Crystal Mountain Becomes Alterra

[altasnob]

Did...did they lower prices?

Midweek last year was $649 - $50 renewal discount so $599

This year it's $679 - $80 renewal discount so $599

I noticed you get a $100 renewal discount if you go from 4 day Ikon Session to Ikon Base or full Ikon.

[phatty]

Interesting. I thought they would have lowered them more.

[jacob_dbu]

So I’m looking at the Ikon vs Crystal full pass prices. Last year I bought a full crystal pass at the behest of a friend who swore we would get our value out of it...not really lol. But with the lower price I decided to consider it again because it's nice to not think about days used and also nice to take a free bump to go tour in the backcountry out there.


$1799 for Crystal - $100 Renewal Discount + Tax (8%) = $1834.92


$1159 for Ikon - $100 Renewal Discount - $50 Covid Credit = $1009


So for Crystal pass you have to pay sales tax and you don’t get the covid credit (which is $50 for me)…kinda shitty. Pretty huge difference. $835 works out to 5.5 days @ $150 / day which is probably about average given I can use F&F discount and prices are cheaper in the spring. I’ve got 12 days this year…so basically that’s break even on next years prices.

Seems hardly worth going for the full crystal pass unless you're going to get 15+ days in guaranteed. Even then, you lose major optionality. I end up doing a few trips a year which takes away from weekends I go skiing at Crystal.

[phatty]

So I’m looking at the Ikon vs Crystal full pass prices. Last year I bought a full crystal pass at the behest of a friend who swore we would get our value out of it...not really lol. But with the lower price I decided to consider it again because it's nice to not think about days used and also nice to take a free bump to go tour in the backcountry out there.


$1799 for Crystal - $100 Renewal Discount + Tax (8%) = $1834.92


$1159 for Ikon - $100 Renewal Discount - $50 Covid Credit = $1009


So for Crystal pass you have to pay sales tax and you don’t get the covid credit (which is $50 for me)…kinda shitty. Pretty huge difference. $835 works out to 5.5 days @ $150 / day which is probably about average given I can use F&F discount and prices are cheaper in the spring. I’ve got 12 days this year…so basically that’s break even on next years prices.

Seems hardly worth going for the full crystal pass unless you're going to get 15+ days in guaranteed. Even then, you lose major optionality. I end up doing a few trips a year which takes away from weekends I go skiing at Crystal.

Ikon charges tax, based on where you have it delivered.

[jacob_dbu]

Ikon charges tax, based on where you have it delivered.

I'm guessing Ikon charges tax in Colorado where they are based, maybe some other states? But seems not to charge tax in WA. Whereas Crystal pass has to charge tax here in WA.

[phatty]

I'm guessing Ikon charges tax in Colorado where they are based, maybe some other states? But seems not to charge tax in WA. Whereas Crystal pass has to charge tax here in WA.

They charged me tax on the Ikon here in WA. They should have to change tax as they have a business presence here due to their ownership of Crystal. If they aren't charging you tax in WA, it's likely a glitch. Count your lucky stars.

[ptavv]

biggest change that seems wildly under-marketed / mentioned here is that a crystal unlimited now comes with an Ikon built in

which is a huge win for me personally, I do 95% of my inbounds days at crystal (south sound living and all) but having free days for schweitzer (when visiting family around holidays) or for a last minute trip is a huge upgrade for very little price change

alterra must've seen that the crystal unlimited pass meant people only skied and crystal and there were very few ikon add ons?

[altasnob]

alterra must've seen that the crystal unlimited pass meant people only skied and crystal and there were very few ikon add ons?

I think the opposite is true. Crystal pass holders are among the wealthiest pass holders on planet earth (think Bellevue tech). They have the money to travel more than anyone, and do travel more than anyone. Including Ikon with Crystal unlimited is really bad news for locals at Mt. Bachelor, Schweitzer, Red, and other places on Ikon not too far from Seattle as there will be swarms of Crystal skiers invading, particularly during school spring breaks.

