Ten most expensive 22/23 season passes.

[ski diva]

Hope you're sitting down. There are some big numbers here:

 

[Mudgirl630]

Hope you're sitting down. There are some big numbers here:

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After 6/15, the price of Aspen/Snowmass will go up. That is the spring sale price. Regular price is $2899 for 22-23 season.
The price list below

 

[Mudgirl630]

 

[marzNC]

Pretty sure the Stowe season pass was about $2000 the season before it was bought by Vail Resorts in July 2017. For some local families, the Epic Pass was welcome in terms of the lower cost. Wonder how they feel now?

As I remember, the Deer Valley season pass was at least $2100 when Alterra bought DV in August 2017. The situation was a little different for long time passholders since Ikon days at DV were/are limited to 5/7 depending on the type of Ikon pass.

 

[marzNC]

Interesting to look at the early bird pass prices for LCC/BCC. Prices go up after Memorial Day. Since Full Ikon is $1179, that's probably a factor that was considered when the GMs decided on the pass prices for their respective resorts.

The season pass at Alta is at $1199 while Snowbird is at $1149. Alta started charging for parking in 2021-22 for non-passholders on weekends and holidays while Snowbird still has some free parking based on first-come, first-served along with paid parking areas that can be reserved in advance. Can add Ikon Base to an Alta or Snowbird pass for $299 for a total of $1498. For someone who lives in SLC, that adds potentially 20 non-holiday ski days at other nearby mountains. Plus Jackson Hole, Big Sky, and Ikon resorts in Colorado are a day's drive away.

A senior pass for 65+ is $929 for Alta and $829 for Snowbird. Midweek at Alta is $789 so many seniors get that pass.

Solitude uses Full Ikon as the unlimited season pass, while Ikon Base and Base Plus have some holiday blackout dates. Solitude is owned by Alterra. There is a midweek pass for Solitude only that is $399 early bird price.

Brighton has a Platinum pass for $1399 that includes Ikon Base. Also has an unlimited pass for $949, a pass with holiday blackout dates for $849, and a midweek pass for $519. Brighton prices will go up after Memorial Day.

All four resorts in LCC/BCC are on Ikon. However, for 2022-23 Alta opted to require either Base Plus or Full Ikon for 5/7 days. In that case, it's actually a combo Snowbird/Alta pass. Ikon Base includes 5 days for Snowbird only. Ikon holders have standard 5/7 day lift access for Solitude and Brighton.

What's new for 2022-23 is that Snowbasin is on Ikon. The Premier Snowbasin-only pass is $1149 or can pay $1159 and include Ikon Base.

 

[Christy]

My thinking has shifted on this a bit. If I were able to ski, say, 50 days a year, which I know a lot of you do, it's still a good deal. As a working person it's a harder to make it pay off. But the annoying thing IMO is that those prices don't insulate you from crowds/lines. If it were like 10 years ago and it was just season pass holders and daily lift ticket buyers, that's one thing. But now you pay those prices--for me, at Crystal--and you still have to deal with the Ikon hoards, plus parking fees Fri-Sun.

I had to look up Windham's stats as I am not familiar with the area. Why is this place so expensive?

 

[Pequenita]

But the annoying thing IMO is that those prices don't insulate you from crowds/lines.

Indeed. My memory is that when Ikon came along, it was noticeably more affordable than the direction that the Tahoe Gold pass for SVAM was headed. I think I only paid for a Tahoe Silver the year before Ikon, but I bought the full Ikon because it was close to what I had previously paid for the Tahoe Silver. The multi-resort pass has definitely increased crowds. This upcoming year, I opted to buy a pass for an independent resort the same price as an Ikon base. I very rarely stood on lines this year and it really elevated my experience.

I had to look up Windham's stats as I am not familiar with the area. Why is this place so expensive?

The only thing I can think of is to limit the number of people? It's in an area with a lot of other resorts and super accessible to NYC.

 

[marzNC]

I had to look up Windham's stats as I am not familiar with the area. Why is this place so expensive?

As with real estate, location is a key factor combined with the type of neighborhood someone wants to live in. For a ski resort, the question is where do most people live who are interested in the amenities (or lack of lines) available.

Windham is in the NY Catskills, which draws mostly from New York City and New Jersey. It's one of three ski areas/resorts that are pretty close together. The other two that are open 7-days a week are Belleayre and Hunter. Belleayre is owned and operated by ORDA, which is p art of NY State government (long story how that happened). Belleayre had no slopeside lodging and not really that much lodging nearby. Hunter is owned by Vail Resorts and is a ski resort with slopeside lodging but not too much in terms of non-skiing activities.

