Season Passes Next Year

I just purchased my epic local pass as well :-D. Down graded from last years epic pass, but very excited regardless. Still have unlimited skiing at Breckenridge, A basin and Keystone. Access to Kirkwood, Northstar and Heavenly with just a few blackout dates and 10 days at Vail and Beaver Creek with the same blackout dates. I am going to be diligent about getting to Tahoe this year so I can really take advantage of this pass. Let it snow!!!

vdk03 said:

I just purchased my epic local pass as well :-D. Down graded from last years epic pass, but very excited regardless. Still have unlimited skiing at Breckenridge, A basin and Keystone. Access to Kirkwood, Northstar and Heavenly with just a few blackout dates and 10 days at Vail and Beaver Creek with the same blackout dates. I am going to be diligent about getting to Tahoe this year so I can really take advantage of this pass. Let it snow!!!

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And of course let me know when you're in town...

MadPadraic said:

I just ordered my epic local. Very psyched. I'll be buying Boyne's silver pass shortly.

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Come out, bring Martin with you!

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/09/02/waiting-on-winter-ski-resorts-seeing-season-pass-sales-increases/


CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Ski resort operators in northern New England are looking past their zip lines and water parks to the winter ahead and they like what they see: The pent-up demand for skiing after last year’s snow drought producing brisk “early-bird” season’s pass sales.
In Vermont, advance ski pass sales are matching or surpassing last year’s sales, said Sarah Neith, director of public affairs for Ski Vermont.
“People are looking forward to a better season,” Neith said. “It’s got to be better.”
Last winter was the toughest on ski areas since 1976, said Jennifer Rowan, publisher of SAM (Ski Area Management) Magazine.
“Anybody’s who’s in the business knows you have to brush off the last season because the next will be totally different,” Rowan said. She’s predicting a great season ahead but readily acknowledges that “we’re eternal optimists. We think we’re going to be shoveling snow starting in October.”
New Hampshire’s Loon Mountain reported sales up 20 percent over last year. Gunstock and Granite Gorge were hovering near the 15 percent mark of increased sales over last year.
Maine’s Sunday River reports season pass sales are 10 percent above where they were at this time last year.
Vermont’s Magic Mountain in the month of April alone sold half the passes it had sold the entire previous season.
“The last few times we’ve had subpar winters, the following winter has been incredibly successful,” said Ski New Hampshire’s Karl Stone. “The pent-up demand does come to the front.”
Greg Sweetser, executive director of Ski Maine, says season ticket sales typically don’t drop following a rough season because those buying them are an area’s “core skiers.”

“The core skier is loyal. They’ve made their purchases,” Sweetser said.
But season pass and daily ticket revenues are no longer the make-it-or-break-it barometer for New England resorts. Many are still counting their returns on investments to cultivate summer visitors, including attractions that offer sports enthusiasts an alternative all year round.
New England resorts largely pioneered the trend of expanding operations beyond the whims of winter weather. Bungees. Zip lines. Ice hockey arenas. Water parks. Mountain coasters. Treetop adventure parks. Drive a Segway scooter up your favorite ski trail. Moose tours at Maine resorts are part of the repertoire as well.
Rowan said it was unheard of until recent years for a ski area to glean 10 percent of its revenues from summer traffic.
“Now it’s not uncommon for ski areas to have 10, 15 or 20 percent of their income coming from summer,” she said.
Rowan said Vermont’s Bromley ski resort was the first in the nation to feature an alpine slide in 1976. Others followed suit. But the real trend toward summer features began at Park City, Utah, a decade ago, with the first ski area zip line.
“It’s such a no-brainer for ski areas,” Rowan said. “We’ve got the gravity. We’ve got the means to get people up the hill. It’s taken off like gangbusters.”
New Hampshire’s Gunstock Mountain Resort in the past year added a network of zip lines to lure some of the 3.5 million summer visitors to nearby Lake Winnipesaukee.
“We shied away from water parks,” said Gunstock marketing director Bill Quigley. “It’s difficult to compete with a lake like Winnipesaukee and its 44,000 surface acres. We focused on gravity-based activities.”
“Only 3 percent of the U.S. population skis,” Quigley said. “The real goal is to give people a place to play.”
At Vermont’s Jay Peak, the day after Thanksgiving last year dawned with only one ski trail open. But Jay Peak president Bill Stenger said the mountain had the best Thanksgiving weekend in its history, thanks to the grand opening of its $25 million indoor water park and a hockey tournament in its NHL-class ice arena.
“They allow us to reduce the dependency on winter that we’ve always had to face,” Stenger said. “We love our ski business, but having a sustainable resort in spring, summer and fall takes the pressure off.

http://www.skiloveland.com/ticketsandpasses/show.aspx Loveland CO. this is so cheap.

Just added a 7 Day Epic Pass for my trip to Vail/Beavercreek and likely atleast Breckenridge and maybe even Keystone in late Feb. It compliments my Peak Nor'easter pass nicely I think!

drjeff said:

Just added a 7 Day Epic Pass for my trip to Vail/Beavercreek and likely atleast Breckenridge and maybe even Keystone in late Feb. It compliments my Peak Nor'easter pass nicely I think!

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Did you buy one for your wife also or are you going to attempt to use the "Ski With a Friend" discount for her? Unfortunatly I don't think they've said exactly what the discount is yet. Might not people to try to play the system too much.

jaytrem said:

Did you buy one for your wife also or are you going to attempt to use the "Ski With a Friend" discount for her? Unfortunatly I don't think they've said exactly what the discount is yet. Might not people to try to play the system too much.

