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February, 2025

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Mountains requiring passes for "Large" parks

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Sean...M
Posts: 2450 - Karma: 14
Alright to start off I'm from chicago and if this thread has already been made then whatever, the search on this site sucks ass now and i figured this would be a pretty good topic to talk about

It was my first day ever skiing Winter Park and as I'm approaching Dark Territory I'm stopped and told that i need a pass. First off, it was quite gaper of me because there was a sign and it even said on the trail map that a pass is required.

ANYWHO

I had to watch an 18 minute video on SmartStyle and pay $20 for a seasons pass which I'm obviously not gonna use for an entire season.

My question is, what are your guys' feelings on mountains requiring passes for their exprert park and how to obtain such passes?

It's a really good idea but i think should be modified to where either people under 18 need to watch the video/get a pass or everyone should watch the video and get a pass but shouldn't have to pay $20 to ski a part of the mountain after paying $95 for a lift ticket


14 years ago
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Newman513
Posts: 172 - Karma: 9
Stratton does it, but they're free after you watch a video and take a quiz.
14 years ago
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.jesus.
Posts: 2288 - Karma: 22
it's a fucking good ass idea damn it keeps liability and congestion down. quit bitchin'
14 years ago
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~~~~~~~~
Posts: 2345 - Karma: 2,104
I love it though I can understand your frustration if you weren't previously aware.
14 years ago
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chad.
Posts: 728 - Karma: 27
the pass system enables parks to have way better parks, bigger jumps, more links in the rails, etc. my local mountain charges 5 bucks, 20 is way to much imo
14 years ago
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Balto
Posts: 25987 - Karma: 4,455
20 is fine if you are riding the whole season there, if you can't afford $20 you shouldn't be skiing(or in chad's case snowboarding)

park passes keep gapers out, just look at it that way
14 years ago
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eheath
Posts: 61838 - Karma: 125,536
I fucking wish park city had them.
14 years ago
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jason...
Posts: 9006 - Karma: 780
Blackcomb does it for one park (there are 2 more legitimate parks located on Whistler/Blackcomb that you can shred without passes), yes it is completely the right thing to do. The HL (highest level) park on Blackcomb has gigantic jumps, and they only get bigger as the season goes on. I think kong (the biggest jump) is sitting around 65 right now, and it has a lot of pop too. If your average joe shmoe had an all access pass to stuff like that there would be a hell of a lot more injuries/deaths in the park, and that could result in no more park at all.

I would much rather my mountain had a park pass system as it would keep a lot of traffic/gapers out of the park.

Park passes = a good thing.
14 years ago
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Downtofilm
Posts: 6896 - Karma: 20,395
Well in whistler its like 30$ but you do not need to watch a video just sign a waiver.
I think its good cause it keeps those gapers that ride the blue park and get in peoples way out of the large park. Usually everyone is really safe in the large park so there is no worrying for some nort gaper to get in your way.
14 years ago
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A.Eberhard
Posts: 4426 - Karma: 415
Park passes are the best idea.
- Keeps gapers out of the snowpark from standing on the landings, infront of jumps and rails, stops them from riding lips and stuff
- Let's mountains build bigger features, put in bigger rails, without worrying about getting sued for injuries/death. It allows them to build these features because of the pass and the waiver you sign.

I love it, we have a free public park that is smaller and it is awful. Everything get ruined, it's a safety concern to the people that use it and the people who have no idea what they are doing. Long live the park pass!
14 years ago
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funkmaster
Posts: 617 - Karma: 1,876
it sucks to roll up to a hill you only want to ski at for one day and probably not go back the rest of the season and have to pay an extra $10 and sit through shit just to ride park though...
14 years ago
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pag
Posts: 3412 - Karma: 69
It's dope when you're at your local mountain, keeps the gapers out of the park

But it kind of suck when you go hit another park
Paying a 60-80$ for the ticket + a 20$ fee for a single day it fucking blows.

