Recommendations: Ikon Pass or Taos Season Pass?

[Sokolva]

Hello Divas! I'm trying to figure out whether the Ikon Pass or the Taos Season Pass would be a better purchase. I know that the answer to this is heavily dependent on the skier, so here is my background:

Our closest mountain resort is Taos Ski Valley (10 hour drive, sometimes more, takes about 1 1/2 days of driving). We always drive because my husband has a phobia of flying. We are willing to occasionally make a long drive to a different resort if we had a reason to, but we love Taos so much that we will likely be spending the majority of our ski time there, if not all of it.

This would lead me to assume that the Taos Season Pass would be the far better purchase. In addition to this, I fall within the "Zia" age range of 18-35 for the Taos Season Pass, which means I get the pass for a cheaper deal of $1100 instead of the Adult $1700, while my husband has aged out of it but is a brand new skier--he will likely use the Novice ski tickets at Taos for $55 a day and we may not purchase a pass for him yet until he is skiing at a higher level.

From what I understand, if I purchase the Ikon Pass instead, I'd only have 7 days paid for at Taos, and would be able to visit many other resorts, with some unlimited, but this would be a much less valuable purchase for us if we intend to spend almost all of our ski days at Taos. Am I correct about this? If someone knows something about the Ikon Pass that I'm missing which makes it a better deal, I would love to hear it; I am new to these passes and it will be my first time purchasing one.

Bonus question for anyone who knows the answer: I noticed that none of the Taos Season Passes are available to purchase online right now except for the Military Season pass (which I cannot purchase). Do they go on sale later in the season? I am planning to call Taos to ask about this, as their website doesn't make any of this clear, but I see a lot of Divas are regulars at Taos so I figured it would be worth asking in case anyone knows!

Thank you all for the help!

 

[MissySki]

Hello Divas! I'm trying to figure out whether the Ikon Pass or the Taos Season Pass would be a better purchase. I know that the answer to this is heavily dependent on the skier, so here is my background:

Our closest mountain resort is Taos Ski Valley (10 hour drive, sometimes more, takes about 1 1/2 days of driving). We always drive because my husband has a phobia of flying. We are willing to occasionally make a long drive to a different resort if we had a reason to, but we love Taos so much that we will likely be spending the majority of our ski time there, if not all of it.

This would lead me to assume that the Taos Season Pass would be the far better purchase. In addition to this, I fall within the "Zia" age range of 18-35 for the Taos Season Pass, which means I get the pass for a cheaper deal of $1100 instead of the Adult $1700, while my husband has aged out of it but is a brand new skier--he will likely use the Novice ski tickets at Taos for $55 a day and we may not purchase a pass for him yet until he is skiing at a higher level.

From what I understand, if I purchase the Ikon Pass instead, I'd only have 7 days paid for at Taos, and would be able to visit many other resorts, with some unlimited, but this would be a much less valuable purchase for us if we intend to spend almost all of our ski days at Taos. Am I correct about this? If someone knows something about the Ikon Pass that I'm missing which makes it a better deal, I would love to hear it; I am new to these passes and it will be my first time purchasing one.

Bonus question for anyone who knows the answer: I noticed that none of the Taos Season Passes are available to purchase online right now except for the Military Season pass (which I cannot purchase). Do they go on sale later in the season? I am planning to call Taos to ask about this, as their website doesn't make any of this clear, but I see a lot of Divas are regulars at Taos so I figured it would be worth asking in case anyone knows!

Thank you all for the help!

That is correct, you will only get 5 or 7 days at Taos depending if you buy the base plus or the full Ikon that both include Taos. So if you want to ski more than 7 days at Taos and ron’t plan to go elsewhere, you should go with the Taos season pass. If you want options for other mountains and will not be planning to ski Taos for more than the 5 or 7 days, then Ikon is a good option.

 

[marzNC]

Hello Divas! I'm trying to figure out whether the Ikon Pass or the Taos Season Pass would be a better purchase. I know that the answer to this is heavily dependent on the skier, so here is my background: . . .

Based on what you've told us about your travel approach, get the Taos Zia pass when they become available. You'll end up skiing more and not have to stress as much about planning ski trips as compared to having an Ikon pass. Check if the Zia pass provides the reciprocal perk for Mountain Collective resorts, which is 50% off the top price of a lift ticket.

Taos did finally start selling season passes in the late spring in recent years. Now that they have a better online store, I would guess passes will be available by late March until perhaps the end of April. Can't remember what happened in March-April 2022.

Might be worth pricing out a Midweek pass, but if you are always going to ski on weekends then that may not make any sense. @TNtoTaos has used that approach but that was after she was retired.

