Ikon Pass

[altasnob]

Alterra/Vail pays property taxes. When they develop properties, there are infrastructure development fees that are required. But those fees are limited to things like improving parking lots and the nearby roads. I haven't ever heard of a private party being forced to pay for a public transit system.

Everyone who lives in the Truckee area moved there because of the resorts. These "locals" are part of the problem too, not just the tourists. If you want public transit, then pay for it. Beg the county to increase your property taxes. Enact sales taxes (which tourists have to pay as well). Hotel and STR taxes. Beg the county to impose a public transit levy on you. You can define the borders of this levee so that only people in Truckee area are paying and not the people living down near Sacramento who don't want to pay for Truckee's public transit system. Some will argue, we already do this. Well, obviously you are not taxed enough.

Adding bus only lanes is cheaper than light rail but still way more expensive than what you would expect ( in part, thanks to that CEQA law that Old Goat wants to use against Alterra). All these other resort areas with supposedly "good" public transit systems have terrible traffic as well, and it is only getting worse. Public transit only works in high density communities. None of the resorts qualify as high density. Instead, they are full of sprawled out, single family homes, with locals who drive everywhere complaining about the traffic that they, themselves, are creating by their lifestyle. If you want to sue anyone, how about suing the county/state/city for allowing you to live in your sprawled out, car centric fashion, rather than concentrating development and growth to specific parts.

The West is getting more crowded, and has been getting more crowded for as long as I have lived on this planet. You can't blame Alterra/Vail for this.

[Ottime]

EDIT: Well said and all true. Well, maybe 1% moved to Truckee for other reasons, but basically spot on.


Popping back in here. Send me a PM before buying to help out the collective. Or if you are new, help out yourself.

EDIT #2: Went back and read some more of this debate. Compare and contrast Mammoth to North Lake Tahoe - NLT is much more dispersed than Mammoth, and would require significant infrastructure improvements that private companies do not fund anywhere. this is a failure of the county. When these resorts request permits for improvements on their resorts, that is the time a county can require funds for road issues. They should have done so, but the county failed at that point in time. There is no president for getting funds after the fact. MM shuttle is operated by Eastern Sierra Transit Authority. In 2016 70% of funds came from State and Federal sources (https://www.estransit.com/wp-content...Report-web.pdf). Im sure Placer county uses the vast majority of their funds in Sacramento. Mono County does not really have a competing population center.

Money is the crux of this. For sure the county should be coughing up for this, but with most of the population living down valley, it is hard to getting the populace to vote for a county wide tax. Hence why a local tax is theist option. But this shit is way more than the cost of a base to base gondola.

For sure this sucks for all ya all in north lake, but really am hard pressed seeing how you'd get much out of Vail or Alterra at the 11th hour. These are private companies, so they will only act finically if they see it in their best interest. As long as their parking lots and lodging are full and they are selling burgers, I don't see why they would do it out fo the kindness of their hearts. Even if all the locals ditched Palisades for local resorts next year, you still have a huge population in the Central Valley and Bay Area that will continue to buy passes and eat lunch.

I brought this epic up a decade ago when KW was bought by Vail, and complained and said no good would come of these multi passes. Most of TGR told me I needed to get used to the future and there was no turning back the clock. One of the reason I've never bought an Epic Pass, (I buy a KW Only Pass where the vast majority of funds stay with the local hill) was to minimize my support of the multi pass.

Clearly I've come pretty much full circle, now that I organize a group buy. , but I do have some alternate motivation there and that is getting as much back as we can. I'm no saint, but I do think the damage was done many years ago. I think the best option is to stir things up with local politics. A lot of those people stuck in traffic live down valley, and might be willing to be part of the solution.

[timackie]

Things have changed and it looks like Ikon passes for my family this coming year. It has been a few years, but I think that I remember some sort of warning before pass prices go up. Maybe by email, maybe on their website. Is this true? I'd like to kick that very expensive can as far down the road as I can without having to spend extra money for being tardy.

[altasnob]

Not sure on Ikon, but Crystal's renewal discount goes away on April 21. Crystal is owned by Alterra and comes with an Ikon for their season pass.

[S_jenks]

Okay, so I know the price for 2 adults at Crystal is steep, but I’m trying to rationalize it out.

- My wife and I are new to the Puget Sound, and are moving mid April.

