If there is one discount ski pass I’ve taken advantage of more than any other, it’s gotta be Brighton’s Quad Wednesdays. Back in the day you would have to find three friends, all willing to fulfill the *other requirement for the 4-for-1 discount, to snag your passes. After a lot of headaches with that process, Brighton made it easier by offering a crazy low price on a pass.

The *
Before heading up Big Cottonwood Canyon, you should double check the required donation for the day to be fully prepared. Donations this year are very similar to years past:

• Dec 7 – Toys for Tots – bring one, unwrapped toy worth $10 or more
• Dec 14 – Road Home Homeless Shelter – bring a coat, gloves, or new socks
• Dec 21 – Utah Food Bank – bring a FULL bag of non-perishable groceries

Hard to feel bad about a combination where you pay $20 to ski and donate to a good cause. Here’s the scoop of the history of Quad Wednesday from Brighton’s Marketing guy, Jared Winkler:

We started the Quad Wednesdays when we built the Crest Chairlift back in 1991. It started out as a promo for the new lift. Naturally it turned into a donation drive. Its been going for so long it now is almost on auto pilot. People look forward to it year after year.

Why I Love It – The Bug
I like the idea of getting skiers up on the mountain before Christmas while winter is still a novelty and the idea of wearing shorts again is laughably far away. This promo does this perfectly, developing a possibly weekly habit of hitting the slopes before Santa ever comes to town.

Why I Love It – The Cheap
Cheap skiers sometimes get spoiled with the same amazing conditions and no crowds the full pricers receive. With QW, you get all the cheap skiers on the hill at the same time. Maybe, just maybe, this will remind them that if Brighton rocks today, paying full price on a non-crowded day could be [insert your action-sports buzzword of choice to convey excellence (e.g. epic, sick, sweet-as, etc.]. Cheap also gives newbies a chance to try out skiing. Growing the sport is always a plus.

Why I Love It – The Good
Aside from the two items above, I love that Brighton does some good in the community. From many of QW lift rides, I know that this reflects extremely well on their brand. The donations are fairly high in value, but I am yet to hear someone NOT come to a QW because of that requirement. I especially love that if you don’t bring enough canned food, or a nice enough toy, you don’t get the full discount. Shows Brighton is serious about the donations they expect to receive.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.