Christy
Angel Diva
You can ski A Basin on the Ikon Pass. You can buy a day ticket. A quick Google shows A Basin still had season passes available in December. This is really not the draconian picture you are painting.
What happened here in WA, with the complaints to the state AG and front page headlines, was the finger was pointed at Vail Resorts and Alterra for overselling passes. If someone buys a season pass, they need to be able to a) get to the hill and b) ski. When a ski resort sells so many that you can't get a parking space, and you spend more time standing in lift lines than skiing, that isn't "access." I didn't actually hear animosity toward fellow skiers.There is a certain unwillingness to point the finger at oneself among skiers. When the traffic is terrible or the lift lines are long, I hear much blame put on crowds, but never any acknowledgement that WE are part of the crowd.