Interesting, thanks. Think there were there too many A-basin and Copper pass holders showing up?
On a bad snow season at Taos, I've ridden the lift with many Taos pass holders.
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IKON PASS OFFERS THE GOOD STUFF FOR WINTER 23/24 ON MARCH 16....
- Thread starter Philpug
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On a bad snow season at Taos, I've ridden the lift with many Taos pass holders.
I guessed the Taos locals have been complaining about the lowlifes from CO showing up on powder days.
FWIW, the only time we used our exchange days was 2018 on the way to CA for spring skiing.
FWIW, the only time we used our exchange days was 2018 on the way to CA for spring skiing.
I was bummed to see that, too! Half price days at Taos now, which isn't terrible, but also isn't amazing.
I rode Kachina this season with some guy who was one of the crankiest locals I've ever personally chatted with. Taos is ruined, everything is terrible, Ikon is the devil, etc etc. He says something like "You're here on an Ikon pass, I know you are", at which point I pointed out that my pass said "A-Basin exchange". He takes a breath for maybe the only time on the entire chair ride and goes, ".... oh. A-Basin is cool."
I rode Kachina this season with some guy who was one of the crankiest locals I've ever personally chatted with. Taos is ruined, everything is terrible, Ikon is the devil, etc etc. He says something like "You're here on an Ikon pass, I know you are", at which point I pointed out that my pass said "A-Basin exchange". He takes a breath for maybe the only time on the entire chair ride and goes, ".... oh. A-Basin is cool."
Renewed my full pass for next season. Hopefully I get to use it more than this year!
Sounds painfulI was bummed to see that, too! Half price days at Taos now, which isn't terrible, but also isn't amazing.
I rode Kachina this season with some guy who was one of the crankiest locals I've ever personally chatted with. Taos is ruined, everything is terrible, Ikon is the devil, etc etc. He says something like "You're here on an Ikon pass, I know you are", at which point I pointed out that my pass said "A-Basin exchange". He takes a breath for maybe the only time on the entire chair ride and goes, ".... oh. A-Basin is cool."
We really debated. Came close to choosing an Ikon Winter Park only pass at 1/3rd the cost and then skiing smaller independent ski areas with the savings. Targhee, PowMow, and now Sundance are on my bucket list and we ski Wolf Creek every season anyhow. Plus our home mountain Ski Santa Fe.
But not having the days at Taos And the addition of Alyeska sealed it for us so we went full Ikon. Plus the kids pass on full Ikon is cheaper than the WP only pass. Now if only the kid heals up and is brave enough to get back on skis next season and won't make me kick myself for not buying the insurance. Ugh.
But not having the days at Taos And the addition of Alyeska sealed it for us so we went full Ikon. Plus the kids pass on full Ikon is cheaper than the WP only pass. Now if only the kid heals up and is brave enough to get back on skis next season and won't make me kick myself for not buying the insurance. Ugh.
I was bummed to see that, too! Half price days at Taos now, which isn't terrible, but also isn't amazing.
I rode Kachina this season with some guy who was one of the crankiest locals I've ever personally chatted with. Taos is ruined, everything is terrible, Ikon is the devil, etc etc. He says something like "You're here on an Ikon pass, I know you are", at which point I pointed out that my pass said "A-Basin exchange". He takes a breath for maybe the only time on the entire chair ride and goes, ".... oh. A-Basin is cool."
Many "locals" at many Ikon resorts all blame Ikon on the crowding. Taos is no exception.
The real truth is without the exposure and skiers that comes with the Ikon pass, Taos Ski Valley would probably be out of business by now. The $300+ Million Bacon plowed into the ski valley didn't hurt neither. Boy probably want some sort of return on his money somewhere down the line.
Out of business because the other Ikon resorts would take their share or out of business because they needed more skiers? I'd buy into the former reasoning, but not the latter as Taos managed to survive for decades when Ikon didn't exist. And the former reasoning is what has me concerned about a lot of ski areas that aren't on a megapass and have no interest from the giants to be acquired.
My guess is that @KingGrump meant the latter. Since there are no other Ikon ski areas near enough to Taos to have a major impact.
Taos has been teetering for many years. It desperately needed infrastructure repairs and upgrades. The Blake family had a master plan they weren't able to execute for lack of money. That is why they personally decided to do business with him.
I frankly preferred the old Taos but recognize that as a selfish view. If I want the laid back locals vibe I can stick to Ski Santa Fe or head up to Wolf Creek.
Taos has been teetering for many years. It desperately needed infrastructure repairs and upgrades. The Blake family had a master plan they weren't able to execute for lack of money. That is why they personally decided to do business with him.
I frankly preferred the old Taos but recognize that as a selfish view. If I want the laid back locals vibe I can stick to Ski Santa Fe or head up to Wolf Creek.
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Now if the town could only get enough in tax revenue from all these visitors to shore up the village utility systems...
The heydays of Taos was back in the '90s. When they logged 300K+ skier days per season. Prior to their sale to Bacon, they were slipping below 200K. Not a sustainable trend.
A simple tell tale indicator. Name of their web site. It was skitaos.org when the Blakes owned it. Now it is skitaos.com.
The village had received $1.5 million in the state budget for the water system upgrade. Additional grant money had been acquired by the Ski Co and village totaling $10 million for the upgrade. The project was scheduled to start on 4/10/23.
The good news is the water project will be run by the Ski Co. They have the management expertise to get it done right.
Okay but then Taos is only available on the more premium iKon pass rather than basic. They may still be desperate for skiers but throwing locals a bone.
You and @Jerez know the situation much more than I do. While iKon and Epic can help some ski resorts, I'm still concerned the net impact to the industry in totality is negative for the industry and overall experience. Although I am guilty of buying a megapass so......
Change is the only constant in life.
There are many factors at work changing the ski industry landscape. Covid, work from home, cheap air transport. local population growth/population distribution, internet, short term rentals and mega passes. Just to name a few. There are many more. All have substantial impact to the world we live in. Not just the skiing aspect of it.
Take local population growth/redistribution. Look at Google map along I-15 south of SLC.
For sure. When iKon first came out I was unhappy as it negatively impacted the ski resorts with higher crowds. But I'm also the first to now say that I think local population growth and work from home is now a much bigger factor than iKon with respect to increased traffic and crowds.Take local population growth/redistribution. Look at Google map along I-15 south of SLC.
And as far as I-15, my God. I avoid it as much as I possibly can.
Andy Mink
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I tend to agree with this, at least in some areas. The Tahoe region in general has seen an influx of WFH people who live in the Bay, Central Valley, or even Reno finding they can WFL (work from lift). There were also a lot of people moving FT to the region during the vid. They tended to stay at their 2nd homes longer than normal or many just flooded the VRBOs and stayed long term. That may not be as prevalent now. While I'm sure the mega passes have impact, the ability of people to use those passes, or even local passes, more frequently is certainly a big reason for the congestion both on and near the slopes.
Reno is seeing big jumps in growth; I'm sure a lot of those folks ski too. Same with SLC and the surrounding burgs.
Thanks and yes I forgot to clarify I was referring to my view of the SLC resorts. I have far less personal experience at the other iKon resorts.
true but WFH is slowing and many companies are slowly pulling folks back into office.
It'd be interesting over the next few years to see how things evolve.
I also ponder if this becomes more a trend to buffer locals across more resorts, that over time Ikon and others limit the days with add ons being more common.
somewhat getting folks hooked on a product and dialing back.
