How To Get Free Kids Ski Lessons at Whistler

The last time we went to Whistler was in 2020 when we were only allowed local travel during the pandemic. Fast forward five years later, we were back again, this time for ski lessons. We told our kids they have to learn how to skate first before they learn how to ski, so that they have a good experience.

My first experience with skiing was cross country skiing on a field trip in grade five. It was a bit of a traumatic experience. I had never been on skis before and I was holding up the line of the cross country skiing, people were telling me to “HURRY UP” and I was getting stressed out. Since then I went with friends in high school and university when I had my own money to learn to snow board. I told myself I would give my kids the opportunity to learn how to ski a bit so they don’t have to hold up the line or people behind them.

When I plan I like to plan and optimize for the best value. It was a few months and years in the making and we had to say no to ski camps at the local mountains with friends, but here’s how we saved $1390 on our one night trip to Whistler.

Whistler Is Expensive

I sound very old but “twenty years ago” at Whistler, I remember Edge cards being $50, and you could get a lift ticket for $50 a day. Now lift tickets are $300 a day!

Source: https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/

Whistler has become more “world renowned” though especially since the 2010 Olympics.

Even staying at Whistler the prices of accomodation are astronomical. Before, accommodation used to be $150 to $200 a night, and now they are over $500 a night at minimum during the peak winter season.

Okay enough of how expensive Whistler is, here’s how we managed to pay $30 for ski lessons and accommodation at Whistler.

How We Got Free Kids Ski Lessons

We signed up for the Epic SchoolKids pass from Whistler Blackcomb. For Canadian and Washington state children, aged Kindergarten to Grade 5 for the current ski season, kids can get an Epic SchoolKids pass (free skiing for 5 days) with a first time ski lesson included.

To qualify, you have to sign up during the spring season (so around 6 months before you intend to use the Epic Pass) and submit your child’s report card or transcript or school ID to prove that they are a Canadian or Washington State elementary school student.

Your kids also can’t have skied or snowboarded before.

There are restrictions on when to use the pass (for example peak winter holidays season has restrictions) and there are additional restrictions on when the free first timer lesson can be used.

The first timer lesson includes free rentals, and this is estimated at $445 for both (it’s about $379 for lessons and $65 for rentals).

The lessons are a full day lesson from 9am to 3pm and includes lunch.

It went well and my kids learned a lot in just one day. By the end of the ski day, they were able to stop on skis, go down a bit of a hill, and turn. My older child went down a blue run too during his lesson.

They even send you an email with a report a few days later, on where your child went (they put a little tracker on their leg when they head off to the slopes). This is my 7 year old’s tracks.

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Okay, ski lessons down. How did we save the rest of the $500+?

How We Paid $30 On Whistler Accomodation

We stayed at the Westin which is just a few steps away from the Whistler village gondola. It would normally cost anywhere from $450 to $700 including taxes for a studio suite during the peak winter season.

However, my husband signed up for the Scotiabank American Express Platinum credit card and we used the flexible Scene+ rewards points earned from the welcome bonus to pay for most of it (except for $30 of it because we didn’t have enough Scene+ points).

The Scotiabank Platinum American Express card had a promotion whereby if you spend $3000 on card purchases in the first three months, you can get 60,000 Scene+ Points, which is equivalent to $600.

The Westin Whistler rooms have a nice full size stove, full size oven, and even a full size dishwasher so we were able to bring some food for dinner (I brought some frozen meatballs I had made a earlier for spaghetti dinner) and lunch, and we had breakfast included with our stay.

While our kids had their ski lesson, my husband and I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, enjoyed the pool and hot tub, and I exercised.

I could have enjoyed some snow boarding as well but didn’t get the pass early enough (it is about $150 a day if you buy the pass ahead of time) and the regular lift ticket prices were too astronomical. Besides, I wasn’t sure how my children would fare during the ski lesson, so needed to be available in case they refused to go.

Saving Even More on Whistler Accommodation

Of course you can save even more by not even staying at Whistler (especially if you live in Vancouver, which is about a two hour drive to Whistler).

Alternatively if you don’t plan to stay in Whistler and want to take advantage of the free kids ski lesson, you would have to depart Vancouver early morning (or stay in Squamish, about an hour away) to get the rental and pass and lift tickets ready for the 9:00am class start. It’s a bit tight (and probably stressful with kids) but it will indeed save you money on Whistler accommodation.

Unfortunately we aren’t able to replicate this super frugal Whistler vacation (it’s difficult to get so many points for Whistler accomodation regularly and the free ski lesson is a one time deal), but it was an enjoyable experience for our whole family and a great family getaway even though it was just one night.

Do you have other ways to save money on skiing for kids?