Buying a ski-lift ticket has become just like buying an airplane ticket. If you don’t plan ahead, you are going to pay — a whole bunch.

“If you walk up to the counter at the airport to buy a ticket, you know it is going to be expensive, so nobody does that,” said Ron Schneidermann, co-founder of Liftopia.com, an online lift-ticket service.

Vail Resorts Inc. raised eyebrows this week when it raised the walk-up price for a one-day lift ticket for the week beginning Dec. 26 to $108. After the holidays the price will drop to $102.

“Breaking the $100 barrier is emblematic of what’s happening in the ski industry,” Schneidermann said, “but it doesn’t mean skiing is more expensive. It means skiers have to be more savvy.”

There are, indeed, a host of ways to ski and snowboard on the cheap — or at least more cheaply.

Hit the Internet

The website Sliding on the Cheap issues a monthly newsletter listing deals and promotions at slidingonthecheap.com.

Coupons for lift tickets often pop up on eBay and Craigslist.

On Craigslist this week, someone who doesn’t ski was offering two Arapahoe Basin ticket vouchers won at an Avalanche hockey game for $40 each — a 38 percent discount.

More mainstream is Liftopia, which does for lift tickets what Priceline.com does for hotel rooms — except you aren’t buying blind.

On Wednesday Liftopia was showing a $78.99 lift ticket at Winter Park and $71.99 ticket at Copper available for next week. Both represent a 17 percent discount.

The further in advance one books, the deeper the discounts.

Many ski resorts have Facebook pages and offer discounts or incentives to their fans.

Even buying online directly from the resorts is cheaper. A ticket for Vail next week online is $99 compared with $108 at the resort.

The online price drops to $94 after Jan 1.

Ski with a friend

If you don’t have a season pass, find a friend who does — he or she can get you a discount ticket.

A Vail Resorts season pass has six ski-with-a-friend passes attached, which cut the price of a daily ticket to $87 through the end of this year and $82 after that.

There are blackout dates at Vail and Beaver Creek for next week on some passes, and your friend must be present at purchase.

A Copper Mountain or Winter Park four-pack, which gives the holder four days of skiing, comes with four $59 buddy passes — a 39 percent discount over the counter rate.

Even if no one has a season pass, a vehicle of four people or more can get a 20 percent discount on a lift ticket, bringing the price to $55 a day at Arapahoe Basin.

Buy one of the season deals still being offered

Arapahoe Basin is offering its 3 Pass for $138, cutting the price of each day by a third. The 3 Pass is being sold through Jan. 9.

Copper has a $99 Snow Day pass good on any day the resort receives more than 4 inches of snow. So far this season there have been 14 days with at least 4 inches.

Copper averages 42 such days, said resort spokesman David Roth.

Intrawest which operates Winter Park and Steamboat ski areas — is offering the “4 By 40 Pass,” which provides two days of skiing at Winter Park and two days at Steamboat for $199.

The passes must be purchased by Dec. 31.

Look for deals on lift tickets and lodging

If you are going farther afield or staying for several days at a resort, lift-ticket discounts often come with lodging or the hotel can point you to discounted passes.

Elk Mountain Lodge in Crested Butte, for example, offers a midwinter two days of skiing with a two-night stay at $134 per person, double occupancy. A one-day lift ticket at Crested Butte is $87.

Ski at the smaller, hometown resorts

SolVista Basin in Grand County has a walk-up lift-ticket price of $58 for adults and $38 for children. Ski Cooper outside of Leadville charges $42 for an adult one-day pass and $23 for a child.

Eldora Mountain Resort, just 45 miles from Denver, has an offer called the Ten-8 Club, named after the resort’s 10,800-foot summit.

The $59 club fee gives you one lift ticket for $10 instead of the $69 full price, full-day tickets for the entire season at the half-day rate of $57 and a tuneup for your skis or board.

Be on the lookout for coupons

Entertainment Books, sold by school groups as fundraisers, often have ski coupons. Front Range King Soopers grocery stores also offer discounted one-day lift tickets to several resorts.

Starting Jan. 3, buy 10 gallons of gasoline at a participating Shell station and get a ski-for-free voucher good for a lift ticket at participating resorts. Check Shell’s skifreedeals.com website for details.

Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912 or mjaffe@denverpost.com

This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to reporting errors, Copper Mountain Resort was included with the Steamboat and Winter Park “4 By 40 Pass,” and the location

of SolVista Basin was incorrect.