maxpass replacement for NYC metro skiers: ikon or epic pass?

gladerider · Mar 21, 2018

if you live in the NYC metro and had a maxpass this year, what are you buying next year?

i know there are a couple threads that touch on this topic, but not specifically for those from nyc metro and i am curious.

i bought maxpass this year when the NY mountains got added and i love it.
went to colorado a couple of weeks ago and loved the fact that you can just go directly to the lifts.

i am leaning towards the ikon base pass. probably get my moneys worth because we have plans to hit sugarbush and tremblant next year. need to plan a trip out west also. planning to hit sugarbush during the presidents' weekend and there is a two day black out so i also need to get their quad pack.

what sux the most is the loss of mountains close to NYC. i had mountain creek, belleayre and windham to hit this year. with ikon, my closest is stratton 4 hours each way. not really a day trip for my family.

prolly buy the ikon base in the next few days.

what are your plans?

kingslug · Mar 21, 2018

Epic...now has Japan resorts which we may hit next year.

gladerider · Mar 21, 2018

kingslug said:
Epic...now has Japan resorts which we may hit next year.

heard great things about Hakuba.

kingslug · Mar 21, 2018

Watched some movies and been checking things out. Have to find the right places that at least we can communicate with..

JimG. · Mar 21, 2018

I have a Belleayre season pass with the MAX add on this year.

I'll qualify first that I got the MAX because of the large variety of Eastern resorts including the Catskills areas. At this point in my life I'm not looking to ski out west. So the loss of the MAX kind of eliminated my interest in any of these multi resort packages.

I'll be getting a Killington/Pico season pass and have to decide whether I also get a Peaks pass or the ORDA 3 in 1 for Belleayre, Gore, and Whiteface. I need a pass that includes at least 1 Catskills area and I have grown to enjoy Belle. Leaning heavily towards the ORDA 3 in 1.

cdskier · Mar 21, 2018

kingslug said:
Epic...now has Japan resorts which we may hit next year.

Clearly a major factor for most NYC metro area skiers! :razz:

If I had been in a situation where I was still doing day/weekend trips to different areas from the NYC area, I honestly don't think I would be able to justify either Epic or Ikon unless I knew I was planning to go out west. There just aren't enough eastern options within a reasonable distance that I'd want to ski enough to make it worth it. Prior to MAX having the NY areas, I probably would have said the same thing about that option though. MAX with the NY areas was in my mind an "ideal" pass for NYC metro area skiers. Neither Ikon or Epic come close to a replacement for that specific market in my mind.

Jcb890 · Mar 21, 2018

kingslug said:
Epic...now has Japan resorts which we may hit next year.

Every time I have looked at flights, they're around $2,000 which ends that planning quite abruptly.

gladerider · Mar 21, 2018

kingslug said:
Watched some movies and been checking things out. Have to find the right places that at least we can communicate with..

some of my friends have used some translation apps on their smart phones out there successfully to communicate.

gladerider · Mar 21, 2018

Jcb890 said:
Every time I have looked at flights, they're around $2,000 which ends that planning quite abruptly.

and it is a long flight. if i were doing that trip, i'd prolly include some other asian cities in the itinerary as well.

Jcb890 · Mar 21, 2018

gladerider said:
and it is a long flight. if i were doing that trip, i'd prolly include some other asian cities in the itinerary as well.

I'm not the biggest fan of long flights either, but I'm more concerned about the price than the length of the flight. However, that has to factor in some as well because you need more time overall for the trip.

KustyTheKlown · Mar 21, 2018

ikon base + ski vermont 5 pack + a return to plattekill instead of windham/belleayre

xmas in colorado (no blackouts)
mlk in tremblant (no blackouts)
presidents weekend probably spend some $ somewhere, or sit it out

gladerider · Apr 2, 2018

i just pulled trigger and bought the ikon base for my family

KustyTheKlown · Apr 2, 2018

when does the price go up? I'm gonna get the ikon base soon I think.

abc · Apr 2, 2018

cdskier said:
If I had been in a situation where I was still doing day/weekend trips to different areas from the NYC area, I honestly don't think I would be able to justify either Epic or Ikon unless

17/18 is the only year such pass was justified for NYC based skiers, especially for day-trippers. Losing the Cats (and MC) means the cost can't be recouped locally.

