Heavenly sucks, big time. It's consistently crushed with tourists and novice skiers/boarders. Squaw, Northstar, and Alpine all offer WAY better skiing for about the same cash. Doubt you're going to find any discounts anywhere until Jan 3 or 4th (if at all). If you can get all the way around to Kirkwood, that's a hidden gem. Take whatever cash you would spend on the shuttle and rent a car. There are a ton of rental places off airport that are usually 20-40% cheaper, although depending on the time of week you can usually grab a car from Enterprise there for $30/day. If you stay at some place like the Grand Sierra, they have free shuttles and lift ticket packages.