Here in Quebec the park need a park pass if you have XL set-ups
So most nice park do have Park pass between 10 and 25$ more or less

14 years ago
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.frenchy
Posts: 18231 - Karma: 12,397
Keeps gapers/ vacationers out.. which is good, i wish my mountain had one!
14 years ago
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9240 - Karma: 5,630
yeah. if i go out west and want to hit up a park while im there and can't go in cause i need to purchase a pass which i will only use once, i'm kind of annoyed.

and i don't think it even works that well. the south mountain at creek is still filled with gapers.
14 years ago
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jason...
Posts: 9006 - Karma: 780
budday not everyone who rides blue park is a gaper who gets in everyones way, some people just like rails over jumps. it keeps the weekend warriors out.
14 years ago
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Yung_Gnarley
Posts: 9095 - Karma: 3,073
Keysone NEEDS it.
14 years ago
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OGHolliday
Posts: 2390 - Karma: 2,430
You also need to have day park passes for like 2-3 dollars for those who dont plan on going that many times so they dont have to blow 10-20 bucks on a seasons park pass. at butternut they do it and its actually pretty good keeps mad gapers out.
14 years ago
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Skithedeep
Posts: 645 - Karma: 39
Why not have a standard video to watch, with a standard pass or certificate that works anywhere you wanna use it. seems logical to me, i mean park safety is park safety
14 years ago
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,845
Stevens Pass has one of the better park pass systems I know of.

12 min video
Free day pass
$5 Season pass

If they could only get the gates RFID like the lifts, it would save some poor park crew guy having to check passes at the top.
14 years ago
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funkmaster
Posts: 617 - Karma: 1,876
this
14 years ago
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Balto
Posts: 25987 - Karma: 4,455
but I like have pole duels with david every time I ski through the gate
14 years ago
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skibeest
Posts: 419 - Karma: 103
Look at it this way. I used to moan and groan about having to do the PSP pass at Okemo and SES pass at Stratton but if you go to a local terrain park that doesn't require it, what do you get? Little kids doing the pizza wedge in front of rails and features. I hit a feature and then this gay kid wedged right in front of me and he and I ate it because after coming 20 feet off a cliff jump onto a kid- there's no low impact. Anyway, I got a tounge lashing from his dad about being irresponsible and when I told him about "park ediquite" he just went off on this park rat bullshit. Anyway,  all in all. It's good that they have these because it makes the park better for riders like you and me.
14 years ago
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.brian
Posts: 1710 - Karma: 233
park passes are a sick idea and can work really well to keep gapers out of the park. every mountain with a decent sized park should have a park pass system of some kind.
14 years ago
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ReignMan
Posts: 1852 - Karma: 226
ya it works pretty well. the park this year is super fun.
14 years ago
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Buzz_Lightyear
Posts: 247 - Karma: 19
the pass system allows funding for parks to build bigger and better features plus it keeps gapers out of our parks so 20 bills is a small price to pay for something like that
14 years ago
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Swervasaurus
Posts: 615 - Karma: 185
ya i thought the PSP at Okemo was stupid but all u do is take a quiz and its free and if u dont wanna do that u can just ski in through the woods anyways
its not going to completely keep gapers out of the park but it at least slows them down and thins them out
14 years ago
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gombo8
Posts: 726 - Karma: 131
the RFID take so much longer.. and the park crew have seen you before that day or know who you are/ what you look like they wont stop you and make u pull it out. and i love the fact of passes, it thins out the fuck ups who pizza off a jump and land 5 feets past the lip on a 25 footer
14 years ago
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Utard
Posts: 2132 - Karma: 305
Brighton does it but it's only like $5 for a lifetime pass
14 years ago
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p-fo
Posts: 9372 - Karma: 6,156
basically the best idea ever. im lobbying my mtn for this super hard right now
14 years ago
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Ski_ThEast
Posts: 1676 - Karma: 272
but i still believe they are way too easy to get there are way too many gapers in the park, i also think ski school should have a limit in the park it creates so much conjestion especially in tyro
14 years ago
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TheHamburglar
Posts: 3895 - Karma: 3,317
haha I wish big bear had this
14 years ago
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Ducky.
Posts: 5811 - Karma: 1,420
Best idea ever.
14 years ago
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Simon.k
Posts: 918 - Karma: 1,055
it's a good concept but they should be universal and work at more that just your local mtn.
14 years ago
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OnePlank
Posts: 1212 - Karma: 60
are these passes for park only? or do you have to buy a normal day pass AND the park pass? just wondering cause none of the mountains around me have passes
14 years ago
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84891jnf92048
Posts: 11552 - Karma: 2,550
everywhere needs them.

