Why Membership matters

As the Early Bird Season Membership sale draws to a close we wanted to share some thoughts about this humble little bird and what it means to the mountain and to Season Members.

Let’s get the money part out of the way first. Spoiler alert. It’s a great deal. 

Early Bird Season Members buy early and pay (a lot) less for unlimited days on their favourite mountain.  If you’ve decided skiing or boarding is on your list this winter it makes sense to get the best price you can.   For the lift company having some dollars come in early helps the bank balance at a time when investment and maintenance is at a peak and the bills keep arriving. 

But Early Bird, and the ‘why’ that underpins the mindset around Season Membership, is so much more than the dollars.  We use the word Membership because it is much more than a pass.

This is how our members tell it:

• Season Membership is a promise to myself I’ll make more time to get on the mountain
• It’s a big part of how we spend winter as a family
• We keep our passes from every season  - they are mementos of each year we’ve skied
• It’s an experience, I’m buying time and moments, not ‘stuff’
• It’s like committing to your footy team. Some seasons are better than others.  The winning seasons are the ones you remember!
• Once I’ve bought it I don’t think about the price, I focus on using it as much as possible

Buller Ski Lifts has been consistently adding benefits to the program through partnership with IKON Pass, direct sister-resort relationships in Europe, China and Japan where members enjoy 3 free days and half-price day passes at participating Mountain Collective resorts worldwide. 

Buller Ski Lifts General Manager Noel Landry reflects, “The word ‘relationship’ gets thrown around and often misused, but when I share a chairlift ride or a table at Tirol and talk with Season members I am reminded this is exactly what it is – we’re in a relationship, and it can be for better or for worse.  Our members care about the mountain, they feel part of this place and have strong opinions on what they like and don’t.  As our strongest champions and critics they are a valuable barometer for how we’re doing, so I lean in and listen.”

“Looking at the sales of the Early Bird membership there are some interesting insights.  I see plenty of names we know well, families that represent generations of Buller skiers, people with deep connection to this mountain and to our sport and I also am encouraged to see new names that reflect the changing face of our community.  As we prepare to celebrate 100 years of skiing on Mt Buller in 2024 I think those pioneers – a motley bunch of adventurers and immigrants – would be pleased to see that although a lot has changed in a century, at its heart much hasn’t. 

We are a bunch of people seeking connection with friends, family and nature coming together on a mountain to slide around on snow.”

If spending some time on Mt Buller, skiing, snowboarding, apres-ing and 100-year-celebrating sounds like something you’d like to be part of in 2024, maybe think about getting a Season Membership while you can.