UNLESS, of course, you're planning to go out west anyway. Then, it's a matter of which mountain you prefer out west.

You'd better figure out that your west trip will at least break even on the pass price. Then whatever eastern mountain you manage to visit will be the gravy.

I'm going with Ikon bass because I have my eyes on Big Sky again (just posted a TR of my trip there last week). That alone, will justify the pass cost. I'm likely to include a few days at Jackson in that same trip. So I'll be ahead in one trip.

In addition to that, I may get to go to Utah (Deer Valley/Alta/Snowbird), Colorado (Copper/WP/Steamboat) or Calgary (Revy/LL/Sunshine), or if I'm lucky with timing, MORE THAN ONE!

Whatever eastern mountain I get to use it for, depends on weather and time. It's not a deciding factor.

KustyTheKlown · Apr 2, 2018

i live in brooklyn, work Monday - friday, and I've had max pass all 3 years in the east for weekend skiing. this was obviously the best year, but it always made total sense, even without a western trip. but i take many western trips, so it went from "total sense" to "no brainer"

gladerider · Apr 2, 2018

KustyTheKlown said:
when does the price go up? I'm gonna get the ikon base soon I think.

not sure if there is a price increase, but the discount for the kids for the base pass is 4/9

lerops · Apr 3, 2018

I am deciding between Ikon Base and Ikon. Just because of school holidays, I don’t want to be locked out.

Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone

KustyTheKlown · Apr 4, 2018

i was having the same struggle, but am going to go with the base pass

for xmas, i'll go to Colorado where it's not blacked out
for mlk, i'll go to either tremblant where its not blacked out, or spend my money in the catskills if conditions are ok
for president's weekend, I'm likely to be out west, and I'd be fine with paying for a few days at targhee (if in Jackson or big sky) or kicking horse (if in revelstoke) etc

gladerider · Apr 4, 2018

KustyTheKlown said:
i was having the same struggle, but am going to go with the base pass

for xmas, i'll go to Colorado where it's not blacked out
for mlk, i'll go to either tremblant where its not blacked out, or spend my money in the catskills if conditions are ok
for president's weekend, I'm likely to be out west, and I'd be fine with paying for a few days at targhee (if in Jackson or big sky) or kicking horse (if in revelstoke) etc

sounds like a solid plan

abc · Apr 4, 2018

KustyTheKlown said:
i was having the same struggle, but am going to go with the base pass

for xmas, i'll go to Colorado where it's not blacked out
for mlk, i'll go to either tremblant where its not blacked out, or spend my money in the catskills if conditions are ok
for president's weekend, I'm likely to be out west, and I'd be fine with paying for a few days at targhee (if in Jackson or big sky) or kicking horse (if in revelstoke) etc

For $300 difference, it's easy to decide.

Christmas is busy, expensive on lodging, rental car and flights. And reality being, the skiing is typically less than great unless one gets "lucky". So having a pass that allow me to ski out west during Christmas doesn't save money, it cost money. I'm most likely going to NOT take the vacation on week following Christmas, but shift it to the week AFTER New Year. (granted, I don't have kids or other family member to coordinate)

MLK and President's Day are both only for 2 days. No biggie. I like Kusty's approach: use those days to check out less touristy mountains nearby. In truth, I haven't skied downhill during President's week for as long as I can remember anyway. (I also nordic ski, so that's what I remember doing a lot of years) So it's really zero impact for me.

In terms of lift ticket cost, it probably end up to break even if I end up skiing downhill. But the shifting OUT of Christmas week will very likely to save me in overall cost. If the weather is such that I really want to ski during the odd days during the holiday period (say, a storm!), I can still ski locally in places like Plattekill, Belleayre. Or even Magic or Burke!

maxpass replacement for NYC metro skiers: ikon or epic pass?

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