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GrandThingsFor me, it's just the type of people that buy them. I want to ski with the crusty local dude or NS bro that is ACTUALLY skiing obsessed like me. Not the guy who rides 6-7 times a year but claims skiing as his biggest passion and just wants to Apres in the lodge.
I feel like talking about which pass you have is a pretty normal convo on chairlifts, and I've noticed the Ikon passholders are always complaining about conditions and visibility and crowding like "Ohh I wasted one of my days" whereas local passholders, and even day-ticket buyers are just stoked to be out there.
ajbskii guess from a locals perspective at a well known resort it does suck. i would not wait 20 min let alone 1 hour in a lift line.
from my perspective, i love it. my local hill (blue) hasnt seen really much of the negative things you guys are talking about. even on weekends i ski right up to the lift, and generally people here with the ikon pass are better/more passionate at skiing than most of the tourists. it only cost me $650 to renew it. considering that a full pass to blue is $500, i think its well worth it.
cool270outYou guys insist on skiing lift service corporate resorts but get mad when they operate like a business. Why do you all feel like you’re owed any of this? You’d think we’re talking about actual issues with how heated it gets.
eheaththere is a point where business overcrowds and oversells a product, this ruins the product and is actually a bad business decision.
jakeordiehttps://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/snow-sports/vail-resorts-record-ski-passes-overcrowding
BiffbarfThis thread is the exact reason why I laugh when skiers act like they want skiing to be more inclusive.
MikeStreeterHot take but I enjoy the epic/ikon passes. I have owned both in the past and plan to purchase both next year. Planning to get the Epic Local College pass (500 dollars) and Ikon College pass (700 dollars). It is very pricey if you're only skiing a couple days a year but I am able to get 39 days on my epic pass and 6 days at other mountains for only 450? dollars (Epic Local College) this year. I like the variety of mountains that I am able to go to and when I go out west I am able to ski at Vail, Keystone and Breck without having to spend extra money. I use to get the drifter college pass that only let me go to mount snow and other mountains for 399. Yeah there is a lot of people because of the vail acquisition but mount snow was always busy and will always be busy.
eheathnothing wrong with enjoying the epic/ikon if its a full pass to your mountain, its the extra 2-7 days at random resorts that causes all the issues.
eheathliterally ruined the cottonwood canyons in utah, I've been in utah for 15 years and the years since the IKON pas have been the busiest ever, obviously covid last year was a big deal but its just as busy this year
**This post was edited on Feb 14th 2022 at 11:47:38am
eheathI dont think anyone feels "owed" anything, but there is a point where business overcrowds and oversells a product, this ruins the product and is actually a bad business decision.
BiffbarfThis thread is the exact reason why I laugh when skiers act like they want skiing to be more inclusive.
ButteredToast.I absolutely don’t want it to be more inclusive, mountains are already way too busy and it’s getting out of control. The sport does not need to grow, it is already struggling to keep up with demand.
mattytruVail posits it as an inclusivity argument, but I'd say that the issue is more so their proposition of skiing as a vacation/travel sport, rather than a local pastime of folks living in/near the mountains.
As soon as wealthy people from non-skiing areas are able to claim skiing as one of their major passions, without sacrificing other things (economic prosperity) in order to live near skiing, skiers become seen as cosmopolitan elitists rather than dirtbags who have chosen skiing over the rat race. At the same time skiing becomes more expensive because these folks who have made money in outside sectors can bring that money into ski towns and drive up prices of nearly everything.
I don't think this should be a debate over being more or less inclusive, as 'inclusivity' is just a marketing term being used by Vail to justify trying to grow their target markets. Responding to it as such is kind of just falling into their marketing tropes.
I also don't know if there is really a solution in an increasingly globalized and transient world.
DeebieSkeebiesBecause people like OP buy them.
And yeah you guys ruined our local hills
SchoessThe problem is the same as Vail.
You have one ultra expensive pass that makes it much more expensive for local and dedicated skiers to ride at the same resort they used to ride for much less except with wild parking situations, much longer lift lines and further inflated prices on food and shit. Beyond that, the type of person who is there with the ikon pass isnt necessarily invested in skiing like most of us are and are there for the resort experience which includes bigger lodges, more expensive hotel rooms, etc. It facilitates a culture of luxury bullshit that again just sucks
SchoessThe problem is the same as Vail.
You have one ultra expensive pass that makes it much more expensive for local and dedicated skiers
eheathVail has actually done the opposite, an epic local pass is $600.
SchoessYeah they bought up Afton Alps in MN where a pass used to be like $300 and it immediately went to 800 and is now at 600. Half the resort isnt open STILL, the lift lines are absolutely absurd and the food sucks/ costs more too lol. People there buy passes mainly to ski out west but go because they have it.
eheathYeah I mean thats a pretty unfortunate situation, but i'm also surprised they don't sell a cheaper pass for the area.
That being said, the midwest is completely different than anywhere else, most of the resorts vail acquires get cheaper passes, especially in the west.
SchoessYeah I hear you. I'm guilty of having both an Ikon and Epic pass as it's my first season out west but looking into next year, I can't see keeping my ikon at least.
ajbskiI don’t remember where I heard this, but someone arguing how the coalitions are actually good for the snow industry.
apparently it brings stability to resorts. If a resort has a bad snow year and low ticket sales, then it’s losses are offset since another resort in the alliance may have had a relatively good year.
any one know how to get the details of how alterra or vail distribute funding? Is it at based on how many people are skiing at each resort with the corresponding pass? How does that entire system work? Like if I buy an epic pass and mostly ski Whistler, does Whistler get a relative amount of money? If it all goes to vail resorts, how do they allocate their spending appropriately?
