Ikon Pass

[Danno]

As someone married to a healthcare worker I can pretty safely say that you won’t know much more by the deadline then you do now. We won’t see a vaccine before the end of the year and while testing is improving, it’s still too early to make a decision about what things look like come December. I think if ikon matched what epic is doing then a lot more people would be on board.

I am pretty darned sure that you're right, I'm pessimistic as fuck.

But I am also kind of wedded to Ikon if there's a ski season, so I am still glad to have the decision postponed.

[The SnowShow]

As someone married to a healthcare worker I can pretty safely say that you won’t know much more by the deadline then you do now. We won’t see a vaccine before the end of the year and while testing is improving, it’s still too early to make a decision about what things look like come December. I think if ikon matched what epic is doing then a lot more people would be on board.

Really surprised Ikon hasn’t matched that strategy by Epic. Seems like they’ll need to in order to get enough people to commit. We’ll see.

[Jax]

Not sure what you mean by not announce it, I got the email about an hour ago (in the once a week, approximately, emails they have been sending).

Yeah I got an email 1 hour after I posted. Funny that.

[Gman]

I am pretty darned sure that you're right, I'm pessimistic as fuck.

But I am also kind of wedded to Ikon if there's a ski season, so I am still glad to have the decision postponed.

I hope I didn't come off snobbish by my previous post. I'm in a same boat as you Danno regarding being wedded to Ikon and more time to decide is nice. The way we've been approaching it in our house is starting to have a conversation around "what do we need to see happen before we resume certain activities?" For some people its more black and white in terms of waiting for a vaccine to feel safe. For others, I imagine it's a little more nuanced. At least in the state of California, counties moving through the various phases is based primarily around some version of this:

1) Less than 5% of daily COVID-19 hospitalizations over a seven-day period or no more than 20 COVID hospitalizations on any single day in the past 14 days;

2) Fewer than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days or less than 8% testing positive in the past seven days;

3) A capacity to be able to test 1.5 per every 1,000 residents and at least 15 staff per 100,000 county population trained and available for contact tracing, and;

4) Hospital capacity for a possible surge of 35% of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 cases in addition to providing usual care for other patients.

To me the big thing here is testing and the availability, while it's getting better, in most counties they still can't test as many people as they would like. Covid will definitely be around still by the time ski season rolls around so the decision people will have to make (assuming resorts open with social distancing) is whether they are willing to potentially expose themselves to the risk. The issue around risk is not that covid is more or less deadly than seasonal flu, it's that the hospitalization rate is substantially higher which means when there is a surge in cases hospitals have a limited amount of ventilators.

[bobz]

Indy Pass looks like it could be worth it for people in Idaho, eastern Washington, Wisconsin, Michigan, and the NE corner of the country. For California, "um, no" is about right. China Peak is okay for what it is, but of little interest to anyone who doesn't live in Fresno. I could kind of see it if they had two half-decent Tahoe resorts (say, Homewood and Diamond Peak) on board. Doesn't look like they're getting any traction in Colorado/Utah, either.

[Ottime]

If they had Diamond, that would be a draw for us. China Peak can be fun when the snow is good. Kind of like Diamond. No double diamond terrain, but plenty of black and blue. Sometimes it’s nice to get away from the bigger resorts.

[yogachik]

Until Ikon offers the same deal and assurance as Epic, they won't see sales. Period. They can keep extending the deadline out all they like, but their base buyer's budget is shrinking, not growing, with time.

[tahoe420]

Diamond Peak is owned by the town and they
aren't going to give up or lease out the hill ever.
IVGID controls a lot of recreation areas very well.
Homewood is a whole different ball of wax.
Owned by big developer JMA. They aren't
interested in the skiing part they just wanted
to get plans and approval for the village (they did).
Then they would sell out and let someone else build.
Nobody wants to add HW to their profile because
they have zero parking. Think Ikon or Epic on
a storm day and they are overly swamped and
start causing traffic issues on hwy 89. CHP and
CalTrans are already pissed. All they need to do
is buy nearby lots and build a parking structure,
two new chairs and a couple of surface lifts and
they are back into the scene big time. Maybe in 2040?

[TahoeJ]

But I am also kind of wedded to Ikon if there's a ski season, so I am still glad to have the decision postponed.

Same. In Truckee it's Northstar (Epic) vs. Squaw / Alpine (ikon). Not even debatable. Kirkwood is awesome but it's an hour and a half to get over there.

[old goat]

If the governor were to allow ski resorts to open by 12/10 and Squaw and Alpine decided on their own not to open--couldn't meet the conditions, couldn't hire workers (no Southern Hemishere workers) or whatever, they would get hammered in court. The current law suit has no merit. This one would.

