Pacific NW/AK/BC 2021-2022 PNW Ski Resorts/Conditions/Meetups

[DanoT]

Last year at this time Sun Peaks cut off season pass sales but not this season.

Last year day tickets could only be purchased online and got sold out on holidays only. Day tickets are not an item at this time of year and currently all of last season's SP Covid protocols are in place on their website. It is unclear if theywill manage day ticket sales numbers this season.

Ironically, B.C. due to the Delta variant, is now experiencing the highest Covid case numbers ever. It is difficult to predict what things such as borders and travel will look like a few months from now so I don't know what my ski travel plans will entail.

 

[dovski]

Locally we are seeing more and more businesses require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test before you can enter. This is being mandated in some places by state and local government. At some point it would not surprise me if this got extended to ski resorts.

 

[DanoT]

B.C. has issued vaccine passports, required at most large gatherings as well as bars and restaurants as well as masks where if you are seated and drinking or eating masks can be removed but must be worn going to and from your table.

Retail stores require masks but not vaccine passport.

Things are changing all the time it seems.

 

[Macky]

I got my local pass on mt hood meadows for midweek. And first time in my life i bought some Epic local pass. I am planning to use epic for few road trips ner by me ( 10 -12 drive hours from Portland Or). Definitely some tahoe on this Epic. Sun Valley. Some Utah hopefully and more.. Hoping to chase and catch some powder and fly weight free! (Saying 250l. fat out of shape guy)
of course I do not prepere for skiing as we all should.. screw it.. By March I should be fine, I hope
I Can meet for a pint with fellow skiers and pretend I am expert. Open for ideas .
Have a good, safe and healthy season. Enjoy!

 

[slowrider]

I got my local pass on mt hood meadows for midweek. And first time in my life i bought some Epic local pass. I am planning to use epic for few road trips ner by me ( 10 -12 drive hours from Portland Or). Definitely some tahoe on this Epic. Sun Valley. Some Utah hopefully and more.. Hoping to chase and catch some powder and fly weight free! (Saying 250l. fat out of shape guy)
of course I do not prepere for skiing as we all should.. screw it.. By March I should be fine, I hope
I Can meet for a pint with fellow skiers and pretend I am expert. Open for ideas .
Have a good, safe and healthy season. Enjoy!

Experts have duct tape on their ski gear. Swing by Bachelor for a ski day & beers.

 

[Macky]

Experts have duct tape on their ski gear. Swing by Bachelor for a ski day & beers.

I do not think my Regional Rpic Pass covers Bachelor and it is pricey hill. Like Bend though-( remember old cool and small Bend)

 

[slowrider]

Mt.B tonight

 

[RJS]

Crystal this morning, I believe these are the lowest snow levels we have had so far.

 

[John O]

Crystal announced today that they will be charging for parking on Friday/Saturday/Sundays for non-pass holders. We'll see what the end result is, but I appreciate that between this and moving Crystal to the full Ikon, they're at least trying to figure out a way to improve the brutal crowding problems they had during the 19/20 season.

https://www.crystalmountainresort.com/media/news/parking-announcement

 

[Spinning Wheel]

Crystal announced today that they will be charging for parking on Friday/Saturday/Sundays for non-pass holders. We'll see what the end result is, but I appreciate that between this and moving Crystal to the full Ikon, they're at least trying to figure out a way to improve the brutal crowding problems they had during the 19/20 season.

https://www.crystalmountainresort.com/media/news/parking-announcement

While I appreciate that increasing costs are one of the few levers they have to control crowds, I sincerely hope to see some of that revenue put back as investment in the mountain by Alterra. Crystal has had a master development plan with parking and lift improvements since the mid-2000s and little of it has been done. I fear that Alterra will simply look at the high demand and figure that they can just keep things as-is and take the money.

