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Story by Tim Jones

The other truth of the matter is that most skiing families simply have to get as much skiing value for our dollar as we possibly can. Does that totally rule out a visit to some of the bigger, classier resorts that attract so much attention from the lucky people who don't have to pinch every penny?

Okemo Mountain in Ludlow, Vermont, has a reputation for being a very pricy mountain. The beautiful ski homes and condos that line some of the lower slopes don't look as though they come cheap. And a full-day adult lift pass on weekends and holidays is $48, $44 midweek -- clearly near the top of the New England ski ladder, where lift tickets have yet to top to the $50 mark anywhere. Kids' full-day weekend passes are either $40 or $30, depending on age.

Now if you add up a lift pass for a couple of adults and a couple of kids to ski a weekend day at Okemo, you're talking some serious money -- at least for the Jones family budget.

The reason Okemo and other big areas can charge so much for a day of skiing is simple: They deliver a lot of value for that money. For example, Okemo has been rated tops in snowmaking in Vermont for two years running by the readers of Snow Country magazine (a very upscale publication). Even after the Great February Meltdown, while some other areas were still struggling to recover, the snow at Okemo was near-prime the day I visited. And it didn't get as much natural snow that weekend as some areas in New Hampshire.

But snow isn't the only reason an area like Okemo can command top dollar. The other reason is the absolutely phenomenal lift capacity. One December, my sons and I skied Okemo on what was, at that time, its busiest day ever. A big thaw had shut down many areas to the south and east of Okemo, so it was the closest area open for many frustrated skiers who had looked forward to that week between Christmas and New Year's. Despite the fact that the entire population of the New York/New England Metroplex showed up that day, we never faced a lift line of more than a ten minutes -- and that long only on the most popular chairlift on the mountain, the Northstar detachable quad. Basically, even though the mountain was as crowded as it ever gets, we were able to ski as much as we wanted to -- and we always want to ski a lot.

So, even at top price, Okemo delivers a lot of value. But wait! There's good news here. As is usually the case, you don't have to pay full-boat if you don't want to. For example, if you're going to ski there a couple of days, Okemo has multiday passes that can save you some serious money. Then there are the vouchers available through Ski America, which can also save you some bucks. Those programs put Okemo in reach of more people.

Best of all, however, is Okemo's Sunday afternoon deal for New Hampshire and Vermont residents. Starting at 12:30 on Sunday afternoons, New Hampshire and Vermont residents with a valid ID (a driver's license) can purchase a half-day lift pass for just $14. That's a bargain! That gives you 3-1/2 hours of terrific skiing for just $4 an hour. And believe me, the runs are long enough and the lifts fast enough and the snow conditions good enough that even the most fanatic among you should be able to ski your legs to jelly in that amount of time. I know, because I'm sitting here feeling the pleasant ache in my legs that says I skied as much as I wanted to today.

For more information, see Okemo's Web site at www.okemo.com, or call the Okemo Infoline at (800) 78-OKEMO.