Skiing in North America can be extortionate. Heres where to save money while not scrimping on snow and stoke | Lifestyle [Video]

(CNN) — Anyone who’s skied at a major North American resort in recent years might have experienced as much sticker shock as fresh snow.

Lift ticket prices at many resorts in the United States and Canada are dynamic, which means they adjust in real time according to demand. And price points are often alarming – especially compared with what it costs to ski in Europe.

Peak-day pricing for single-day lift tickets at Colorado’s Beaver Creek over the upcoming holiday period shows more than $300 for same-day lift tickets on December dates leading up to Christmas Day. That’s true at Vail and at Park City in Utah, too.

“If you don’t plan ahead, in the US especially, it becomes prohibitively expensive for families to go skiing. It’s become extortionate,” says Julia Schneemann, senior editor of online ski magazine SnowBrains.

She points to 2008 and the introduction of Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass (an unlimited season pass for use …