built in 1928, making it the oldest ski area in Washington and among the oldest in the U.S. Meany Lodge is maintained and operated ...

–

Snoqualmie Pass Snoqualmie Pass is a mountain pass that carries Interstate 90 (I-90) through the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Washington. The pass summit is at an elevation of , on the county line between Kittitas County and King County. Snoqualmie Pass ...

* Sahalie Ski Club –

Wisconsin

* Ausblick Ski Club –

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

* Blackhawk Ski Club – Middleton *

Fox Hill Ski Area Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

– West Bend *

Heiliger Huegel Ski Club Max Heiliger was a false identity created during the Nazi era to establish bank accounts for laundering and fencing valuables stolen from those killed in the Holocaust. Additionally, stolen artwork and furniture from vacated homes of Holocau ...

–

Hubertus Hubertus or Hubert ( 656 – 30 May 727 A.D.) was a Christian saint who became the first bishop of Liège in 708 A.D. He is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians and metalworkers. Known as the "Apostle of the Ardennes", he was ...

References

White Book of Ski Areas directorySki areas per state (NSAA)
{{North America topic, List of ski areas and resorts in Ski areas and resorts Lists of ski areas and resorts

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...