Aspen’s CEO Addresses Ikon Pass Crowding Issues

The Ikon Pass certainly pissed off a lot of locals last season, but resorts are doing their best to address the issue. TGR photo.

Last season was a come-to-Jesus moment for many mountain towns around the West. After a record winter and the introduction of cheap(ish) Ikon Passes sent people into a ski and snowboard frenzy, many of these towns were forced to face their new reality. Formerly quiet and exclusive places like Aspen and Jackson Hole were turned into playgrounds for literally everyone. Lift lines grew, powder was skied, and locals were irked.

RELATED: JHMR Pens Open Letter on Ikon Pass Skier Visits

To address this issue, resorts were forced to take a long and hard look at the issue. Aspen Ski Co CEO Mike Kaplan addressed Aspen City Council on Monday and laid bare the details of what they can do to accommodate the inevitable this upcoming season. The resort saw a 20 percent increase in visitors over the previous season. According to the Aspen Times, locals constituted about 45 percent of that increase. 40 percent of weekend skier visits were Ikon Pass holders, with most hailing from Colorado’s Front Range and California. 70 percent of Ikon Pass holders were new to Aspen.

Plans for next year include hanging more chairs on lifts that fit them, adding more buses from parking lots to the base area, and building message signs on the access road to inform visitors about current parking conditions. 

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stash member Max Ritter

I manage digital content here at TGR, run our gear testing program, and am stoked to be living the dream in the Tetons.