Under current Placer county rules dine in restaurants are allowed--so presumably lodge dining and bathrooms could open with restrictions. There is no category of business that would appear to apply to ski resorts--either open or closed.

If the resorts do open will the restrictions be so draconian--very limited skiers allowed each day, lifts half empty or worse--that it might not be worth it. I would need to see the operating plan before buying. And each resort will need to see what their state will require before they can produce an operating plan. One thing Sugar Bowl does, in addition to the 100 day guarantee, is to make you read the operating plan--which lodges open on weekdays vs weekends, which lifts, etc--before you can buy a pass.

[bobz]

Diamond Peak is owned by the town and they
aren't going to give up or lease out the hill ever.

Actually, I could easily see Diamond signing on for a one-or-two-use-per-season deal with an Indy Pass type service, because, for years, they had just about exactly that kind of deal with Snowbomb (they phased out the Snowbomb deals, not because being town-owned prohibited it, but because in recent years there's been enough gravy in the Tahoe skiing market that they didn't need to bother). Homewood could go for a limited-use deal as well, and if it was mid-week only, it could work with parking (but yeah, Homewood's playing a different game than trying to boost their skier-days).

[TahoeJ]

Diamond Peak actually has an exchange deal with Tahoe Donner starting last season where each pass gets a few days at the other.

Homewood said on Instagram today they’d announce season pass details next week.

[Jvhowube]

I bet Ikon keeps the price the same all the way until their December deadline.

[The SnowShow]

I wish they’d just add on the free pass insurance like Vail did for Epic. Then I’d signup. Otherwise, it’s a huge roll of the dice.

[oftpiste]

^^this

[Danno]

Yep

[mdblows]

Perhaps an even bigger issue for me than an outright cancellation of the season is what an actual reopening looks like come next winter.

Will we need to reserve a spot in advance similar to what A Basin is doing now? Are we all going to need to stay 6 feet apart in the lift line? Only members of your party can be on the chair with you at the same time?

All of those additional measures would be added stress in a sport that I participate in to de-stress. This may actually be the year I skip getting a pass.

[The SnowShow]

Perhaps an even bigger issue for me than an outright cancellation of the season is what an actual reopening looks like come next winter.

Will we need to reserve a spot in advance similar to what A Basin is doing now? Are we all going to need to stay 6 feet apart in the lift line? Only members of your party can be on the chair with you at the same time?

All of those additional measures would be added stress in a sport that I participate in to de-stress. This may actually be the year I skip getting a pass.

I think there’s a very good chance of all that. Problem is I’m not sure we’ll know how it’ll all play out until we already have to commit to something.

[liv2ski]

I keep reading in other states and countries where they opened up and now they are closing it back down. I am fairly pessimistic that next season is going to happen, which is a massive bummer, as skiing is one thing I really look forward to all year. I will end up buying a pass at the last second, in hope it works out, but I am not counting on it.

[paulster2626]

We will have drugs/treatments by then, and further understanding of the virus and potential mitigation strategies. What you're describing is opening today - not 6 months from now. A lot will change, and for the better IMO. We got this.

[yeahman]

I keep reading in other states and countries where they opened up and now they are closing it back down. I am fairly pessimistic that next season is going to happen, which is a massive bummer, as skiing is one thing I really look forward to all year. I will end up buying a pass at the last second, in hope it works out, but I am not counting on it.

Got any links to these articles you keep reading? I'm curious. Google search does not turn up much.

[Ski220]

Got any links to these articles you keep reading? I'm curious. Google search does not turn up much.

Top Google search -

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/calif...b64f10cb09045c

[TahoeJ]

We will have drugs/treatments by then.

Not necessarily. 5-6 months isn't that much time.

I'm thinking of buying a sled this winter so I can access more remote zones, as popular backcountry trailheads are going to be packed if resorts don't open or have limited operations. Or crazy lines due to social distancing.

[yeahman]

Top Google search -

Interesting. Did you see this update that was added to the article a day later?

UPDATE: May 29 — Lassen County on Thursday terminated its order to scale back reopening, which was initially intended to remain in effect for seven days. Korver cited “contact tracing investigations” in his decision.

[Shredhead]

Not necessarily. 5-6 months isn't that much time.

I'm thinking of buying a sled this winter so I can access more remote zones, as popular backcountry trailheads are going to be packed if resorts don't open or have limited operations. Or crazy lines due to social distancing.

I’ll sell you mine.

Sled trailheads were even worse, because there’s a lot less of them and the the fact most people can’t drive a trailer worth shit.

The Ikon pays for itself in about a week.
You all know you’ll cave.