US and Canada ---

Depending on your accomodations and how many people you travel with to split costs. An on-hill condo in the CDN Rockies can run as low as $100/person/day and go up from there.

here in california, most lift tickets are around $80-90 per day, but if you are doing multiple passes, you can expect about 10% discount..

lodging costs really depend on the time you are arriving; during the holidays, you can pay up to 3-5x the price...

food and drinking costs shouldn't change much though...

Went to whistler for Christmas (so peak time) in Dec 2009. Split a condo with 5 other people for 3 nights, cost came to $170/person. This condo was 2 min walk away from the Blackcomb lift ( That was the other mountain at Whistler resort).

Got an edge card, so daily lift ticket was about $65. The edge card is basically a free membership card, but it was only for locals I think.

There were very few people when I went, I did not know why. The people there said they usually had it packed during the peak season.

Eating is normal price for food courts for an entertainment location. $10 burger on the peak restaurant on Whistler mountain...etc. But there are chain restaurants in Whistler village, so you can get pizza, kfc, or even buy your own food in grocery stores.

My friend booked an early bird special that included 2 nights stay and 2 day lift tickets and was about $100/person, but you had to book early and the days were before Christmas. It was a crazy deal so book early if you can.

Yea I couldn't believe it when I heard it. And this was at Whistler, but I think it took them a little longer to walk to the slopes.

Just a note on Jobe's post - Edge card deal is only for Locals (BC and WA residents).  There are deals to be found on the Whistler website, just have to look for 'last minute deals'. Check out www.whistler.com or http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/index.htm.

what about availability of backpackers and costs, anywhere particularly cheap?

Originally posted by CANADIAN I wanna make you a question, is there gonna be any snow in Toronto-Canada during September? I am planning to be there that month and i need to know so i can get my staff with me!

there will absolutely be no snow in toronto at that period in time. You will be lucky if we have snow here around november to december even. Last season, we barely had any snowfall, maybe 1-5 cm right before christmas i think.

here in toronto its a bit cheap, its like 2 ppl for 180/night during janurary-feb. that includes the lift and sleep only. it was a special during that time

Food can easily found 20 min away from the resort making it cheaper than in the resort. theres usually a little town around resorts. I went to blue mountain if your wondering