 

[John O]

While I appreciate that increasing costs are one of the few levers they have to control crowds, I sincerely hope to see some of that revenue put back as investment in the mountain by Alterra. Crystal has had a master development plan with parking and lift improvements since the mid-2000s and little of it has been done. I fear that Alterra will simply look at the high demand and figure that they can just keep things as-is and take the money.

They did say this at least:

All paid parking revenue will be utilized to fund free shuttle bus service from Enumclaw on peak weekends.

So, at least they're not just pocketing the money. That doesn't address the issue of future development, I'd also like to see Alterra make some progress on that as well.

 

[Tom Co.]

Crystal Mountain's prime day lift ticket price is now $149. Add the cost of a parking pass, which is yet to be determined, and you will definitely impact participation. We'll see how much, if any, impact shuttle buses make. They have had weekend buses for years on a very limited basis. Stevens has also tried the shuttles from Sultan with very little impact on parking. I am trying to keep an open mind on this but I'm very skeptical. It just seems like a revenue producer for the owners.

 

[RJS]

I don't know what impact being unlimited only on the full Ikon and having Fri-Sun parking costs will have, but I'm happy that they are addressing the issue of crowding. And they claim to not be pocketing any of the money from the parking fees. Curious how much the parking fees will be. Will this actually deter any weekend BC users from driving to Crystal? Or do most BC users already have Ikon passes and/or aren't fazed by an additional $20 fee or whatever price they decide to charge (it doesn't seem like that's been shared yet).

 

[gilligan]

Not sure why they're charging for Friday other than a money maker. I have Fridays off and other than an occasional Monday, that's the only day I ski Crystal and parking and crowds aren't a problem. But that said, I have an Ikon pass so doesn't affect me.

 

[DanoT]

Not sure why they're charging for Friday other than a money maker. I have Fridays off and other than an occasional Monday, that's the only day I ski Crystal and parking and crowds aren't a problem. But that said, I have an Ikon pass so doesn't affect me.

If they are using the pay parking fees to partially pay for shuttle buses, then why not target the 3 busiest days of the week for pay parking?

 

[markojp]

They did say this at least:


So, at least they're not just pocketing the money. That doesn't address the issue of future development, I'd also like to see Alterra make some progress on that as well.

Crystal will get a new skiers' services building on the foundation of the current admin/rental/ski school sales/retail building. It was pushed back because of Covid. Lift infrastructure at the mountain was actually very good when the area changed hands, and not many places have their groomer fleet (several winch cats), but yes, keeping drivers happy and new folks coming into the system is tough. Fun factoid, but one cat driver has his L3 in alpine, teley, and snowboarding.

 

[DanoT]

Fun factoid, but one cat driver has his L3 in alpine, teley, and snowboarding.

But he would rather drive snowcat...work nights; days off...

 

[CascadeConcrete]

The interesting part of the announcement for me was this:

"passholders will be required to register their plates before arrival so we can gauge capacity."

It's a little ambiguous to me. Does that mean you'll need to register every time you'll come, or just the first time? If the former, then you essentially need to get a parking reservation every time you want to drive down on a weekend?

 

[dovski]

The interesting part of the announcement for me was this:

"passholders will be required to register their plates before arrival so we can gauge capacity."

It's a little ambiguous to me. Does that mean you'll need to register every time you'll come, or just the first time? If the former, then you essentially need to get a parking reservation every time you want to drive down on a weekend?

Big Brother is watching

Last year at Alpental they had to station someone at the parking lot to make sure people trying to park there were actually coming to ski. All the back country lots filled up quickly and many tried to park at Alpental. No charge to park there but they did want to see your pass, I actually liked that as it can often be hard to find parking there.

 

[John O]

The interesting part of the announcement for me was this:

"passholders will be required to register their plates before arrival so we can gauge capacity."

It's a little ambiguous to me. Does that mean you'll need to register every time you'll come, or just the first time? If the former, then you essentially need to get a parking reservation every time you want to drive down on a weekend?

from their Facebook comments, it’s a one time thing for pass holders. And accounts in some way for people with multiple vehicles, with details to come in terms of how to do that.