- Neither of us have done Ikon before. I’ve skied Snoq/Alpy and Crystal before on good days, but that was many years ago.

- How the fuck has Ikon managed to absorb so many ski resorts? Feels like lots of options if you pair them with airline miles.

Pull the trigger or is there some better option in our case? We def want to explore up and down the coast next winter, El Niño or no.

[DanoT]

Okay, so I know the price for 2 adults at Crystal is steep, but I’m trying to rationalize it out.

- My wife and I are new to the Puget Sound, and are moving mid April.

- Neither of us have done Ikon before. I’ve skied Snoq/Alpy and Crystal before on good days, but that was many years ago.

- How the fuck has Ikon managed to absorb so many ski resorts? Feels like lots of options if you pair them with airline miles.

Pull the trigger or is there some better option in our case? We def want to explore up and down the coast next winter, El Niño or no.

There are a half dozen western Canada resorts on the Ikon Pass that are drive to/road trip from Puget Sound.

[altasnob]

Okay, so I know the price for 2 adults at Crystal is steep, but I’m trying to rationalize it out.

You're moving to Olympia, right? Are you stuck skiing weekends? I have mid week Crystal, which gives you weekends late in the season. I buy my weekend warrior wife a 4 pack Ikon Session, then a 3 pack Spring Pass, to get 7 weekend days at Crystal. Crystal will offer BOGO and 50% off deals at different points in the season as well. Mix in some trips to White Pass, Hurricane Ridge, and other smaller places with cheap day tickets like Baker or Mission Ridge. Go touring at Rainier/Paradise/Tatoosh. When the kids are old enough to ski the lifts I may be stuck having to buy a full Crystal season pass/Ikon pass for the family (and then have to take the obligatory trips to Bachelor, Schweitzer, Red, Sun Peaks, and Revelstoke with the rest of the Puget Sound Ikon masses).

Living in Olympia, Indy Pass wouldn't be a terrible option (2 tickets each at White Pass, Hurricane Ridge, which are day trips, as well as Mission Ridge, Mt. Hood Meadows and other places you can drive to for a weekend).

Season pass to Alpental/Snoqualmie is cheaper than Crystal but I find once you move south of Kent it is tough to head over 18 and join the masses coming up from Seattle/Bellevue/North Bend. I mainly recreate around Rainer, Olympics, and Gifford Pinchot year round with only occasional trips to North Cascades and over the pass on 90. Embrace that you are an hour away from Seattle and focus your efforts traveling away from, not towards, Seattle.

[yeahman]

Okay, so I know the price for 2 adults at Crystal is steep, but I’m trying to rationalize it out.

- My wife and I are new to the Puget Sound, and are moving mid April.

- Neither of us have done Ikon before. I’ve skied Snoq/Alpy and Crystal before on good days, but that was many years ago.

- How the fuck has Ikon managed to absorb so many ski resorts? Feels like lots of options if you pair them with airline miles.

Pull the trigger or is there some better option in our case? We def want to explore up and down the coast next winter, El Niño or no.

Also, buy some nice sea kayaks.

[S_jenks]

There are a half dozen western Canada resorts on the Ikon Pass that are drive to/road trip from Puget Sound.

You're moving to Olympia, right? Are you stuck skiing weekends? I have mid week Crystal, which gives you weekends late in the season. I buy my weekend warrior wife a 4 pack Ikon Session, then a 3 pack Spring Pass, to get 7 weekend days at Crystal. Crystal will offer BOGO and 50% off deals at different points in the season as well. Mix in some trips to White Pass, Hurricane Ridge, and other smaller places with cheap day tickets like Baker or Mission Ridge. Go touring at Rainier/Paradise/Tatoosh. When the kids are old enough to ski the lifts I may be stuck having to buy a full Crystal season pass/Ikon pass for the family (and then have to take the obligatory trips to Bachelor, Schweitzer, Red, Sun Peaks, and Revelstoke with the rest of the Puget Sound Ikon masses).

Living in Olympia, Indy Pass wouldn't be a terrible option (2 tickets each at White Pass, Hurricane Ridge, which are day trips, as well as Mission Ridge, Mt. Hood Meadows and other places you can drive to for a weekend).

