Ski trips shouldn’t be relegated to the rich and even richer. We all deserve to go powder chasing midwinter without dissolving our bank accounts. But these days, finding a budget way to ski requires serious homework. You can always venture away from the headliner areas to smaller, less crowded local ski hills that want to entice visitors through budget deals, but you may have to sacrifice quality of terrain and convenient lodging. Or you could go early or late season, but that means gambling on snow conditions.
So, what if you want to go big—like, say, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in mid-winter—but not spend big? It’s tricky but not impossible. Here’s how to visit a popular, world-class destination like Jackson Hole on a ski-bum’s budget. It’s also a great destination year-round, for hiking, biking, climbing, boating, fly fishing, and camping.