KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
this whole thing is kind of depressing and is causing arguments among my ski buddies
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Sunapee, Okemo join epic pass
- Thread starter Smellytele
- Start date
gmcunni
Active member
with Epic Local you can also plan your vacation to Japan
https://www.epicpass.com/passes/epic-local-pass.aspx
https://www.epicpass.com/passes/epic-local-pass.aspx
Zand
Well-known member
If they end up adding Jay I'll officially bite.
Jully
Active member
Very true. If I was within reasonable day trip range to Stowe, this would be completely different. At least for me.
abc
Well-known member
I know. It's doing that to some of my buddies too.
I bet it'll change again next year
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
one friend is gung ho on epic, which is funny, considering he's never skied stowe before. he skis jay a lot and stays in stowe and eats at doc ponds and then skis further south on the way home on sunday. I'm skiing stowe with him this Saturday, and a part of me doesn't want to show him how good it can be, because after Saturday I'm pretty sure he's gonna be gung ho for the epic
my gripe is not wanting to ski the same place every weekend. my other gripe was not having anyplace relatively close for early season when its not worth driving all the way up to stowe. they resolved that sort of with okemo, but in general okemo gives me a big meh. i also have mileage issues with my leased car, so driving to stowe every weekend would be exhausting, time consuming, and expensive. the ikon gives me south option at Stratton, mid option at K, north option at sugarbush, north north option at tremblant, and then all the maine/loon days. it just seems so much better and more flexible.
and the jay wildcard is gonna screw me either way. we won't know details until after ikon raises its price. and if i had to bet on one or the other, i bet epic gets jay and burke, not ikon.
out west ikon is such a clear winner for me. but back east I'm really struggling to find my 30 days in an affordable and not utterly exhausting way under either option
i miss max already
my gripe is not wanting to ski the same place every weekend. my other gripe was not having anyplace relatively close for early season when its not worth driving all the way up to stowe. they resolved that sort of with okemo, but in general okemo gives me a big meh. i also have mileage issues with my leased car, so driving to stowe every weekend would be exhausting, time consuming, and expensive. the ikon gives me south option at Stratton, mid option at K, north option at sugarbush, north north option at tremblant, and then all the maine/loon days. it just seems so much better and more flexible.
and the jay wildcard is gonna screw me either way. we won't know details until after ikon raises its price. and if i had to bet on one or the other, i bet epic gets jay and burke, not ikon.
out west ikon is such a clear winner for me. but back east I'm really struggling to find my 30 days in an affordable and not utterly exhausting way under either option
i miss max already
I kind of think you won't see anything happen with Jay joining a multi-pass until after they are sold.
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
right, which wont be until may at the earliest, and ikon's prices go up in april.
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
right, which wont be until may at the earliest, and ikon's prices go up in april.
Zermatt
Active member
I'm holding out on Ikon until just before prices go up for the kids.
Still liking options and pricing for Ikon over Epic. Epic pricing for kids 5-12 is more than twice Ikon.
I do like they only blackout Saturday on MLK weekend, would love to see Ikon do that as Saturday is the busiest day by far.
The plot thickens.
lerops
New member
Same here. If I was close to Stowe, it would have made a big difference.
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I'm not really loving the fact that Vail resorts is coming east. Soon, skiing will be a monopoly, where Vail will own everything and they will be able to charge whatever they want.
The northeast was kinda the last place where ski resorts were independent. You used to be able to walk up to the window and find tickets for less than $80. Now, you have to commit to a pass way far in advance of knowing how the season is if you want to avoid paying over $100 a day.
What Vail doesn't realize is that they are killing the sport of skiing. Those beginner skiers aren't gonna pay $100 for a lift ticket on top of rental prices. They also are not going to get a season pass a year in advance. Basically the only way people will be able to learn how to ski is if their family is already rich.
While it is easy to see low season prices and get excited (I do as well), the future of this sport doesn't look bright, particularly for the U.S. Maybe I'll just fly to Europe to ski. After the airfare, I can ski for only 30 euros. What a deal!
Also, backcountry skiing continues to be more and more rewarding...
Someone needs to put a stop to Vail. But hey, this current presidency favors the large business and not the people, so I guess my life/hobbies/wallet doesn't matter.