Windham is pretty easy to reach from the NY Thruway, with no mountain driving. There is plenty of nice lodging available for a price. There is an indoor waterpark. There is a very good ski school. There is a well stocked demo hut at the base. There are families who own houses or condos, and probably some seasonal rentals available. Windham in an independent resort that recently joined Ikon. You don't hear complaints about operations at Windham.

Until Windham joined Ikon a few years ago, it wasn't that well known. It's had it's ups and downs over the last few decades. Like Jiminy Peak in western MA and Waterville Valley in NH, most of the regulars at these independent ski resorts don't have much reason to go elsewhere and have little interest in online ski forums. All three have relatively high day ticket prices. Jiminy Peak's early bird season pass is $936. Waterville Valley's unlimited pass is $1036. Locals and regulars get their money's worth from season passes. These are moderate size mountains with at least one high-speed detachable that make it easy to get in a lot of runs midweek or first thing in the morning on weekends. Windham has 285 skiable acres, Jiminy Peak has 170 skiable acres, Waterville Valley has 265 skiable acres. Pretty sure all three have well over 90% coverage for snowmaking since what little tree terrain exists isn't that skiable for very many days.

Does that help put Windham's pass price in context?

I checked out Windham last season for a midweek morning using Ikon. It was on my way to Plattekill, which is an independent ski area in the same region, but is only open Fri-Sun. While I'd much rather ski Plattekill on a weekend, I can understand why families would much rather do the shorter drive and stay at Windham. Since Windham has multiple peaks, probably not too hard to avoid lift lines for an advanced skier. I liked the terrain variety. I would go back to Windham or Belleayre over Hunter.

 

[Sheena]

Interesting to look at the early bird pass prices for LCC/BCC. Prices go up after Memorial Day. Since Full Ikon is $1179, that's probably a factor that was considered when the GMs decided on the pass prices for their respective resorts.

The season pass at Alta is at $1199 while Snowbird is at $1149. Alta started charging for parking in 2021-22 for non-passholders on weekends and holidays while Snowbird still has some free parking based on first-come, first-served along with paid parking areas that can be reserved in advance. Can add Ikon Base to an Alta or Snowbird pass for $299 for a total of $1498. For someone who lives in SLC, that adds potentially 20 non-holiday ski days at other nearby mountains. Plus Jackson Hole, Big Sky, and Ikon resorts in Colorado are a day's drive away.

A senior pass for 65+ is $929 for Alta and $829 for Snowbird. Midweek at Alta is $789 so many seniors get that pass.

Solitude uses Full Ikon as the unlimited season pass, while Ikon Base and Base Plus have some holiday blackout dates. Solitude is owned by Alterra. There is a midweek pass for Solitude only that is $399 early bird price.

Brighton has a Platinum pass for $1399 that includes Ikon Base. Also has an unlimited pass for $949, a pass with holiday blackout dates for $849, and a midweek pass for $519. Brighton prices will go up after Memorial Day.

All four resorts in LCC/BCC are on Ikon. However, for 2022-23 Alta opted to require either Base Plus or Full Ikon for 5/7 days. In tha

What's new for 2022-23 is that Snowbasin is on Ikon. The Premier Snowbasin-only pass is $1149 or can pay $1159 and include Ikon Base.

I am pretty sure it's 1549 with the iKon. Though I would have loved 1159. Lol

 

[marzNC]

I am pretty sure it's 1549 with the iKon. Though I would have loved 1159. Lol

As I noted, it's an additional $299 to add Ikon Base to the Alta-only season pass at the current price. What I was curious to compare was the 1-location season passes after reading Post #1. Comparing apples to apples can be pretty confusing these days.

Even with the relatively inexpensive Indy Pass, have to consider multiple price options. One option is to get a 1-location pass for an Indy resort that provides the option of getting an Indy Add-On pass for a substantial discount.

Then there is the approach that Ski Cooper has taken. For $299 it can be worthwhile to buy a Cooper season pass with no intention of ever skiing there. That's because the list of places offering 3 days of skiing to Cooper passholders is quite long and includes ski areas in multiple regions. While there is overlap between the Cooper list and the Indy list, there are exceptions. For instance, Plattekill in NY is only on the Cooper list.

 

[diymom]

One drawback to the Cooper plan though— on their site it says they don’t mail passes, in person pick up only.

 

[marzNC]

One drawback to the Cooper plan though— on their site it says they don’t mail passes, in person pick up only.

Are you sure? I couldn't find any statement on the Cooper website for the season pass. According to Stuart of Storm Skiing, Cooper plans to mail season passes. That's what they've been doing in recent years.

 

[diymom]

Ahh, I see where I went wrong. I had looked up the Superior Pass that was mentioned earlier in the thread. Which I think is the same partner resorts? And that pass is in person pick up. Good to know that Cooper will mail passes.