EPIC LOCAL PASS STUDENT DISCOUNT FREE
Sun Peaks extends early pricing until June 30, throwing in free nordic skiing, a free lesson and discounted buddy passes for $899. Resorts of the Canadian Rockies typically ends its early-bird sales June 23, followed by a fall sale into October before regular pricing resumes. A bonus last season was the ability to use the 2018-19 pass right away for the last two weeks of 2017-18 corn snow and slush bumps. You have to be on the ball, though: early-purchase deadlines are typically in the spring for the following season, with deals such as $789 (adult 19-64) up to April 30 this year for B.C.’s staunchly independent Red Mountain (the summer rate is $889 until October 1 after which it jumps to $1,089). Destinations are increasingly offering über early-bird deals for season skiers. Expect continuing mutinies and mergers.Īlthough sometimes feeling forgotten in all the hype, local loyalists will still buy the same familiar season pass or resort card for their downhill doorstep, but may benefit from heightened rivalry among pass marketers. Telluride recently decamped from the Mountain Collective to join Epic Pass, and this June, the Washington ski area Stevens Pass came under the Epic umbrella but still retains its status within the Powder Alliance. But these spiderwebs are not a static situation. In the wintry wake of this collective pass trend, resorts have had to decide whether they want to hook up with sometimes strange bedfellows or market to the public directly. Their expectation: extra income from longer-haul travellers spending prolifically on accommodation, lessons, food and entertainment at a range of resorts. Is this a game-changer that could gradually turn us all, not just weekend warriors, into season-passholders? Despite the risk of reducing pass revenue with the new lower prices, ski areas are hoping more of us will make a bigger commitment. Epic’s response has been to carry on expanding across North America, its Canadian tentacles spreading from season skiing at wholly owned Whistler to extra days at the Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR): Fernie, Kimberley, Kicking Horse, Nakiska, and Quebec’s Stoneham and Mont-Sainte-Anne.
EPIC LOCAL PASS STUDENT DISCOUNT PLUS
resorts in its portfolio, Ikon is making inroads into Canada, too, focusing on prolific Ontario skiers by offering full-season dibs at Blue Mountain and Quebec’s Tremblant, plus seven free days at Revelstoke, Lake Louise, Sunshine and Norquay. And just when we’re all starting to get our heads around the boggling benefits of rival gangs, such as the Powder Alliance and Mountain Collective, along comes stiffer competition with the creation this year of the Ikon Pass. Number one on everyone’s mind is Vail Resorts’ monopolistic march over the mountain map with its ever-expanding Epic Pass, notching up 65 resorts and counting. Over the past decade resorts have been forming alliances, with each season more convoluted than before, trying to get us to ski at a wider variety of venues-first in the U.S. photo: BRUNO LONG by LOUISE HUDSON in Buyer’s Guide 2019 issue But one thing is certain: the simple era of season pass versus day tickets has given way to multi-resort combos that include south of the border and, indeed, worldwide access. There are so many challenging choices and mystifying marketing materials, not to mention the need to plan months ahead to benefit from early-bird price points.
Reading Time: 12 minutes Got ski pass confusion? So do we! With so many collective passes vying for both the local- and holiday-skier markets this season, most people are flummoxed by the fine print.
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