**End Rant**
P.S. And please don't let them buy Jay. They will ruin Jay Peak!
The northeast was kinda the last place where ski resorts were independent. You used to be able to walk up to the window and find tickets for less than $80. Now, you have to commit to a pass way far in advance of knowing how the season is if you want to avoid paying over $100 a day.
What Vail doesn't realize is that they are killing the sport of skiing. Those beginner skiers aren't gonna pay $100 for a lift ticket on top of rental prices. They also are not going to get a season pass a year in advance. Basically the only way people will be able to learn how to ski is if their family is already rich.
While it is easy to see low season prices and get excited (I do as well), the future of this sport doesn't look bright, particularly for the U.S. Maybe I'll just fly to Europe to ski. After the airfare, I can ski for only 30 euros. What a deal!
Also, backcountry skiing continues to be more and more rewarding...
Someone needs to put a stop to Vail. But hey, this current presidency favors the large business and not the people, so I guess my life/hobbies/wallet doesn't matter.
**End Rant**
P.S. And please don't let them buy Jay. They will ruin Jay Peak!
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Vail still only owns one resort in the east.
abc
Well-known member
You make Vail the worst evil because it’s a successful business?
Our life had been controlled by corporations for quite a while, in many aspects. Look at Facebook. It’s the largest, in fact the ONLY platform for people to connect electronically. Say you discovered something juicy about Mark Zuckerburg, what do you think your chance of posting that on FB for all the see?
If Vail wants to, they can offer enough money that Nick can’t resist to have Vail own Alpine zone!
I quite agree with you on what Vail did that’s bad for the industry. But I don’t think it’s unique to Vail.
Our life had been controlled by corporations for quite a while, in many aspects. Look at Facebook. It’s the largest, in fact the ONLY platform for people to connect electronically. Say you discovered something juicy about Mark Zuckerburg, what do you think your chance of posting that on FB for all the see?
If Vail wants to, they can offer enough money that Nick can’t resist to have Vail own Alpine zone!
I quite agree with you on what Vail did that’s bad for the industry. But I don’t think it’s unique to Vail.
Agreed. Day ticket rates in the east were on the rise long before Vail bought Stowe. I've been saying for probably a number of years at this point that I think day ticket rates are a problem...and yet when you look at the mountains themselves, there are still tons of people out there. Are high day ticket prices not having the impact people projected it would on declining skier visits? Or are people shifting their ticket strategies to adjust? (i.e. more season passes, more deal hunting, etc).
I'm sure there is a lot of shifting of strategies in how people are purchasing lift tickets.
I'd love to know the percentage of skiers on any given day at a resort who are using some sort of pass (either resort season pass or Max pass) vs day ticket as compared to 10 or 15 years ago. Id bet it is much higher now.
The different strategy does increase "loyalty" I would think... I mean, once you have a pass and can ski for nothing out of pocket at a certain place, who would ever go and spend $100+ per ticket if they can go and ski at their home area for nothing out of pocket on that day.
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
ugh, Colorado buddy who was gung ho for ikon is now talking epic pass. really screws up my intentions to ski with said buddy in co and other western ikon destinations. this ikon v. epic battle is tearing my little ski world apart. an epic day at stowe (no pun intended) this past Saturday, didn't help my cause with respect to pushing friends toward ikon. stowe is just too far to do every weekend, and okemo/Sunapee are a big fat no thank you.
The products as presented will drive a lot of people back to just doing a season pass at their "home" resort. And I know what you mean about tearing peoples ski worlds apart.... it makes it much less likely someone will ski with friends who have a different pass than you do. Not many people are going to buy $100+ day tickets once you have a pass for somewhere else.
Thinking about Ikon vs Epic.... is Stratton really that much more of a draw than Okemo? And Sugarbush is almost as far as Stowe I would think.
IMO, neither is too appealing to the Northeast skier unless Stowe or Stratton is already your home resort.
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
Stratton is closer to home and is almost 1000 feet higher up, which can make a difference in fickle southern Vermont. the terrain at okemo and Stratton both suck, but I give Stratton the edge on their tree skiing offerings. yes, sugarbush is almost as far as stowe, but I'd much rather have options at killington and stratton further south as opposed to okemo and Sunapee. I would literally never go to Sunapee.
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