Season pass to Alpental/Snoqualmie is cheaper than Crystal but I find once you move south of Kent it is tough to head over 18 and join the masses coming up from Seattle/Bellevue/North Bend. I mainly recreate around Rainer, Olympics, and Gifford Pinchot year round with only occasional trips to North Cascades and over the pass on 90. Embrace that you are an hour away from Seattle and focus your efforts traveling away from, not towards, Seattle.

Also, buy some nice sea kayaks.

All are excellent responses, thank you.

Wife is weekends-only to start, but might swing a friday or monday on occasion next winter. And we plan to explore as much as we can in the first year here, and we can some friends living in N Van so canadian trips are absolutely in the question.

And we're still a little iffy on watersports, but are willing to give it a try.

[MTT]

I purchased an ICON Pass. Uploaded my picture got the confirmation E-Mail. When how do I get my pass in my hand?

Apologies on missing the group buy. Next year

[Johnny H]

I purchased an ICON Pass. Uploaded my picture got the confirmation E-Mail. When how do I get my pass in my hand?

Apologies on missing the group buy. Next year

Typically is mailed to you in October.

[givethepigeye]

I purchased an ICON Pass. Uploaded my picture got the confirmation E-Mail. When how do I get my pass in my hand?

Apologies on missing the group buy. Next year

OR if you are going to go to one of the places included in 23/24 for Spring turns - you can get one there i believe.

[Garfield3d]

OR if you are going to go to one of the places included in 23/24 for Spring turns - you can get one there i believe.

Yup. If you're Spring skiing, you can pick up a temporary pass at guest services. Looks remarkably similar to a normal Ikon Pass, except it says Temporary on it. Works for only the Spring season, so you'll still get a new one in the mail for 23/24.

[MTT]

Yup. If you're Spring skiing, you can pick up a temporary pass at guest services. Looks remarkably similar to a normal Ikon Pass, except it says Temporary on it. Works for only the Spring season, so you'll still get a new one in the mail for 23/24.

Thanks. I plan to ski Palisades April 10th the first day it's valid.

[Ottime]

^^^ I've had a standard pass printed up at Palisades at the ticket office near the funitel. One year outside, another year inside. Also at the Mill ticket shack in Mammoth. They don't charge you when you forget your pass, which is nice.

Just be careful. Mine did not say "temporary" and when they send you a pass in the mail, I believe the new one becomes active. I've fucked up a number of times bringing the wrong pass and not getting through the gates and having to visit the ticket offie to activate my pass I had in hand. Best to destroy any inactive passes so you don't pull that move.

[Ottime]

Not sure on Ikon, but Crystal's renewal discount goes away on April 21. Crystal is owned by Alterra and comes with an Ikon for their season pass.

May 10th for the Group, but late April for Renewal and Online pricing - gonna bet its April 21 if sales go as planned. If sales are lower than intended, they may extend the date.

[phatty]

Just announced that Aleyeska was added to the Ikon. Standard 5/7 days on Base/Full. Will be interested to see if anymore get added. Not a needle mover for most.

https://snowbrains.com/alyeska-resor...-winter-23-24/

Sent from my SM-T733 using Tapatalk

[Garfield3d]

Alyeska has been on my bucket list, and if it's on the base pass, then I think I'm going to stick it out on the base pass another year.

[m795f2]

I'm new around these parts and wanted to see how I could get in on the collective buy. Is that still possible? I see a few posts up asking to PM about it, but I'm not seeing where I can do that. Maybe I'm too new. Anywho, is it still possible to get ion on the deal?

[Brock Landers]

I'm new around these parts and wanted to see how I could get in on the collective buy. Is that still possible? I see a few posts up asking to PM about it, but I'm not seeing where I can do that. Maybe I'm too new. Anywho, is it still possible to get ion on the deal?

PM Djongo Unchained he is another group buy organizer

[mcski]

There’s more than 1 group buy being organized?

[Vt-Freeheel]

I laughed

[m795f2]

PM Djongo Unchained he is another group buy organizer

I can't PM it appears. I guess I need to post more to get those privileges. But thank you. Might be useful in the future.

[muted reborn]

Djongo only posts in the Jackson thread, ask him there about a group buy if you can't DM him.

[mcski]

Thx. I guess that kinda makes sense w OT being mostly Tahoe thread for there to be more than one. Just never occured to me and I’m rarely in the JH thread fml