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Calling Indy Pass holders!
- Thread starter teppaz
- Start date
contesstant
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I plan to buy an Indy pass for next season. I'm already committed to the Mountain Collective for this season and a trip to Big Sky/Jackson/Targhee plus Aspen. But the Indy mountains are so my type of place. We ski Beaver mountain once or twice per year anyway and have been wanting to check out Eagle Point, and can use it at Powder Mountain, too. Now we can do a weeklong road trip to Brundage and Tamarack and Lost Trail and Red Lodge and maybe one other. I'm getting so burned out on the mega resorts, which my home mountain has become (it's like Disneyland anymore.) A break from the hustle and bustle would be so nice.
SallyCat
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Can say I would have bought an Indy Pass without hesitation if it had been $100 less expensive. On paper it's a great deal, but only if there are enough mountains near you to make it worthwhile. I can get a season pass at a small, independent mountain here for less than the Indy, which would only really give me 4, maybe 6 days of skiing. The pass is a great idea, and I love to support small mountains. Just wish there were a way to tailor a multi-mountain pass to your specific geographic preferences.
newboots
Angel Diva
I also ski at a nearby, independent little mountain that's not on the Indy Pass (Thunder Ridge). I skied what I knew when I first arrived here, which was Epic local midweek senior. But when I found Thunder Ridge I got a similar pass there, and really enjoyed it.
Catamount is somewhat near here. My friends tell me it's the closest mountain, but I seem to remember it taking hours. I drove there once, in a big snowstorm. Wonderful conditions, but not for driving! That's on the Indy Pass, as well as my old stomping grounds, Berkshire East. But B-East really is too far to drive.
Catamount is somewhat near here. My friends tell me it's the closest mountain, but I seem to remember it taking hours. I drove there once, in a big snowstorm. Wonderful conditions, but not for driving! That's on the Indy Pass, as well as my old stomping grounds, Berkshire East. But B-East really is too far to drive.
geargrrl
Angel Diva
I think Discovery is on the list too.
marzNC
Angel Diva
Nope. The Montana Indy locations are Lost Trail and Red Lodge.
I was hoping to get to Discovery as a detour driving from SLC to Bozeman with Bill a few years ago. But the driving weather was going to be rough so we went to Grand Targhee instead so ski fresh fluffy powder.
Yeah, it seemed like a great deal when I got it last year, not such a great deal after I deferred and had to pay more to use it this year. We’ll see how much I use it this year, but I suspect I won’t be buying one again.
teppaz
Angel Diva
marzNC
Angel Diva
Very nice introduction to Indy for those who have never heard of what Doug Fish created a few years ago.
November 16, 2021
The Indy Ski Pass Lives Up to Its Name (Published 2021)
The lower-cost pass targets skiers who like to stay local and sample smaller, independently owned mountains, while saving money.
Andy Brown, 50, was an early Indy adopter from Rockland County, in New York, and for him savings were a big incentive. “I knew a few of the hills on the pass, like Catamount, so I knew I would like skiing there,” he said in a telephone interview, referring to a Berkshires resort. “And I ski with my kids, so having something affordable makes a big difference when you have to buy passes for multiple people.”
Mr. Brown does mostly day trips, visiting resorts within a three-hour drive from his home. He is exactly the type of skier Mr. Fish had in mind when he created Indy. “Our model is, if you can get two to four days and sleep in your own bed, plus a weekend getaway or two, the pass is a great value,” Mr. Fish said.
. . ."
newboots
Angel Diva
Good article about the Indy pass! An excellent way to support the smaller mountains and keep the sport alive. You know what I'm curious about? The big difference in the cost of skiing in Europe vs. the US. I met a woman who lives in Slovenia but has a lot of contact in the US (and apparently a boyfriend). She said she wouldn't consider skiing in the US, even when here (as she often is), due to the cost, which she thought was outlandish. How do the Europeans do it? Could our ski areas copy any of that?
newboots
Angel Diva
Good idea!
newboots
Angel Diva
It's my understanding that it's improper to post whole articles, but excerpts are acceptable. @teppaz can post more if she sees fit. Here are some excerpts:
>>Sometime during the winter of 2018, Doug Fish was skiing on his own in the Rockies when he struck up a chairlift conversation with a couple who had driven all the way from Minneapolis for their vacation and were having a grand old time.