I think Crystal added Ikon to their unlimited pass because they didn't sell as many unlimited passes as they had hoped last year, and wanted to incentivize more sales.

[ts01]

Threadjack / question for Crystal skiers - I'm flying out to Seattle for a week that will include a few days of skiing probably Mon-Wed April 10 to 12. Question is which skis to bring, between Liberty Origin 96 and Liberty Evolv 90?

Origin 96 - lighter, bamboo/carbon core, twin tip, rockered tip and tail, 96 waist
Evolv 90 - stiffer, damper, less rocker in the tip and a flat tail

I'm inclined to the Evolv 90 because it handles glop and mashed potatoes better - the Origin 96 is more fun in lighter dryer snow but it's not as good in heavy snow.

Reality check before I pack?

[Bandit Man]

Which ones are better in the rain?

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Which ones are better in the rain?

The surface might be coral reef by Tuesday

[ts01]

. I'm OK with rain short of a firehose, but I've already had my fill of coral reef and death cookies.

NOAA is showing mixed precip over the next couple of days with varying snow levels -IDK how that plays out in terms of skiable terrain at Crystal. Worth marital discord to get to Crystal Sunday not Monday?

[altasnob]

Sunday has 6,000 ft freezing levels and rain. I would be in no rush to get there Sunday instead of Monday. Looks like colder air moves in Monday into next week so probably won't rain on you. But may not be enough new to to make the off-piste skiing good. This time of year it doesn't take much sun to soften things up so even if they get a bit of new snow, the south facing stuff will soften into Spring mush and be ok to ski. I'd bring your stiffer skis becuase you may be hitting some groomers looking/waiting for things to soften.

I like to look at the Rainier forecast for freezing levels height, which more or less correspond with Crystal which is just a short distance away from Paradise. Crystal tends to have slightly colder air (so maybe subtract 500 feet from those numbers).

https://a.atmos.washington.edu/data/rainier_report.html

[PNWbrit]

Bring the red ones.

[ts01]

Bring the red ones.

Thanks but I'm bringing the damp ones.

[ts01]

Sunday has 6,000 ft freezing levels and rain. I would be in no rush to get there Sunday instead of Monday. Looks like colder air moves in Monday into next week so probably won't rain on you. But may not be enough new to to make the off-piste skiing good. This time of year it doesn't take much sun to soften things up so even if they get a bit of new snow, the south facing stuff will soften into Spring mush and be ok to ski. I'd bring your stiffer skis becuase you may be hitting some groomers looking/waiting for things to soften.

I like to look at the Rainier forecast for freezing levels height, which more or less correspond with Crystal which is just a short distance away from Paradise but tends to have slightly colder air.

https://a.atmos.washington.edu/data/rainier_report.html

Thanks - very helpful.

[californiagrown]

Threadjack / question for Crystal skiers - I'm flying out to Seattle for a week that will include a few days of skiing probably Mon-Wed April 10 to 12. Question is which skis to bring, between Liberty Origin 96 and Liberty Evolv 90?

Origin 96 - lighter, bamboo/carbon core, twin tip, rockered tip and tail, 96 waist
Evolv 90 - stiffer, damper, less rocker in the tip and a flat tail

I'm inclined to the Evolv 90 because it handles glop and mashed potatoes better - the Origin 96 is more fun in lighter dryer snow but it's not as good in heavy snow.

Reality check before I pack?

-Expect it will rain. If it doesnt rain, expect it will be coral reef.
-Crystal is 2 hours from Seattle which will get old driving there and back each day
-Crystal has an incredible worldclass view of rainier that is truly something to behold. Looks like you probably wont see it though.
- If you value the bases of your skis dont turn left off Chair 6.
-If you see a man with a funny hat who looks like he writes novels, its probably Buster.
-Go to the Snorting Elk to grab beer and food apre. Its on the way back to your car.

[PNWbrit]

Thanks - very helpful.

-Crystal is 2 hours from Seattle which will get old driving there and back each day

This ^

I have a rental cabin 20 minutes from Crystal that's available next week until Thursday morning. If you're interested shoot me a pm.

