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Ikon Pass

GregoryIsaacs

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A HSQ there would be the best single lift upgrade I can think of in the east. I've been saying that since 1997 though, so I'm not holding my breath. Sadly, this will only occur under new ownership, who will screw up and change 101 other things that I currently love, and at that point I'd long for my old, decrepit, slow & cold double.

Id say its probably neck and neck with a HSQ for Attitash....
 

deadheadskier

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I'd rather see Madonna II go HSQ and just shorten Madonna I to start at the Mulcahy crossing.

Keep the high volume trail scraping traffic down low where the best low level intermediate terrain on the mountain is. Keep the top lower traffic and reduce the run out and lift ride time to access it.

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thetrailboss

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I think Smuggs was planning a six-pack for Sterling.


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thetrailboss

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That's overkill.

I thought so as well. I could see a HSQ on Sterling and, as DHS said, one on the lower Madonna side. I think that Smuggs is trying hard to not go into debt. They might be a good candidate for a fixed grip quad/conveyor option.

It amazes me how they continue to get high rankings in the resort reviews DESPITE having such old and slow lifts. That really speaks volumes about what they are doing with the rest of the resort (operations, service, etc.). A lot of the market demands fast lifts.
 

Zermatt

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Good thing there are blackout dates at Niseko. Everyone knows the Japanese all celebrate MLK and President's weekend by taking the whole family skiing.
 

prsboogie

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peaks pass makes no damn sense.

epic has its arguments. one of my best ski buddies loves stowe, the beer scene around stowe, and wants to eventually buy a vacation home in stowe. for him, the inclusion of unlimited stowe was enough. for me, it's not. i dont want to put on that many miles or time in the car. i also ski 40-50 days a season and he skis 20-30. for him, stowe + breck/beaver/vail/whistler is enough. i disagree. but different strokes.
Not quite sure why you think Peaks Pass makes no damn sense? Not everyone has the ability to fly out west to ski once a year let alone multiple times, so it offers a decent pairing of mountains which as DHS mentioned offers limited crowds and mostly easy access.

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x10003q

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Not quite sure why you think Peaks Pass makes no damn sense? Not everyone has the ability to fly out west to ski once a year let alone multiple times, so it offers a decent pairing of mountains which as DHS mentioned offers limited crowds and mostly easy access.

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If you are coming out of NY metro, a Peaks Pass is basically Hunter and Mt Snow, 2 of the most crowded weekend ski areas in the East. Jack Frost and BB are tiny and are just as far as Hunter. Crotched is a fun area, but it is 4 hours and you are not really going to spend the weekend there. Attitash/Wildcat are roughly 6 hours and that means driving by a lot of closer areas.

The Peaks Pass has a lot more value to Mass/RI/CT/NH skiers and PA skiers who ski are JF/BB.
 

cdskier

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If you are coming out of NY metro, a Peaks Pass is basically Hunter and Mt Snow, 2 of the most crowded weekend ski areas in the East. Jack Frost and BB are tiny and are just as far as Hunter. Crotched is a fun area, but it is 4 hours and you are not really going to spend the weekend there. Attitash/Wildcat are roughly 6 hours and that means driving by a lot of closer areas.

The Peaks Pass has a lot more value to Mass/RI/CT/NH skiers and PA skiers who ski are JF/BB.

If you are coming out of NY metro and ski only the east, I'd argue that none of the multi-mountain passes are ideal at this point. Epic and Ikon don't exactly offer much in the east that is easily accessibly to a NY metro skier. For someone to make a blanket statement saying "peaks pass makes no damn sense" is pretty silly. Maybe for that specific person's scenario it makes no sense, but for plenty of other people it makes a lot of sense.

You argue that Hunter and Mt Snow are two of the most crowded weekend ski areas in the east. Doesn't that also mean that a lot of people ski those areas and would greatly benefit from a pass that includes those places? They also happen to be two of the closest major ski areas to the NY metro area. For a NY metro area skier that doesn't want to drive 5+ hours and doesn't plan to go out west, Peaks pass probably makes more sense than either Epic or Ikon.
 

prsboogie

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If you are coming out of NY metro and ski only the east, I'd argue that none of the multi-mountain passes are ideal at this point. Epic and Ikon don't exactly offer much in the east that is easily accessibly to a NY metro skier. For someone to make a blanket statement saying "peaks pass makes no damn sense" is pretty silly. Maybe for that specific person's scenario it makes no sense, but for plenty of other people it makes a lot of sense.