But this was not taking place at a famous destination like Jackson Hole, Vail or Park City: They were at the much smaller Red Lodge Mountain, in Montana.
Mr. Fish, a snow sports marketing veteran, had been pondering the launch of a new multi-resort pass to counter the pricey Epic and Ikon passes that have changed the face of skiing over the last few seasons. He found the encounter eye-opening. <snip> “They’re the silent majority of skiers who aren’t being served by any pass, and they pay through the nose for day tickets.”
At lunch with Red Lodge’s general manager, he made a proposal. A new, inexpensive pass targeted at people like his chairlift mates.
Mr. Fish’s Indy Pass launched in September 2019. A mere $199 bought you two days at each of 34 participating resorts — and yes, Red Lodge was one of them. The pass now has 80 ski hill members. True to the pass’s umbrella name, they are small to midsize, and many are owner-operated.
<snip> [info on pricing]
Andy Brown, 50, was an early Indy adopter from Rockland County, in New York, and for him savings were a big incentive. “I knew a few of the hills on the pass, like Catamount, so I knew I would like skiing there,” he said in a telephone interview, referring to a Berkshires resort. “And I ski with my kids, so having something affordable makes a big difference when you have to buy passes for multiple people.”
Mr. Brown does mostly day trips, visiting resorts within a three-hour drive from his home. He is exactly the type of skier Mr. Fish had in mind when he created Indy. <snip> [conclusion]
>>
>>Sometime during the winter of 2018, Doug Fish was skiing on his own in the Rockies when he struck up a chairlift conversation with a couple who had driven all the way from Minneapolis for their vacation and were having a grand old time.
But this was not taking place at a famous destination like Jackson Hole, Vail or Park City: They were at the much smaller Red Lodge Mountain, in Montana.
Mr. Fish, a snow sports marketing veteran, had been pondering the launch of a new multi-resort pass to counter the pricey Epic and Ikon passes that have changed the face of skiing over the last few seasons. He found the encounter eye-opening. <snip> “They’re the silent majority of skiers who aren’t being served by any pass, and they pay through the nose for day tickets.”
At lunch with Red Lodge’s general manager, he made a proposal. A new, inexpensive pass targeted at people like his chairlift mates.
Mr. Fish’s Indy Pass launched in September 2019. A mere $199 bought you two days at each of 34 participating resorts — and yes, Red Lodge was one of them. The pass now has 80 ski hill members. True to the pass’s umbrella name, they are small to midsize, and many are owner-operated.
<snip> [info on pricing]
Andy Brown, 50, was an early Indy adopter from Rockland County, in New York, and for him savings were a big incentive. “I knew a few of the hills on the pass, like Catamount, so I knew I would like skiing there,” he said in a telephone interview, referring to a Berkshires resort. “And I ski with my kids, so having something affordable makes a big difference when you have to buy passes for multiple people.”
Mr. Brown does mostly day trips, visiting resorts within a three-hour drive from his home. He is exactly the type of skier Mr. Fish had in mind when he created Indy. <snip> [conclusion]
>>
teppaz
Angel Diva
The difference in cost is indeed stark. You can get a weeklong pass in the Alps for the cost of a day ticket in the Rockies Skiing may not be quite a mass sport in Europe, but it’s certainly a lot more widespread than in the US. There must be historical factors due to its development in America that explain it. It might be a chicken-and-egg thing: skiing’s popularity helped it stay cheap, and it was cheap so it became popular.
newboots
Angel Diva
Another good reminder to patronize smaller, local mountains! Saving gas and cutting our carbon footprints, too. Thunder Ridge, here I come!
