It's the second week of October. Neither Moose Mountain nor Mount Aurora Skiland is open, and neither has named an opening day. Still, the 2026–27 season is already being priced, and the two hills are at opposite points in their sales calendars. Moose Mountain is partway through a one-month online pass sale that ends at Halloween. Skiland's discount windows closed weeks ago. Its spring sale ran in April, its early-bird price ran from May through August, and passes bought now are at full price.
A day at either hill costs the same $55 for an adult. Once you buy a season pass, though, the two hills differ in the days you can ski, how they handle a cold snap, and the terrain you'll be paying for all winter.
What a pass costs on October 12
These are the prices posted today. Moose Mountain's column shows the October sale price, which runs through October 31. Skiland's column shows its price after September 1.
| Pass | Moose Mountain, October sale | Moose Mountain, regular | Skiland, after Sept. 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult | $510, ages 18–64 | $600 | $700, ages 19–59 |
| Military | $425, active duty | $500 | $600, includes first responders and 60+ |
| Seniors | $425, ages 65–79 | $500 | $600, ages 60+ |
| Teen / Youth | $385, ages 13–17 | $450 | $450, ages 7–18 |
| Child | $320, ages 7–12 | $375 | Youth rate applies |
| Ages 6 and under, 80+ | Free, $10 processing | Free, $10 processing | Free |
| Skinning | $150 | $175 | Not offered |
| Lifetime | Not offered | Not offered | $5,500 |
For an adult buying this month, that's a $190 gap. Skiland buyers who paid in April got their pass for $550, which is close to Moose's regular price. Both hills reward buying early. Their early windows just fall at different times of year, and in October only Moose's is open.
The age brackets don't line up either, so the same household can land in different price tiers at each hill. An 18-year-old buys an adult pass at Moose but a youth pass at Skiland. A 62-year-old pays the adult rate at Moose and the senior rate at Skiland. Skiland sets ages as of November 1, 2026, so a pass is priced for the age you'll be that season.
How many days make a pass worth it
A season pass only saves money if you ski enough days. With both hills charging $55 for an adult day ticket, the math is simple:
- Moose Mountain at the October sale price. $510 covers just over nine days of tickets, so the pass pays for itself on the 10th day.
- Moose Mountain at the regular price. $600 pays for itself on the 11th day.
- Skiland after September 1. $700 pays for itself on the 13th day.
- Military rates. Both hills charge $45 for a discounted day ticket. That puts Moose's $425 sale pass at breakeven on the 10th day and Skiland's $600 pass on the 14th.
- Skiland's lifetime pass. The $5,500 lifetime pass is good every season until the holder turns 80, and it costs about eight years of full-price adult passes.
There's one exception to this math. University of Alaska Fairbanks students taking six or more credits can get $10 lift tickets at both Skiland and Moose Mountain once the hills open, through UAF Outdoor Adventures. At $10 a day, a student would need dozens of days before any season pass costs less.
How many days you'll actually get depends on each hill's calendar.
Moose skis three days a week, Skiland skis four
Moose Mountain's calendar lists Friday, Saturday and Sunday as regular operating days, depending on temperature. It adds days over Spring Break, Martin Luther King Day and Presidents' Day when weather allows, and it closes on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The hill normally opens in mid-to-late November and runs through the end of March.
Skiland runs Friday through Monday. Its first chair goes at 10:30 a.m., half-day tickets start at 12:30 p.m., and the last chair is at 2:30 p.m. The lodge opens at 10:00 a.m. and closes at 4:30 p.m. Skiland hopes to open over Thanksgiving weekend if weather cooperates, and says an official opening announcement is still coming.
That extra Monday at Skiland adds up over a season and narrows the breakeven gap. A household that skis Mondays will reach 13 days faster at Skiland than it would reach 10 at Moose skiing only weekends. Moose's daily schedule also shifts with the light. The calendar lists a 9:30 a.m. lodge opening and a 10:00 a.m. first bus for November through late February, then both an hour later for mid-February and March, so the switch comes sometime in the second half of February. The last bus depends on sunset and conditions, and Moose posts it each day on Facebook and at the lodge.
Buses versus a chairlift on a cold Saturday
Moose's calendar gives bus times instead of chair times. The resort runs buses from the base lodge to stops along the summit and calls them "the fastest, warmest ski lifts anywhere." The current 2026–27 calendar still lists first-bus times, so the system continues this season. The hill sits at 3450 Moose Mountain Road, on slopes facing south, west and north over the Tanana Valley and the Alaska Range.
Moose says its southwest exposure shields it from the prevailing northeasterly winds. The resort also says that Fairbanks's typical temperature inversion makes Moose Mountain average 20 to 30 degrees warmer than town. For a pass that only works on Fridays through Sundays, that matters: a frigid morning in the Fairbanks bowl doesn't automatically mean the hill is closed.
Skiland, on Cleary Summit, gets skiers up the mountain on the Silver Star Express, a double chair that climbs 1,027 vertical feet over 3,882 feet in about nine minutes. Nine minutes is a long time on an open chair in Interior Alaska in January. Skiland closed on January 12, 2026, and its closure notice cited dropping temperatures and wind.
Neither hill publishes a temperature at which it closes. Moose sends skiers to its ski report and Facebook page for cold-weather closures. Older Fairbanks Daily News-Miner coverage described Moose aiming for an average of about 10 below zero across its top and bottom, and usually closing when town was around 30 below. That article has no visible date, so it reads as a past rule of thumb, not current policy.
Terrain decides it for anyone still learning
The cold-weather picture favors Moose, but the terrain goes the other way. Moose has 750 acres and 1,300 feet of vertical, with long cruisers and steep, narrow black-diamond runs. The resort says most of its terrain is intermediate and advanced and not recommended for beginners. A short beginner tow added in 2017 serves gentler terrain near the base lodge, and Moose sells a $25 beginner ticket for that area without bus access.
Skiland describes its terrain as beginner to expert, with the Sunny Side Wonder Carpet for first-timers. It runs a fuller lesson program. Two-hour group lessons cost $80, with lift ticket and rentals extra. Private lessons cost $300 for a half day or $500 for a full day, with ticket and rentals included. Skiland also runs Monday and Friday PE programs for kids 5 and up and 7 and up. Full-day rental packages are $40 for adults and $35 for youth. Moose's rental page lists $45 for adults and $35 for ages 17 and under, but that page was posted in 2025 and may still show last season's rates.
So a family with a new skier is weighing a cheaper pass at a hill built for experienced skiers against a pricier pass at a hill with a carpet, lessons and a fourth day each week. Skiland's lodge has the Tamarack Grill. Its menu is posted only as an image, so the current menu needs to be checked in person.
Three numbers to confirm before you pay
A few of the posted details don't agree with each other:
- Skiland's corporate pass. The 2026/27 pass page lists $900 after September 1, while the rates page lists $950.
- Skiland's fifth-grade free pass. The posted eligibility still describes students ages 10 to 11 "during the 2025–2026 season," so ask Skiland directly about this year's rules.
- Moose's opening day. The calendar says mid-to-late November, weather and snow permitting. Before the hill opens, season passes sell online, and once the hill opens, passes and day tickets sell at the base lodge. The October sale price is an online offer.
Moose Mountain's sale ends Saturday, October 31, and Skiland is aiming for Thanksgiving weekend, November 26–29.
People who work with me on a home in the Fairbanks area often ask the practical questions behind a post like this: how long the drive is to Moose Mountain Road or Cleary Summit, and how a house's location changes your winter weekends. If that's part of your planning this season, I'm glad to walk through it with you. Daniel Larranaga is here when you want to schedule a free consultation.
