Hidden Valley will start the 2009-2010 season with free lift tickets.

Wisp, the resort that overlooks Deep Creek Lake in McHenry, Md., will celebrate its birthday with $7 lift tickets on Dec. 13 and 14.

Boyce Park, the Allegheny County-owned ski area in Plum, continues to be a bargain, especially for beginners and novices. Weekend lift tickets for adults and juniors (6 to 17) are $14 and $12, respectively.

Seven Springs, once again rated the No. 1 resort in the Mid-Atlantic by the readers of Ski magazine, is offering the Super Seven Card. A buyer receives seven lift tickets that can be used anytime, including holidays, for $299 (adults) and $199 (children 6 to 11).

And Mystic Mountain at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa is one of several local and regional resorts that didn't increase prices on lift tickets, rental equipment or lessons for the upcoming season.

That's good news for cost-conscious snowsports enthusiasts looking to pursue their favorite winter sport close to home.

Hidden Valley will offer free skiing and snowboarding Nov. 27 to 29, weather permitting. If temperatures aren't cold enough for skiing, it will extend that offer at a later date. In exchange, guests are asked to bring at least two cans of food for the Community Action Partnership of Somerset County Tableland Services Inc. and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

The resort, owned and operated by the Buncher Co. of Pittsburgh, will welcome early season weekday and weekend guests -- adults and children -- with $20 lift tickets through Dec. 18. The weekday price for adults and children will increase to $25 for the remainder of the season.

From Dec. 19 on, adult lift tickets on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be $30, $47 and $42, respectively. The price for juniors aged 6 to 17 and seniors 65 to 69 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be $30, $37 and $32, respectively.

For avid skiers and snowboarders who don't mind using the same resort all winter, it pays to buy a season pass.

The more they slide on the snow, the more they save.

To save even more, passes should be purchased as soon as they are available. Some resorts offer them in March at up to a 50 percent discount, and buyers can use them to ski or snowboard for free for the remainder of that season.

For example, Seven Springs put its 2009-2010 season passes on sale last March for $379 for adults and $319 for children 6 to 11. The passes also were good for the rest of the spring season. On June 1, the price increased to $579 and $449, and now they are $679 and $529, respectively.

That's a pretty hefty penalty for procrastination.

But, with the price of weekend lift tickets at Seven Springs jumping this year to $60 for adults and $45 for children, a season pass is still a good deal for those who plan to hit the slopes a dozen or more times on weekends during the season.

Snowshoe Mountain, the east-central West Virginia resort that caters to the Beltway residents around Washington, D.C., has the dubious distinction of having the highest-priced lift tickets in the quad-state area -- $75 for adults, $72 for students and seniors 60 to 69 and $62 for children 6 to 12 and seniors 70 and older.

Whitetail, a resort near Mercersburg in Franklin County that is about 90 minutes from the Beltway, charges $59 for adult lift tickets on weekends and $52 for children aged 6 to 12.

The weekend rates at Wisp for adults and children are $59 and $39, respectively. Those resorts, and others that have overnight accommodations, try to divert attention from the cost of their lift tickets by pointing out that they're cheaper when combined with single and multi-day lodging packages that may also include rentals and lessons.

So, shop around, monitor resort Web sites for special offers and, if you haven't done so already, join a ski/snowboard club. In addition to enjoying the company of like-minded individuals and improving your snow-sliding skills, you'll also benefit from the savings clubs can generate for their members.

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