I understand about having a travel/ski buddy who doesn't want to fly. My primary ski buddy for trips out west is willing to drive from Albuquerque to meet me for a ski trip. For the one I just finished a few days ago, we met up in SLC. I also drive for ski trips in other regions. For the last couple of early season trips in mid-December, I drove out from North Carolina to eastern Colorado. Another travel/ski buddy who is semi-retired joined me for most of the drive. Not having to deal with airports makes the trip more relaxing in many ways. Of course, it makes a difference that many of my travel buddies are retired or semi-retired and have more time flexibility than someone who is still working full-time.

 

[marzNC]

This would lead me to assume that the Taos Season Pass would be the far better purchase. In addition to this, I fall within the "Zia" age range of 18-35 for the Taos Season Pass, which means I get the pass for a cheaper deal of $1100 instead of the Adult $1700, while my husband has aged out of it but is a brand new skier--he will likely use the Novice ski tickets at Taos for $55 a day and we may not purchase a pass for him yet until he is skiing at a higher level.

From what I understand, if I purchase the Ikon Pass instead, I'd only have 7 days paid for at Taos, and would be able to visit many other resorts, with some unlimited, but this would be a much less valuable purchase for us if we intend to spend almost all of our ski days at Taos. Am I correct about this? If someone knows something about the Ikon Pass that I'm missing which makes it a better deal, I would love to hear it; I am new to these passes and it will be my first time purchasing one.

For your husband, if you think it would be fun to plan a trip to an Ikon resort or two, consider the idea of getting an Ikon Session pass. That covers 4 days.

Another option would be to do a trip to Wolf Creek. The drive probably takes about the same amount of time as for Taos. Lift tickets are very reasonable at WCSA. There is very good terrain for every ability level from beginner to expert. WCSA gets more snow than any other mountain in Colorado. It is usually 100% open by mid-December so it's good for an early season trip before the Christmas holiday period.

Are you driving east or west to get to Taos? Or from Texas? Only reason I'm asking is that where you live makes a difference as to which Ikon resorts would make more sense for a long weekend.

 

[VickiK]

Maybe getting Ikon buddy passes is an option, if you're doing one trip to an Ikon resort.

 

[diymom]

One thing to keep in mind for Ikon base vs. full if that is a consideration is that Taos is no longer on the base pass. You would either have to get the base plus or for just a little more the full Ikon.

 

[marzNC]

Guess what! TSV just started selling their 2023-24 season passes. I just got the email. The Value Pass comes with a few Buddy Passes, so might be the best fit for the OP.

Email received on March 16, 2023:

Winter 24 Spring Season Pass Sale Starts Today!

Another incredible season of skiing and riding at TAOS is almost in the books, and we are thrilled to announce our Winter 24 season passes! Our new Season Pass Payment Plan allows you to lock in a season of blue skies, fresh powder, and perfect turns on world-class terrain with a plan that works for you and your family. Buy now during our Spring Season Pass Sale to secure the lowest prices and best benefits!

 

[marzNC]

Maybe getting Ikon buddy passes is an option, if you're doing one trip to an Ikon resort.

Need to keep in mind that the Ikon Friends & Family discount is off the highest day ticket price, not the price available online based on dynamic pricing that means midweek is less than weekends.

Ikon F&F is different from Taos season pass Buddy Passes.

 

[marzNC]

while my husband has aged out of it but is a brand new skier--he will likely use the Novice ski tickets at Taos for $55 a day and we may not purchase a pass for him yet until he is skiing at a higher level.

Depending on how often you intend to make it to Taos, it could be that the Mountain Collective Pass might make sense. $570 at the moment for an Adult MCP. Can choose TSV as the location for the bonus day for buying early on. That means 3 days included at TSV, plus 2 days at other MCP resorts. The advantage of the MCP is that it's 50% off any additional days. That means going to two MCP resorts in the same season is essentially better than breakeven. The advantage is that if you want to ski a few more days, those days are 50% off, which is better than any other discounts available these days.

I've gotten Ikon plus the MCP for a few seasons because in recent years I've been skiing more than 5/7 days at Alta during my annual late season trip in April. For this season, I also used 2 days at TSV since I decided to ski an extra weekend after I was done with a Ski Week. I had a later trip that included 2 days at Grand Targhee, which is also on the MCP. I'll get at least 6 days from the MCP, plus pay only 50% for any extra days at Alta. Any time a day of skiing comes out less than $100 at a destination resort is a good deal.

It's good you are planning ahead.

