• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

IKON PASS OFFERS THE GOOD STUFF FOR WINTER 23/24 ON MARCH 16....

crosscountry

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Jun 6, 2021
Posts
1,724
Location
all over the place
There is a pass for you too. Mountain Collective - which next year is supposed to do RFID. On years like this one, where we have had a bunch of stuff going on - we have opted for it. I little more of a hassle as Aspen and JH require reservations - but never had a problem and there is the extra 10 minutes it takes for pass pickup. Skiing Alta/Bird same day was a hassle - now it won’t be,
I'm not a fan of MC. Just because I don't ski a lot of days doesn't mean I want to ski a different mountain every other day!

I had it before IKON came along, to "sample" mountains far away. IKON took that space, with better value. MC isn't all that much cheaper, with a whole lot more restrictions.

It's not a "season pass" per se. It's a pass for people who likes to travel. Not for me.
 

Crank

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Dec 19, 2015
Posts
2,626
We've done the full Ikon pass 2 years in a row and will continue with it.

We spend a blackout week at Sugarbush Day after Christmas to Jan 2 or 3. Last season and this season we skied a week at Jackson Hole. Last season we skied Dolomiti Superski and next Saturday we are headed to Banff for a week. Plus we get a few days at Killington, Stratton and 1 or 2 day trips to Windham in the Cats. Not complaining, too much, about the yearly cost increase - we seem to get our money's worth. And, while it's a silly game when you take into account travel expenses, I like to feel that I'm paying under $50 per lift ticket. 19 days so far so I'm closing in on it.
 

givethepigeye

Really, just Rob will do
Skier
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
1,705
Location
Charleston, SC
I'm not a fan of MC. Just because I don't ski a lot of days doesn't mean I want to ski a different mountain every other day!

I had it before IKON came along, to "sample" mountains far away. IKON took that space, with better value. MC isn't all that much cheaper, with a whole lot more restrictions.

It's not a "season pass" per se. It's a pass for people who likes to travel. Not for me.
I guess you know your path then.
 

crosscountry

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Jun 6, 2021
Posts
1,724
Location
all over the place
it's a silly game when you take into account travel expenses, I like to feel that I'm paying under $50 per lift ticket. 19 days so far so I'm closing in on it.
It's not silly if you're going to ski 20+ days a season anyway, and the pass covers the mountains you want to ski. You're going to incur the travel expense regardless, why not save on the lift ticket?

But for those who aren't skiing 20+ days. It's more a question of what's my lift ticket expense for the year if I only ski no more than 10 days? If I'm perfectly happy to ski some local mountains for less than $75/day, I don't need to spend $800 for my season. Moreover, by not buying a pass, I have no sunk cost. I can ski less. Or not ski at all.

I was in the former pre-Covid. So I was quite happy with IKON. But my skiing days had been dropping each year since. I'm now in the latter situation. Different calculation.
 

Phelmut

German for Northeasterner
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Feb 15, 2016
Posts
1,049
Location
New Jersey
Who is even going to use this?
Book by May 5, 2023 for next years trip; for a whole $100 off.
Destinations haven't even finished promoing the rest of this season, let alone launching their own travel promos for next season.

The people who are frugal going to be pulled in by a $100 off promo until they can try planning their own deal.
The people who are spendy aren't going to be swayed by $100.
The people who are busy and need a concierge don't plan so far ahead, and won't meet the May5th deadline for booking.

I really would like to know the conversation in the room for them to come up with this useless promo.
Hurry, get yours today as it is for a limited time :rolleyes: Be the first on your block.
It's called marketing BS- sounds as though they're giving you something but it's actually useless.
 

raytseng

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Mar 24, 2016
Posts
3,330
Location
SF Bay Area
Hurry, get yours today as it is for a limited time :rolleyes: Be the first on your block.
It's called marketing BS- sounds as though they're giving you something but it's actually useless.
It reminds the current commentary that is pro-tech layoffs, where the rationale is about how many employees on the chopping block are not necessarily lazy or bad, but just churning on useless work that is self-generated by other pointless work-generating employees.
 