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2 adult Epics and 2 junior Epics purchased. Thought about trying to use the "Ski with a Friend" discount, but there were just too many unknown variables for our comfort level as the early bird deadline loomed. Since we're using points to pay for the hotel and ended up with roundtrip tickets on Southwest in and out of Denver for just over $220 a person, if we end up spending a few extra $$ for the extra adult Epic Pass vs. what the "Ski with a Friend" discount might end up being, we're still quite happy with what this vacation will end up costing vs. what it could have cost!

drjeff said:

Just added a 7 Day Epic Pass for my trip to Vail/Beavercreek and likely atleast Breckenridge and maybe even Keystone in late Feb. It compliments my Peak Nor'easter pass nicely I think!

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I'm looking to book a trip in early 2013 at some point. maybe i'll see ya there

drjeff said:

2 adult Epics and 2 junior Epics purchased. Thought about trying to use the "Ski with a Friend" discount, but there were just too many unknown variables for our comfort level as the early bird deadline loomed. Since we're using points to pay for the hotel and ended up with roundtrip tickets on Southwest in and out of Denver for just over $220 a person, if we end up spending a few extra $$ for the extra adult Epic Pass vs. what the "Ski with a Friend" discount might end up being, we're still quite happy with what this vacation will end up costing vs. what it could have cost!

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Ahhh, cheap flight with FREE luggage, very nice!!! A friend of mine mentioned a bunch of cheap flights from Newark to Denver this year also. Early demand must be down or something.

Nick said:

I'm looking to book a trip in early 2013 at some point. maybe i'll see ya there

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Sat Feb 23rd through Sat March 2nd is when were booked. Although based on what usually happens when me and the family go West for a week, you might want to be in the East that week, as it's usually a guarentee of atleast 1, if not multiple snow storms in New England! :lol:

jaytrem said:

Ahhh, cheap flight with FREE luggage, very nice!!! A friend of mine mentioned a bunch of cheap flights from Newark to Denver this year also. Early demand must be down or something.

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Things literally just fell into place, since we weren't planning on going out West this season. We had a bunch of time restricted "bonus" points from a timeshare that we have in Florida that are set to expire next May, my wife just happened to be looking at places that we could use the points the day that reservations for non owners opened up at the Sheraton timeshare property near the village in Beavercreek, and we had enough points to book it and that same day Southwest was having a sale that had direct flights from Providence (the closest airport to my house) to Denver that both ways had really reasonable departure times, and it was a week that we were already planning on taking off and just skiing in Vermont.

I literally got home from work that day and asked my wife how her day was and her reply was "Great, I booked us a trip to Vail this winter!" Definately wasn't expecting that as a reply! :lol:

drjeff said:

I literally got home from work that day and asked my wife how her day was and her reply was "Great, I booked us a trip to Vail this winter!" Definately wasn't expecting that as a reply! :lol:

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That's a nice surprise to come home too. Have you been to any of those places yet? In my limited time at Beaver Creek it would seem that the expert/ungroomed stuff doesn't get much traffic. Quite nice indeed.

She sounds like a keeper. Good call on getting everyone the epic passes. The ski with a friend deal is not much of a deal at all. The few times I tried to use it last year it was only about 5 bucks off of a full price ticket.

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I was origionally going to get a Squawlpine Bronze pass but might instead get a sierra or even rose pass as they are dirt cheap for unrestricted. I need to cover black outs on my Tahoe Value. I also need somewhere that's not TOO crazy during those days or days its dumping. This is a tough tough call.

vdk03 said:

I just purchased my epic local pass as well :-D. Down graded from last years epic pass, but very excited regardless. Still have unlimited skiing at Breckenridge, A basin and Keystone. Access to Kirkwood, Northstar and Heavenly with just a few blackout dates and 10 days at Vail and Beaver Creek with the same blackout dates. I am going to be diligent about getting to Tahoe this year so I can really take advantage of this pass. Let it snow!!!

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I've been viewing videos of Kirkwood for about a week. Planning on a trip to Tahoe. I'm actually worried about exceeding my supply of 10 days outside of Summit County.

MadPadraic said:

I've been viewing videos of Kirkwood for about a week. Planning on a trip to Tahoe. I'm actually worried about exceeding my supply of 10 days outside of Summit County.

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I was under the impression that it was just ten days limited to Vail and Beaver Creek and at the 3 Tahoe mountains you could ski/ride there as much as you want just not during the blackout dates. I guess I'll have to take a better look. I was a little worried about the 10 day restriction for Vail and BC, but throw in a long weekend in Tahoe and I'm down to 6 or 7 days at Vail. For me it I feel like it really just depends on the snow this year, even with the weak snow last year I could still find good stashes at Vail just because there is so much terrain. If we get some decent snow this year I will probably spend much more time at Arapahoe Basin and Keystone (I don't even think their back bowls opened up last year).

I purchased Hidden Valley unlimited passes for my son, daughter and I in the spring. I'm going to purchase a weekday pass for Mountain Creek for myself, they just went on sale for $249 with the price locked for 4 years if you buy by election day. The last few years I got 2 Triple Play cards for MC but last year I found myself not going a few times I wanted to so I can save the days for later. Hidden Valley doesn't open until 1 PM Monday through Thursday so the HV pass is mostly for weekends with my kids. I had quite a few weekdays when I dropped my kids at school and wanted to ski in the morning but HV wasn't open yet so I figure with the MC pass I'll get to ski weekday mornings more.

http://www.sugarbush.com/vermont-skiing-snowboarding/season-passes today is last day of early cheap rate SugarBush.