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Northern Rockies/Alberta Big Sky Cuts Tram Access to Lone Peak for Ikon Pass Holders and others......

ADKmel

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Wow...

So a season pass doesn't even get you all the lifts.

WTF

yes but you'll pay and for over 1400 only 10 days! The $1,899 Gold Season Pass will still have unlimited Tram access and the Double Black Pass, which costs $1,449, will include 10 days of Tram access throughout the seas
 

Johnny V.

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If you can choose the day of, it's not too bad. When we were there two years ago (we caught three days of the gathering) 4 out of 5 days the visibility on the top was bad enough not to want to try it. The one sunny day (our first) the line was long enough not to want to bother. Like Jackson Hole, I'd rather be skiing than waiting in a two hour tram line.

Just a view as an IKON Base passholder. If I was a local, my opinion would probably be different.
 

Wendy

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Sounds like they are redefining “base product.”

What if you’re an expert skier who enjoys that terrain on a regular basis but can’t afford the extra fee?
And what if you’re a skier whose ambitions are greater than your skills and you’ve got lots of money to burn?
 

Jersey Skier

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Sounds like they are redefining “base product.”

What if you’re an expert skier who enjoys that terrain on a regular basis but can’t afford the extra fee?
And what if you’re a skier whose ambitions are greater than your skills and you’ve got lots of money to burn?
What if you live in NJ and are stuck skiing the Poconos? Nothing is fair.
 

Dave Marshak

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... I'd rather be skiing than waiting in a two hour tram line.
I've probabaly ridden ski lifts more than 10,000 times in my life, and I've done the Lone Peak tram 3 times. Guess which rides I remember.

I'm pretty sure keeping tourists off Lone Peak is a good idea. I know I've aged out of it.

mm
 

Ken_R

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this is just one of the growing number of resorts who are now seeking ways to mitigate the problems of the added IKON traffic.

Exactly. I totally understand why they do it. Hopefully we will see more of this.
 

noobski

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this is just one of the growing number of resorts who are now seeking ways to mitigate the problems of the added IKON traffic.
This seems right to me. I would wonder if JH might do the same thing with their tram given the 45-90 minute waits that occured this year. Maybe it will drop post distancing, but it seems, right or wrong, what they're feeling the need to do.
 

Crank

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Maybe, just maybe the tram wait times at JH had something to with greatly reduced capacity. What were they carrying - I think it was around 25 people per car?
 

KevinF

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Wow, although not necessarily surprising.

During the last Big Sky gathering the tram was either closed or socked in for all but the last day. When they finally opened it, the line must have been two hours long. No thanks. The rest of Big Sky is so enormous that I don't see the need to wait forever for one lift when there are countless others available. I don't feel like I missed out on something by skipping the tram on that trip.

I haven't skied much off the tram, but what I've skied has been fun. Unfortunately, if the conditions off the Big Sky summit are "awesome", then everybody heads up there. And even when it's remotely worth skiing, there are still long lines.
 

skidrew

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this is just one of the growing number of resorts who are now seeking ways to mitigate the problems of the added IKON traffic.

I don't think Big Sky tram lines are just a result of Ikon and multimountain passes. It was a problem before them. Has it exacerbated it? Perhaps, but any more than all other lift lines? Probably not.

This is really a tool for demand management for all skiers with the hope it will reduce the number of people who use it and keep the lines a bit less crazy.

That said, not sure how well it will work on that count - it will certainly raise revenue. But it just means that on marginal days when lines are not bad they'll be even less bad. And on great days people will pony up - or use their included "free" days from their season pass - and the lines are likely still to be crazy.
 

mdf

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Maybe, just maybe the tram wait times at JH had something to with greatly reduced capacity. What were they carrying - I think it was around 25 people per car?
I'm sure that didn't help, but the lines have always been long.

Snowbird used to sell two different day lift tickets, with and without tram access. Don't know if they still do, but it is a bit irrelevant now that everyone has a pass. Does anybody else have two tiers for lift access?
 

Ron

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I don't think Big Sky tram lines are just a result of Ikon and multimountain passes. It was a problem before them. Has it exacerbated it? Perhaps, but any more than all other lift lines? Probably not.

This is really a tool for demand management for all skiers with the hope it will reduce the number of people who use it and keep the lines a bit less crazy.

Its not Ikon but they are singling out Ikon?
 

Wendy

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What if you live in NJ and are stuck skiing the Poconos? Nothing is fair.
Haha, you have a good point there. I can relate, since I live in PA. :)

No, nothing in life is really fair. But a ski area is a ski area, it isn’t life. I’m honestly not sure how I feel about the tram fees since I haven’t skied at Big Sky for years now. I guess I think it’s too bad that skiing is becoming out of reach for some at a point when the industry is also making efforts to be more inclusive.

The arguments above about mitigating long tram lines make sense. A fee would eliminate posers going up there who don’t belong there, maybe.

So the Ikon pass, as do each of the other multi passes, makes skiing multiple resorts more accessible for people like me. But for the locals who are affected by increasing crowds....I kinda feel bad.

Hey! Maybe this whole fee thing works well and the tram lines aren’t so long anymore.
 
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