i am so fucking sick of hitting jump lines and almost hitting Joe Cruiser who decides that the landings are the best place to carve completely across the fall-line.

getting snaked by gapes hitting the sides of rails/jumps while trying to learn a trick is also a fuckin pain in the ass.
14 years ago
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Peter.
Posts: 23796 - Karma: 13,017
park passes at my local mountain do nothing because you have to watch a video and they are free, and all the parents and kids get them and still ride through the park.
14 years ago
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DrZoidberg
Posts: 5676 - Karma: 4,299
Here in NJ at mountain creek, one of the peaks is an entirely park peak and you need a pass to get to it. You have to take an internet/in person test to get the pass too. Doesn't exactly keep all the gapers out, but it must keep a few of them away.
14 years ago
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84891jnf92048
Posts: 11552 - Karma: 2,550
which is why you should need to pass a test, and park passes should be taken away easily.
14 years ago
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Sklar
Posts: 8864 - Karma: 31,612
do all these parks require a pass for someone taking photos or filming?
14 years ago
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HIT
Posts: 3524 - Karma: 4,996
whistler, they just let the filmer kids through
14 years ago
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DUKES
Posts: 5150 - Karma: 691
yeah A51 def needs it you have parents and small kids, and racers go in there. pisses me off
14 years ago
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zagfan5
Posts: 2608 - Karma: 144
this.

smart style seems to be the system everyone is on already anyways. lets just make one video and give it to every ski resort as a standard.
make it a nice sturdy laminated card with a punch hole in the corner to attach onto your jacket or pants just like a season pass.

14 years ago
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will_powder
Posts: 3194 - Karma: 5,445
nakiska and louise used to be 5 bucks...but you got a food voucher for 5 bucks
14 years ago
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Toasty.
Posts: 6198 - Karma: 2,341
stevens pass has been doin it for like 3 years. basically so you cant sue them, cause a guy killed himself tryin a backflip in the park like 4 years ago.
14 years ago
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JIB_WALRUS
Posts: 671 - Karma: 130
if you do get hurt and sue i'm sure a lawyer could easily argue its the maintenance of the park that hurt the "guy" and not stupid people or himself being stupid the only thing it does is keep the real noobs out but even then they manage to get in the whole thing is fucking stupid and shouldn't cost money
14 years ago
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zagfan5
Posts: 2608 - Karma: 144
actually a lawyer cant argue that. as long as the person signed the waiver and is not a minor they legally are bound by the terms of the waiver. and the waiver states that when signed you give up your legal right to sue or hold the ski resort liable for any damages you sustain while in the park.  end of story.
14 years ago
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Funnel
Posts: 7817 - Karma: 1,537
I kind of wish my resort does it. At vacation destinations they really shouldn't do it. They have the money to pay the insurance for a big park and maintain it. Whatever Ma
14 years ago
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ankhou
Posts: 505 - Karma: 238
Waivers don't hold up in court. Every ski resort knows this. What they do is scare people, which reduces the amount of people trying things out of their comfort zone and thus reduces injuries.
14 years ago
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Doug.
Posts: 2236 - Karma: 457
Its good because it keeps the really shitty skiers out. It also gives the park a bit of money to work with. Usually only the skiers/snowboarders that should be in there are in there.
14 years ago
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Kangbang
Posts: 14211 - Karma: 423
i wish big white had this. over the break ive seen to many gapers and adults just snake people and go over the knoll of the jump. also the little kids with that go on the boxes and fall then they start crying and wont move out of the way. i had that happen to me last weekend. i waited like 5 minutes to hit the box. the parents pretty much just stood their.
14 years ago
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matt22matt
Posts: 272 - Karma: 17
bromont has it its good... there wont be whole bunch of kids and randoms people in the park jumping of the lips of rails and such.
14 years ago
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