Ikon Pass

[glademaster]

I believe there are some nonstops from EWR to Jackson in the winter. Jackson can handle larger aircraft than Aspen-Pitkin for sure, and I think (could be wrong here) Eagle.

Jackson being easiest to get to is just like, his opinion, man. I moved west after college and can count on one hand the number of times I've been back to NJ since.

[Benny Profane]

SLC is still the easiest trip from the NY metro. Cmon. If you get up in the air from Newark and there's a storm in the middle of the country, chances are good that it could take twelve hours to get to Jackson with missed connections, if that. It took me 24 hours once to get to Newark from Jackson. That was real fun.

[Djongo Unchained]

It's def waaaay easier to get to JH today than in the past. I'd argue flying thru SLC to JH is a good bet.
In my experience, jets will try and fly into jh from SLC long after Flights from Denver have cancelled their flights.
If it's storming, you can drive up the interstate from SLC w/out too much sketchballz. 5-6 hrs.
Denver is a long 8-10 hrs in a mega wind corridor.

With any luck you'll get in and the 3 roads into the valley will close. JH interlodge...

[Toadman]

JHMR is worth the price of admission. That is all.

[brutah]

They did tell me what you said but it was a bit unclear. Can I get my hardpass at an alterra resort or just a daily ticket to allow me to ikon it without the hard pass?

Yep, just make sure it's an alterra resort. So you'll need to go to crystal first to get a hard pass before alpental. Or if you go to Utah, DV or solitude before LCC, etc.

Had to get my wife's pass at solitude last season due to some ikoness, it was quick and painless.

[jmedslc]

I concur w the above. Solitude doesn’t deserve this!

[DigSki]

^Basically this, and for those of us stuck with Alterra-owned mountains, I wish they would at least eliminate the "unlimited" base pass.

I concur w the above. Solitude doesn’t deserve this!

1000%. I feel like if they limited both base and full Ikon passes and only gave unlimited with a Solitude pass for say 1200 (that also includes an Ikon) they might make more money on passes. They probably wouldn't lose many people, and there are a bunch of people who would for sure pay the extra for unlimited, less crowded 'Tude. Basically the Deer Valley model without the Deer Valley price.

How do we get this feedback to Alterra?

[TurxSki]

You say that...
But you're forgetting how much the peeps with the million dollar home(s)/new suv's/kids in private school/lotsa "toys", etc., bitch about spending $$'s on a lift ticket, or paying for a burger at resort prices.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using TGR Forums mobile app

[jmedslc]

In case of solitude I have found the GM Kim Mayhew to be approachable and responsive. I feel like she would consider the various points and add them to her meeting agendas w the alterra crime bosses. But who knows.

[glademaster]

As a counterpoint, I don't make very much money compared to most people who post here, but whether a season pass costs $500 or $3000, I'm going to buy one at my local hill. Now, with that $500 pass, I'll go fairly often, I'll try not to miss powder days, but I won't be that upset if I only put 30 or 40 days on that pass in the course of a season. If I have to shell out $3000 for a pass, I am going to be skiing at EVERY POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITY, even if it means driving up to ski for an hour or two.

You may turn some people off with expensive passes, but the people who do still buy them at a higher price are going to treat the place like the Red Army treated German women on their way to Berlin.

[Ottime]

I don’t have any of those things turx but no way I could afford an elitist resort that has $1200 passes. Give me a sub $600 non blackout one resort only pass. I don’t need to travel from place to place.

[phatty]

I don’t have any of those things turx but no way I could afford an elitist resort that has $1200 passes. Give me a sub $600 non blackout one resort only pass. I don’t need to travel from place to place.

You're not who Ikon wants. They only want the skier who travels and pays bucks for lodging and food. Ikon does not care about locals who just want to ski at their local mountain. They will continue to optimize for their target base because they know you will just keep buying the pass. Look at all the threads. Every mountain is crowded, all parking is packed. Even though everyone is pissed, we all keep going/buying pssses.

[Toadman]

^Basically this, and for those of us stuck with Alterra-owned mountains, I wish they would at least eliminate the "unlimited" base pass.

Agreed. Alterra would actually make a lot more money by forcing people to pay up for the unlimited pass. My guess is they would see almost no drop off in sales. Maybe next year.

[Ottime]

You're not who Ikon wants. They only want the skier who travels and pays bucks for lodging and food. Ikon does not care about locals who just want to ski at their local mountain. They will continue to optimize for their target base because they know you will just keep buying the pass. Look at all the threads. Every mountain is crowded, all parking is packed. Even though everyone is pissed, we all keep going/buying pssses.

The model I describe works for Epic. They offer a one hill pass for our hill. No blackout. They may not want us, but they do want our money. They know they’d lose pass holders if the only option was a full Epic pass.

I think you are wrong as well. Why would they not want to sell passes that are good at just one of their mountains for essentially the same price as a pass that is good at almost all their resorts with just a few days blackout? They would get you $600 and never need to worry about having to pay Snowbird or Deer Valley, or any other company any money for use of their lifts. They get to pocket that money completely.

[Benny Profane]

After my experience at Hunter today, I can tell that Epic doesn't work.

[old goat]

As a counterpoint, I don't make very much money compared to most people who post here, but whether a season pass costs $500 or $3000, I'm going to buy one at my local hill. Now, with that $500 pass, I'll go fairly often, I'll try not to miss powder days, but I won't be that upset if I only put 30 or 40 days on that pass in the course of a season. If I have to shell out $3000 for a pass, I am going to be skiing at EVERY POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITY, even if it means driving up to ski for an hour or two.

You may turn some people off with expensive passes, but the people who do still buy them at a higher price are going to treat the place like the Red Army treated German women on their way to Berlin.

