We used Epic Local passes (also bought online from NZ) 2 years ago for a month at Park City. That was its first season under Vail ownership, so it was still operating in transition and probably wasn't the true "Vail experience", still with its slow old lifts etc. We also skied a fair bit at Canyons next door, which had been run by Vail resorts for some time by then. It definitely had faster lifts (with the usual notable exceptions being the ones that serve the more advanced terrain), and some monstrous on-mountain "homes". Maybe it had a more "corporate" feel to it, but it didn't really stand out as a difference between the two. And of course prior to Vail's takeover, Park City was already run by another ski resort chain, so it wasn't exactly what you'd call an independent, or community ski hill or whatever.
Anyway, the Epic Local pass was most certainly one of the deciding factors in our being based at Park City, as opposed to over in Salt Lake City, or Aspen, or Jackson, or Tahoe, or anywhere else. There is no doubt for us that the pass provided outstanding skiing value for the month we were in Utah. We did also manage a few days elsewhere, but because we were paying for daily lift tickets, there was a strong financial incentive to stay put in Park City. I have some regrets about that, because I wouldn't rate Park City as one of my top 5 places to ski, even within Utah, but when I'm effectively skiing there for free and I don't have to drive anywhere to do so, I'll make do with it.
Red Mountain was our final destination this January, when we travelled to British Columbia. (We skipped Whistler, so no Epic pass needed. But our 2016 season passes to a Mountain Collective member resort in NZ gave us 50% off at Revelstoke, so also great value for the 5 days we spent there.)
I don't exactly celebrate slow lifts as Red's marketing encourages us to do -- if you're really fit and strong, a high-speed chairlift is a great way to wring every drop of value out of your day on the mountain (for the less-fit, they are a useful recuperation tool). However my feeling is that slow, old lifts do deter some holidaying skiers, and where a ski resort is quite a long distance from a large population of local skiers, as Red is, you can end up with very uncrowded ski runs, which is exactly what we experienced. As a contrast, we spent the middle portion of our trip in Whitewater, which is even less developed than Red, but its proximity to the city of Nelson (20 minutes drive) ensured that, while it's a stretch to call it crowded, there could be a wait in the lift line, at least in the mornings. When I'm looking into destinations for ski holidays, avoiding queues and crowds is my priority (Park City was an exception for other reasons), and if that means slow lifts, so be it. More of a necessary evil, if you like.
Red is awesome, by the way
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