 

[Susan L]

How about the TSV Value Pass - save a few hundred and skip the busiest days of the season. Most locals avoid major holidays since TSV got on Ikon. Have you tried Ski Santa Fe yet? If not, you should. It is a true hidden gem. I ski SSF when I am not at Taos.

 

[Sokolva]

For your husband, if you think it would be fun to plan a trip to an Ikon resort or two, consider the idea of getting an Ikon Session pass. That covers 4 days.

Another option would be to do a trip to Wolf Creek. The drive probably takes about the same amount of time as for Taos. Lift tickets are very reasonable at WCSA. There is very good terrain for every ability level from beginner to expert. WCSA gets more snow than any other mountain in Colorado. It is usually 100% open by mid-December so it's good for an early season trip before the Christmas holiday period.

Are you driving east or west to get to Taos? Or from Texas? Only reason I'm asking is that where you live makes a difference as to which Ikon resorts would make more sense for a long weekend.

I’m driving from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I’ve heard many good things about Wolf Creek, but had trouble finding info about where to stay while there. We bring our dog skiing with us because we drive, and Taos has many dog friendly places, but I had trouble finding AirBNBs or hotels near Wolf Creek, perhaps I just didn’t know where to look?

 

[Sokolva]

How about the TSV Value Pass - save a few hundred and skip the busiest days of the season. Most locals avoid major holidays since TSV got on Ikon. Have you tried Ski Santa Fe yet? If not, you should. It is a true hidden gem. I ski SSF when I am not at Taos.

I’ll check that place out, thank you for the recommendation!

 

[Sokolva]

Thank you everyone for all the great recommendations and advice…I definitely have some options to consider and compare now! I’ll discuss with my husband and we’ll decide what makes the most sense based on this.

 

[marzNC]

I’m driving from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I’ve heard many good things about Wolf Creek, but had trouble finding info about where to stay while there. We bring our dog skiing with us because we drive, and Taos has many dog friendly places, but I had trouble finding AirBNBs or hotels near Wolf Creek, perhaps I just didn’t know where to look?

Did you look in Pagosa Springs or South Fork/Del Norte?

@SarahXC found a house for her family of four a few years ago that is dog friendly, but probably too big for only two people.

I've been driving from North Carolina in December for an early season trip to Wolf Creek for a couple years. I share a house with friends from multiple states. First time my travel/ski buddy and I drove across I-40. We stayed overnight in OK City. Drove all the way to South Fork the next day in order to get in a bonus ski day because of a snowstorm that was happening while we were driving to Colorado from Nashville, TN.

 

[marzNC]

Monarch is a small ski area that is also in southeast Colorado. The closest town is Salida. That's a very dog-friendly town. Lift tickets at Monarch are quite reasonable. Plenty of terrain for beginners and intermediates, as well as advanced skiers who like powder.

 

[SarahXC]

For Wolf Creek lodging I first found our place several years ago on Airbnb searching for South Fork. Have heard that a lot of properties that used to be locally managed have now gone to vacasa so might be worth searching on their website also. We choose the South Fork side over Pagosa Springs side because the pass closes less frequently on this side. Like yesterday morning even. South Fork is a smaller town that Pagosa Springs and has fewer options for restaurants or groceries.

 

[marzNC]

South Fork is a smaller town that Pagosa Springs and has fewer options for restaurants or groceries.

Since Del Norte has a small local grocery store with local stuff, plus a supermarket, it's not too hard to stock up for a week. Agree that South Fork is not the place to go grocery shopping except for very basic stuff.

 

[TNtoTaos]

How about the TSV Value Pass - save a few hundred and skip the busiest days of the season. Most locals avoid major holidays since TSV got on Ikon. Have you tried Ski Santa Fe yet? If not, you should. It is a true hidden gem. I ski SSF when I am not at Taos.

This is the pass that I get, and since I'm over 65, I can get the Senior version, which is n additional savings. The passes were announced a couple of days ago, and the Senior Value Pass is $45 more that last' yr's but it still pays for itself if you're planning to ski for a wk or more. The only blackout days are MLK day, President's Day weekend, and the week of Spring Break, which frankly are days that I woudn't ski if I was dragged to the slopes, kicking and screaming, LOL. I plan to get this pass again for next season. BTW, if you buy it during the Spring Sale (now), you get 4 Buddy Passes. Each subsequent sale will decrease the # of Buddy Passes you get.

 

[Bookworm]

I"m thinking of getting this pass as well. Do you know when this first sale ends?

 

[TNtoTaos]

I"m thinking of getting this pass as well. Do you know when this first sale ends?

No idea. It usually lasts thru April, but...this is Taos, LOL. They usually send out a reminder before it ends, but you never know.