It took me a long time to get comfortable with the idea of sunk cost--that once the money is spent ski when you want to and not when you don't (rain to the top doesn't inspire me like it used to). Skiing more doesn't mean you paid any less, the money is gone whether you ski or not.

I'm with you and Ottime. I'd rather have a one resort pass, although I suspect a Squalpine only pass wouldn't be a whole lot less than an IKON, if any. And if I do travel I'd rather go where the spirit moves me--I like Whistler a lot if the US and Canada ever reestablish diplomatic relations, not necessarily a place that's on my pass. Or to Europe because the food is so much better.

[old goat]

After my experience at Hunter today, I can tell that Epic doesn't work.

Patrol heard you were coming.

[Djongo Unchained]

I don’t have any of those things turx but no way I could afford an elitist resort that has $1200 passes. Give me a sub $600 non blackout one resort only pass. I don’t need to travel from place to place.

I make do with my change for a nickel, and not much more.

But for me, the value of paying $1500 in may to ski any day, every day at Teton village is the best value I can manage.
We get a free base ikon pass with a full season pass. But I could care less about that. In 2 seasons, I've skied maybe 5 days elsewhere on my ikonical.
I realize skiing the vill 100+ days has few comparables though...kinda apples and bricks for most places.

That's one of the main reasons JH locals want to ditch the Ikon altogether. We don't NEED it and largely don't want it. Way more negs than posi's for us.

Skiing was blower off the hook today.

[skiracer88_00]

I have been enjoying my A-Basin only pass lately. It seems like they are really limiting the ikonic hoards with the reservation system and those of us that shelled up for their pass get a much improved experience.

[phatty]

The model I describe works for Epic. They offer a one hill pass for our hill. No blackout. They may not want us, but they do want our money. They know they’d lose pass holders if the only option was a full Epic pass.

I think you are wrong as well. Why would they not want to sell passes that are good at just one of their mountains for essentially the same price as a pass that is good at almost all their resorts with just a few days blackout? They would get you $600 and never need to worry about having to pay Snowbird or Deer Valley, or any other company any money for use of their lifts. They get to pocket that money completely.

I'm glad the Epic and the way they are managing your hill is working for you. From what I've seen and heard from discussing with friends, the same cannot be said for Alterra owned Ikon resorts. They don't have a local pass options or any way to keep their hills from being overrun. Alterra has shown from their actions they do not really care about their local skiers. In Seattle, they sold over 5000 Ikon passes to Amazon employees alone in 2019, all of which had unlimited skiing privileges. They got a lot of ski travel out of those, but also crushed Crystal with some of the worst traffic they've seen and crowded slopes. I actually benefitted from it because my non-Alterra Ikon hill was less crowded as people took advantage of Ikon and went to Crystal and beyond. Most of my Ikon pass friends took at least one trip to Ikon resorts. I could see the reservation system remaining for non-Alterra Ikon resorts post COVID just to keep the Alta/Snowbirds of the world happy and part of the Ikon fold.

[DigSki]

The model I describe works for Epic. They offer a one hill pass for our hill. No blackout. They may not want us, but they do want our money. They know they’d lose pass holders if the only option was a full Epic pass.

I think you are wrong as well. Why would they not want to sell passes that are good at just one of their mountains for essentially the same price as a pass that is good at almost all their resorts with just a few days blackout? They would get you $600 and never need to worry about having to pay Snowbird or Deer Valley, or any other company any money for use of their lifts. They get to pocket that money completely.

I actually didn't realize Epic did this, and it sounds like a good model both for the consumer and the company.

I do wonder how well it would work at a place like Solitude with other ski options so close by. Let's say visits were limited on both Ikon options, so no unlimited with Ikon. If they charged $600 per Solitude only pass I think that's about 1/2 the price of any other local resort's season pass (can't access prices since a lot of them are off market now). Would it mean that everyone ends up buying the Solitude season pass instead of the Ikon pass and the crowds stay the same? Or is the big draw of the Ikon the ability to hop around resorts, so they'd end up buying that instead and being happy with 20/28 days locally? I don't know the market that well, both seem like possibilities.

[Vt-Freeheel]

Sugarbush has one hill passes in addition to IKON even though they are Alterra owned. This is the final high pricing, was lower in the spring through fall.

[DigSki]

Sugarbush has one hill passes in addition to IKON even though they are Alterra owned. This is the final high pricing, was lower in the spring through fall.

I feel like I'm missing something - why would an adult buy that when an Ikon gives them unlimited access for way cheaper?

[Vt-Freeheel]

I feel like I'm missing something - why would an adult buy that when an Ikon gives them unlimited access for way cheaper?

It's the final high price, cheaper in the spring, the restricted passes are much less than an Ikon then. I was mainly showing that some Alterra resorts have one hill passes.

[Ottime]

I make do with my change for a nickel, and not much more.

But for me, the value of paying $1500 in may to ski any day, every day at Teton village is the best value I can manage.
We get a free base ikon pass with a full season pass. But I could care less about that. In 2 seasons, I've skied maybe 5 days elsewhere on my ikonical.
I realize skiing the vill 100+ days has few comparables though...kinda apples and bricks for most places.

That's one of the main reasons JH locals want to ditch the Ikon altogether. We don't NEED it and largely don't want it. Way more negs than posi's for us.

Skiing was blower off the hook today.

If I lived within and hours drive of the Village, I’d pay $1500. But for 3.5 hours from Kirkwood, I top out about $600. I used to pay $320. Those were the good old days.

I just think everywhere would be way less cluster fucked if we got rid of multi resort passes. I know I’m less likely to visit Jackson since Ikon. Unless I’m full ikonic, then I’m driving my grom there and we are staying at the hostel.

Anyway. I’m not a demographic they care about.