Andy Mink

Everyone loves spring skiing but not in January
Moderator
SkiTalk Tester
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
12,911
Location
Reno
How many resorts/areas that are owned by Alterra have their own passes AND Ikon? I can get a full Ikon pass and ski unlimited at Palisades. I could also purchase a Palisades-only unlimited pass for a mere $1599. :huh: Why is that even a thing?
 

SBrown

So much better than a pro
Skier
Contributor
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 8, 2015
Posts
7,846
Location
Colorado
Totally agree with you on that.
There have been great deal of resistance from locals regarding the Ikon pass. Management is trying to thread the line between appeasement and making the numbers.
I am there most of the season. My take is the locals are over reacting. It's so easy to blame the Ikon skiers for all the ills.
I think this is the case in most places, but it's almost impossible to prove.
 

SBrown

So much better than a pro
Skier
Contributor
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 8, 2015
Posts
7,846
Location
Colorado
^^ to expound on that, I went up to Sunlight on a Saturday last season, and they were parking people a mile down the road and sending shuttles after them. At Sunlight. No mega passes, not even much of a population center nearby.
 

Andy Mink

Everyone loves spring skiing but not in January
Moderator
SkiTalk Tester
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
12,911
Location
Reno
I think that the solution is to build a lot more resorts. And move a few of the Rocky Mountains to the Mid West and the East Coast.
We have parking lot snow piles that would warrant lift service in Nebraska! We could move them.
 

raytseng

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Mar 24, 2016
Posts
3,330
Location
SF Bay Area
How many resorts/areas that are owned by Alterra have their own passes AND Ikon? I can get a full Ikon pass and ski unlimited at Palisades. I could also purchase a Palisades-only unlimited pass for a mere $1599. :huh: Why is that even a thing?
The difference is the pass is probably available after ikonpasses are offsale, so It's to capture late purchasers.

Over at VR, when epic passes went off sale they used to hiddenly still offer a "vail resorts" pass for like $2500 throughout the season as well as certain resort only pass.

At the same time they have maintain the promises that the megapass is the best deal, and will not go cheaper, and when it's off sale it's offsale. If the resort wants to pivot they always have to offer a different product...even if the user is going to use it the same way. If something off sale comes back or goes down in price, a customer caught in a pricing window may complain and ask for price adjustment or even sue as fraud, which is a whole legal can of worms.

It's also similar in that you can buy an iKon 4pack but they also have a Palisades 4pack.
To dig deeper, in prev bad seasons, in midseason or spring even if the Palisades 4paks went officially offsale, they would launch out a 3pack or even a spring 2pack, but would never bring back the same offsale product again.
 
Last edited:

John O

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Posts
423
Location
Seattle, WA
I'm surprised by all the comments from people not understanding the point of the base plus pass. If you want to visit one of the resorts that's not available on the base pass, but don't plan to spend more than 5 days anywhere and don't plan to visit during holidays, why in the world would you pay more $ for the full pass? Sure, the full pass is a "better value", but if you don't plan to make use of that value then it's a waste.

Maybe we're talking about a minority of the population here, but for some people it may be the perfect sweet spot. I know that I have fallen into that bucket in the past, where the base plus would have definitely been the right choice based on my plans for the season. Everyone is different.
 

dovski

Waxing my skis and praying for snow
Skier
Joined
Jan 7, 2018
Posts
2,859
Location
Seattle
I'm surprised by all the comments from people not understanding the point of the base plus pass. If you want to visit one of the resorts that's not available on the base pass, but don't plan to spend more than 5 days anywhere and don't plan to visit during holidays, why in the world would you pay more $ for the full pass? Sure, the full pass is a "better value", but if you don't plan to make use of that value then it's a waste.

Maybe we're talking about a minority of the population here, but for some people it may be the perfect sweet spot. I know that I have fallen into that bucket in the past, where the base plus would have definitely been the right choice based on my plans for the season. Everyone is different.
Unfortunately for kids and under 4 the Base Pass Plus is more expensive than the full pass and for Youth it is a difference of about $30. The pricing really does not make much sense.
 

