Epic Mount Cost – How much is it going to set me back?

How much does an epic mount cost?  In order to answer the quest, we have to break it down a little bit to make sure we are clear about what we really want to know.  There are a number of costs that go into getting an epic mount, besides which the term itself is a bit ambiguous.
 
There are essentially two types of epic mounts: the ground variety that can be used almost anywhere in the game, and the epic flying mounts which only work in The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King.  Generally they are both referred to as epic mounts, but of course the costs are significantly different between the two.
 
There are two separate sides to the price of a mount.  First is the riding skill.  You can’t just buy one, jump on, and start gallivanting all over the world.  There are numerous different levels of skill, and each has a cost associated with it.  First you have to purchase Apprentice level skill, which is available at level 30 for 35g.  Once you reach level 60 you can upgrade that to Journeyman Riding Skill which will cost you 600g.  At this point you can ride epic ground mounts, although the cost so far of 630g doesn’t actually give you one.  You can purchase a basic epic speed steed for 100g.  That brings the total minimum cost to 730g.
 
Moving on to the flying variety, you once again have to pay for skill and the actual mount.  At level 70 you can purchase Expert Riding Skill for 800g.  That will let you fly on a regular speed mount.  In order to ride a 280% speed increasing flyer, you will have to pay an additional 5000g to learn Artisan level riding skill.  Once again, that is only for the amount and doesn’t include purchasing your ride of choice from a vendor.  You can get into something basic for 200g.  Adding up all of the costs incurred so far will put you at a total of 6730g for all the skills and purchases.
 
Sadly the story doesn’t quite end there.  You will not be able to fly in Northrend until you have learned Cold Weather Flying.  This becomes available at level 77 and will make it possible for you to fly around in the frozen zones releases as part of Wrath of the Lich King.  That makes the total cost for all skills and a single mount 7730g.  Wow!
 
Of course, you could simply check a vendor and determine that the epic mount cost is only 200g, but as we’ve seen that would only be a small part of the true picture.