You argue that Hunter and Mt Snow are two of the most crowded weekend ski areas in the east. Doesn't that also mean that a lot of people ski those areas and would greatly benefit from a pass that includes those places? They also happen to be two of the closest major ski areas to the NY metro area. For a NY metro area skier that doesn't want to drive 5+ hours and doesn't plan to go out west, Peaks pass probably makes more sense than either Epic or Ikon.
This. Plus if a pass doesn't work for you doesn't mean it doesn't work for others


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x10003q

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If you are coming out of NY metro and ski only the east, I'd argue that none of the multi-mountain passes are ideal at this point. Epic and Ikon don't exactly offer much in the east that is easily accessibly to a NY metro skier. For someone to make a blanket statement saying "peaks pass makes no damn sense" is pretty silly. Maybe for that specific person's scenario it makes no sense, but for plenty of other people it makes a lot of sense.

You argue that Hunter and Mt Snow are two of the most crowded weekend ski areas in the east. Doesn't that also mean that a lot of people ski those areas and would greatly benefit from a pass that includes those places? They also happen to be two of the closest major ski areas to the NY metro area. For a NY metro area skier that doesn't want to drive 5+ hours and doesn't plan to go out west, Peaks pass probably makes more sense than either Epic or Ikon.

I disagree on the choice of Peaks over Ikon coming out of NYC. Stratton/Pico/Killington/Sugarbush is more interesting than the Peaks choice of Hunter/Mt Snow. If you want a weekend day trip in the Catskills there is always Plattekill.

The NY Ski3 pass includes Belleayre, Gore, and Whiteface for about the same price as the Peaks Pass, another example of a better choice.
 

cdskier

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I disagree on the choice of Peaks over Ikon coming out of NYC. Stratton/Pico/Killington/Sugarbush is more interesting than the Peaks choice of Hunter/Mt Snow. If you want a weekend day trip in the Catskills there is always Plattekill.

The NY Ski3 pass includes Belleayre, Gore, and Whiteface for about the same price as the Peaks Pass, another example of a better choice.

Ikon is limited to 7 days at each resort and Pico is not included. The early Ikon price was $900. If those resorts you mentioned are the only places you plan to use Ikon, then I don't see it being a good choice for the NY metro skier in terms of value. While the resorts may be more interesting on Ikon, the value is not there for a NY Metro skier that doesn't plan to go out west especially if you want to ski more than 21 days. Honestly, you could get a standalone Sugarbush or Killington pass for that Ikon price and ski at either of those an unlimited amount. To me, that's a better value than Ikon for a NY metro area skier. I'd rather ski 30-40 days at Sugarbush or K than 7 at SB, 7 at K, and 7 at Stratton (sure you can expand the distance to include SR, SL, etc for Ikon, but then the argument about Wildcat and Attitash being too far on Peaks pass for a NY metro skier goes out the window).

I'll give you the NY Ski3 being a good choice (but to be fair, no one was talking about that one and the conversation was comparing Peaks, Ikon, and Epic).

If Ikon was unlimited or had at least double the number of days at each resort, then I could see it being a good choice for someone in the NY metro area even if they didn't plan to go out west. As is though, unless you plan to go out west, it just isn't a great deal for people in this area.
 

benski

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Peaks pass is not a bad value for New Yorkers. It has the 2 most popular mountains for New Yorkers and you can take a longer vacation to the white mountains if that is not enough.
 

x10003q

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Ikon is limited to 7 days at each resort and Pico is not included. The early Ikon price was $900. If those resorts you mentioned are the only places you plan to use Ikon, then I don't see it being a good choice for the NY metro skier in terms of value. While the resorts may be more interesting on Ikon, the value is not there for a NY Metro skier that doesn't plan to go out west especially if you want to ski more than 21 days. Honestly, you could get a standalone Sugarbush or Killington pass for that Ikon price and ski at either of those an unlimited amount. To me, that's a better value than Ikon for a NY metro area skier. I'd rather ski 30-40 days at Sugarbush or K than 7 at SB, 7 at K, and 7 at Stratton (sure you can expand the distance to include SR, SL, etc for Ikon, but then the argument about Wildcat and Attitash being too far on Peaks pass for a NY metro skier goes out the window).

I'll give you the NY Ski3 being a good choice (but to be fair, no one was talking about that one and the conversation was comparing Peaks, Ikon, and Epic).

If Ikon was unlimited or had at least double the number of days at each resort, then I could see it being a good choice for someone in the NY metro area even if they didn't plan to go out west. As is though, unless you plan to go out west, it just isn't a great deal for people in this area.

The Ikon Pass is unlimited at Stratton which matches Mt Snow and then you get Killington and Sugarbush for 7 days each.
 
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