John O

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Posts
423
Location
Seattle, WA
Unfortunately for kids and under 4 the Base Pass Plus is more expensive than the full pass and for Youth it is a difference of about $30. The pricing really does not make much sense.
Yeah, that's fair. I agree that pricing doesn't make any sense at all. But otherwise, there's definitely a valid case for some people to go with the Base Plus.
 

dovski

Waxing my skis and praying for snow
Skier
Joined
Jan 7, 2018
Posts
2,859
Location
Seattle
Yeah, that's fair. I agree that pricing doesn't make any sense at all. But otherwise, there's definitely a valid case for some people to go with the Base Plus.
actually I made a mistake the Youth pass gets a $100 discount for renewal so it is actually about $10 cheaper than the Base Plus. So yes for a full adult pass you can actually save $60 by getting the Base Pass Plus with the renewal discount, the difference is $110 if you are buying for the first time. They clearly are not trying to segment the market with these pricing tiers, Base Pass Plus really feels like a throw away SKU with a bad pricing model. What I really want to see is what are the combined packages for local mountain seasons passes plus Ikon ... would be nice is there was a price break on that .
 

KingGrump

Most Interesting Man In The World
Team Gathermeister
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
12,202
Location
NYC
I think this is the case in most places, but it's almost impossible to prove.

I was in JH in 2014 on two separate occasions in 2014. The wait for the tram was 5 to 6 boats. Gone back in 2019, the first year of the Ikon pass. Locals were screaming bloody murder about the Ikon skiers. Wait on the trams was 5 to 6 boats. :huh:
there's definitely a valid case for some people to go with the Base Plus.

Yup, all three of them.
 

SBrown

So much better than a pro
Skier
Contributor
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 8, 2015
Posts
7,846
Location
Colorado
I was in JH in 2014 on two separate occasions in 2014. The wait for the tram was 5 to 6 boats. Gone back in 2019, the first year of the Ikon pass. Locals were screaming bloody murder about the Ikon skiers. Wait on the trams was 5 to 6 boats. :huh:

yep. I actually had written some stuff about JH but deleted it before posting. The Four Seasons has been there for 20 yr now. Pretty sure Jackson invited the rich gapers all by themselves.
 

dovski

Waxing my skis and praying for snow
Skier
Joined
Jan 7, 2018
Posts
2,859
Location
Seattle
I was in JH in 2014 on two separate occasions in 2014. The wait for the tram was 5 to 6 boats. Gone back in 2019, the first year of the Ikon pass. Locals were screaming bloody murder about the Ikon skiers. Wait on the trams was 5 to 6 boats. :huh:
I was just in JH this week and last week. Aside from first thing in the morning and just after lunch the wait for the tram was only 2-3 boats. During out entire stay the hill did not seem overly crowded even on the weekend powder days. Just saying that even with the Ikon pass JH was not overwhelmed with skiers and the locals were very happy to have us there spending $$ as in Jackson winter is actually the off season.
IMG-20230308-WA0017(1).jpg
IMG-20230308-WA0077.jpg
IMG-20230308-WA0075.jpg
IMG-20230308-WA0019.jpg
IMG-20230308-WA0021.jpg
IMG-20230308-WA0074.jpg
IMG-20230308-WA0044.jpg

PS At $215 a day lift ticket plus tax we got our money's worth from our Ikon pass in just 4 days.
 

KingGrump

Most Interesting Man In The World
Team Gathermeister
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
12,202
Location
NYC
We are in JH this week. Few other forum folks are here also.
Over the years, Jackson has reconfigured traffic around the mountain with the addition of Sweetwater and the Teton quad. Still pretty crowded but spread out better.
OTOH, the proliferation of cat tracks all over the hill really sucks.
 

Sponsor

Staff online

  • Dwight
    Practitioner of skiing, solid and liquid
Top