[The AD]

biggest change that seems wildly under-marketed / mentioned here is that a crystal unlimited now comes with an Ikon built in

I'm going to be in Tahoe in June, so was just checking the Palisades Tahoe website to check on what their operations will be that time of year (Fri-Sun on the Alpine Meadows side, for the record), but one thing of note I learned is that 23-24 Ikon pass holders can start using their passes for skiing there beginning April 10th, so anyone interested in some good spring or even summer skiing should keep this in mind!

[phatty]

biggest change that seems wildly under-marketed / mentioned here is that a crystal unlimited now comes with an Ikon built in

Which is effectively adding unlimited Crystal skiing for $700 upgrade.

I wish Summit would give unlimited passholders a discount on Ikon like many other Ikon resorts do. It might help spread people out a bit.

[ts01]

This ^

I have a rental cabin 20 minutes from Crystal that's available next week until Thursday morning. If you're interested shoot me a pm.

Hmm. For now it's not in the cards but there are many family factors to sort out. Thanks.

[AK47bp]

. I'm OK with rain short of a firehose, but I've already had my fill of coral reef and death cookies.

NOAA is showing mixed precip over the next couple of days with varying snow levels -IDK how that plays out in terms of skiable terrain at Crystal. Worth marital discord to get to Crystal Sunday not Monday?

Don’t overthink. Wear your Gore-Tex, bring either ski and have fun.

Forecasts are notoriously horrible in the PNW so never ditch a ski day based on a future prediction.

Definitely go ski Crystal.

[altasnob]

I wish Summit would give unlimited passholders a discount on Ikon like many other Ikon resorts do. It might help spread people out a bit.

Summit is not an Ikon/Alterra owned resort. Just affiliated with Ikon like Mt Bachelor, Big Sky, Alta, ect.

I'm not aware of any non Ikon/Alterra owned resorts who get a discounted Ikon pass with their season pass. That's one of the main beefs people have. The Ikon hordes invade but they don't get a hook up to go pillage other lands.

[phatty]

Summit is not an Ikon/Alterra owned resort. Just affiliated with Ikon like Mt Bachelor, Big Sky, Alta, ect.

I'm not aware of any non Ikon/Alterra owned resorts who get a discounted Ikon pass with their season pass. That's one of the main beefs people have. The Ikon hordes invade but they don't get a hook up to go pillage other lands.

Alta passholders get an Ikon Base for $299. Snowbird passholders get a Ikon Base for $349. Jackson Hole provides an Ikon Base pass as part of their top season pass for ~$500. Snowbasin includes an Ikon Base in their top pass for $500. Heck, their sister resort, Big Sky, also adds an Ikon Base for $300 on their top pass. That's 5 and I'm sure there's more but I think I've already proven my point.

I would say Snoqualmie are outside the norm of non-Alterra Ikon resorts by not giving passholders a discount on Ikon. Also, 3-4 years ago, Summit Unlimited passholders could buy a Mountain Collective pass for $199, so they have a history of providing discounts on multi resort passes.

[altasnob]

Alta passholders get an Ikon Base for $299. Snowbird passholders get a Ikon Base for $349. Jackson Hole provides an Ikon Base pass as part of their top season pass for ~$500. Snowbasin includes an Ikon Base in their top pass for $500. Heck, their sister resort, Big Sky, also adds an Ikon Base for $300 on their top pass. That's 5 and I'm sure there's more but I think I've already proven my point..

Thanks. I didn't know that. Those are all top tier resorts and I assume they drove a hard bargain when Alterra approached them about becoming an Ikon resort. Summit is not a top tier, and they have other competition in the area, so they can't drive such a hard bargain. Doesn't Altarra already sell more Ikon passes in the Puget Sound than any other market? I think Alterra rather people buy the $1,800 Crystal unlimited pass to get their Ikon than the $700 Summit pass, even it was, say, $300 add on.

Somehow, the pass holders at Jackson and Aspen have clout and the ability to bitch and whine enough to get Alterra to cave to their demands. I don't really understand this. But they are elite resorts with some wealthy pass holders.