Some folks think so; I'm not so sure. My home hill is on Ikon and there have definitely been some nasty episodes of day skiers being turned away due to full parking lots etc. Management said "sorry" and made some changes. Some say this is all due to the Ikon pass. I say that the horrible start to the season followed by coverage dumpage and then excellent powder = predictable crowds due to pent-up demand. The truth is probably somewhere in between. Curious what others think. FWIW, I was "in the money" on last year's Ikon; this year I'm gonna lose money (unless Squalpine stays open into June). Also curious how others are doing with theirs. Not sure what I'll do next season, but whenever I think about not getting some kind of pass, the price of day tix gives me the spins.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
It's an interesting business model. Not sure how sustainable it is over the long run. It definitely is driving skier visits to these resorts. I get why they are doing it. Get the family to take that once a year trip for a week long vacation. But some mountains on the Ikon and Epic are more day trip destinations, like Crystal Mt. WA. It leads to over crowding on holiday weekends and powder days. Time will tell how sustainable the business model is. I think Alterra and Vail Resorts will continue to raise the prices on these passes to see where the sweet spot is for profit margins. I'd like to see these two companies invest more in lift infrastructure improvements, and obviously some ski resorts could use more parking spaces too!
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Smaller ski hills are getting in on them too - noticed last season that some would offer discount lift tickets to epic/icon pass holders. So they are trying to get revenue from somewhere previously they wouldn't. Sensible business model to an extent.
However its causing over crowding problems elsewhere - The cottonwoods last season were unbelievable compared to previous years. Solitude just isn't any more.
I ended up shooting myself in the foot on my IKON pass. Every year I ski Steamboat for a week because a friend lives there. So as soon as the pass goes on sale I get a season pass. Seems ridiculous for a week but it is by far the cheapest option. This year we are skiing Big Sky for a week before heading down to Steamboat. As Big Sky is also on IKON I do well out of that. However several months after buying my 19/20 pass IKON announced the link up with Zermatt. I have a place out there so I have an annual pass for Zermatt. Turns out I could have simply skied on that! Grrr. Hopefully they will keep the arrangement the same for next year and then I will benefit.
I’m on Mountain Collective which covers some of the Ikon icons.
I’ve got my three days here in Oz at Thredbo (third bonus day) last Southern Hemisphere winter and two days in Niseko in Japan (December). In a couple of weeks I’ll be in the US on a road trip and will get two days in the following -
A Basin
Aspen
Alta
Snowbird
Jackson
Big Sky.
That’s all for $400aud. Interesting that they sold the pass early for Aussie ‘at par’ rate.
My 12 year old son was only $100usd.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
sbooker, great trip, have used the MC pass a number of times. Play it right and you have cheap skiing. Get it early and you get the bonus day at a place of your choice.
Couple of years ago the most expensive day was $60 - cheapest was $22
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