New Product: The Mountain Collective (TM) Pass

thetrailboss · Aug 14, 2012

Alta just released their pass prices for this season and I noticed at the bottom that there is a new program called the Mountain Collective (TM) that is offered through Liftopia.

Announcing the Mountain Collective™, an extraordinary alliance of the world's best independent resorts. This unprecedented collaboration represents a powerful opportunity to experience the ultimate winter. For the 2012-2013 winter season, skiers and riders* are invited to join the Mountain Collective™. Those who join the Mountain Collective™ receive two free days and an unlimited 50% off lift tickets, plus exclusive lodging deals at each of four destinations: Alta, Aspen/Snowmass, Jackson Hole and Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows. With the Mountain Collective™, it's now possible for passionate skiers and riders* to claim thousands of vertical feet and chase ideal winter conditions across Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and California.

http://www.alta.com/pages/themountaincollective.php

So for $349 between now and 11/19/12 you get two free days at each of these resorts, and then 50% off tickets thereafter:

*Alta
*Aspen/Snowmass
*Jackson Hole
*Alpine Meadows
*Squaw Valley

Methinks that this is to compete with Monarch's pass.

Another good option for those that want to come out west every once in a while.....

St. Bear · Aug 14, 2012

I just got an e-mail from Liftopia about this. What a dream would it be for them to offer something similar over here. $349 for 2 free passes and 50% off tickets thereafter to say Sugarbush, Magic, Cannon, and Saddleback.

JimG. · Aug 14, 2012

The Mountain Collective, huh?

Sounds like something the Borg from Star Trek would be into.

Resistance is futile.

Nick · Aug 14, 2012

saw on FB as well, sounds pretty good....

AdironRider · Aug 14, 2012

Nick said:
saw on FB as well, sounds pretty good....

Is it two free lift tickets for use at any of those resorts, or two free tickets per resort? Im pretty sure its the former.

I'll confirm with my wife tonight as she oversees these programs for JHole, but if memory serves I thought she mentioned its two tickets that can be used at any of those, not two lift tix for each one. That being said, this is nowhere near a good deal, especially considering you can get close to this deal (or better at Alta, Alpine Meadows) just by showing up. Two full price lift tickets and a room at the Hostel X is less than 349, and thats at the new $105 peak ticket rate.

And the Monarch pass is joke and is nowhere near the competitive set of these resorts in the "mountain collective". Its (Monarch) really not that great a deal when you look at the resorts that it offers. Mostly feeder hills then the big boys just give discounts. Noone in the JHole, Squaw market is going to get that pass over a Squaw or JHole pass or vice versa.

speden · Aug 14, 2012

I got email about this as well. Sounded interesting at first, but those resorts are all far apart, except the two in California. That's either a lot of flying or a lot of driving, which pretty much offsets what you'd save on buying lift tickets. Would be more interesting to me if it was at five resorts in one area, like SLC or Denver.

St. Bear · Aug 14, 2012

AdironRider said:
Is it two free lift tickets for use at any of those resorts, or two free tickets per resort? Im pretty sure its the former.

I'll confirm with my wife tonight as she oversees these programs for JHole, but if memory serves I thought she mentioned its two tickets that can be used at any of those, not two lift tix for each one. That being said, this is nowhere near a good deal, especially considering you can get close to this deal (or better at Alta, Alpine Meadows) just by showing up. Two full price lift tickets and a room at the Hostel X is less than 349, and thats at the new $105 peak ticket rate.

And the Monarch pass is joke and is nowhere near the competitive set of these resorts in the "mountain collective". Its (Monarch) really not that great a deal when you look at the resorts that it offers. Mostly feeder hills then the big boys just give discounts. Noone in the JHole, Squaw market is going to get that pass over a Squaw or JHole pass or vice versa.

This is a lot of words to say that 2 free tickets are not as good of a deal as 8 free tickets.

However, the e-mail I got says, "Two free days at each".

thetrailboss · Aug 14, 2012

I just read it again and thought that they meant 8 free days. You're right in that it appears to be 2 free days.

AdironRider · Aug 14, 2012

St. Bear said:
This is a lot of words to say that 2 free tickets are not as good of a deal as 8 free tickets.

However, the e-mail I got says, "Two free days at each".

Hence the I need to check with my wife comment. Liftopia implies its two at each, Alta and the other resorts pages imply its only two tickets total that can be used at any of them. I tend to tune out most of my wife's daily updates on these types of things these days.

Honestly, if it is 8 free tickets at 2 per resort, it seems like a decent promotion but I don't think people are going to buy it that much.

They are aiming at maybe 10% of the clientel that frequents these resorts (the I need a good deal types) but then spreading out the mountains in a 'jet set' type grouping.

Honestly, who has the coin to travel to all these places, but not enough coin that they need a deal to do it? Answer: very very few.

St. Bear · Aug 14, 2012

AdironRider said:
Honestly, it seems like a decent promotion but I don't think people are going to buy it that much.

They are aiming at maybe 10% of the clientel that frequents these resorts (the I need a good deal types) but then spreading out the mountains in a 'jet set' type grouping.

Honestly, who has the coin to travel to all these places, but not enough coin that they need a deal to do it? Answer: very very few.

This I agree with wholeheartedly. That may be their thought process though. It's more of a marketing/advertising ploy than a valuable product.

It appears to be organized (or at least managed by) Liftopia. I wonder if there is any ambition to develop something similar on the East Coast? Seems it would be a natural fit given the closer distances and tendency to day trip. Depending on the mountains, I'd be willing to pay even a little more than $349.

thetrailboss · Aug 14, 2012

I had only read Alta's take on it. I just looked at Liftopia and it says two free days plus unlimited 50% days. So it looks like 2 free days, not 8 which is not as great of a promo.

EDIT: SAM is indicating that it is 2 free days at each:

For $349, The Mountain Collective Pass includes two free days at each of the four destinations, plus a 50 percent discount on unlimited lift tickets at each of the destinations, once the complimentary days are used. In addition, passholders will receive exclusive lodging deals throughout the season.

http://www.saminfo.com/news/article.php?tid=5973

St. Bear · Aug 14, 2012

thetrailboss said:
I had only read Alta's take on it. I just looked at Liftopia and it says two free days plus unlimited 50% days. So it looks like 2 free days, not 8 which is not as great of a promo.

Where did you see that? Click the link I posted, in my opinion it's pretty clear that it's 2 passes at each mountain:

The Mountain Collective Pass: Four dream destinations. Two free days at each. Unlimited 50% discount on lift tickets. Lodging up to 25% off.

jaytrem · Aug 14, 2012

The email Liftopia sent out and this page...

http://www.liftopia.com/resort_detail.php?ResortId=2461

say two passes for each resort. Looks like they count them as 4 different resorts, so you would get 8 tickets. It is a bit confusing though how they call things 8 in one spot, show 5 logos and mention 4 resorts.

AdironRider said:
And the Monarch pass is joke and is nowhere near the competitive set of these resorts in the "mountain collective". Its (Monarch) really not that great a deal when you look at the resorts that it offers. Mostly feeder hills then the big boys just give discounts.

Hmmmm, I've been every place except Jackson Hole on the Mountain Collective and every American place on the Monarch pass except Targhee, Indianhead and Arizona Snowbowl. I totally disagree with you. Along with your big mountains come big crowds. If you want 4 PM freshies the so called "feeder hills" are the way to go. The average vertical of these areas is 1665 (not counting Alta, Revelstoke and Targhee), so it's not like they're really that dinky. To each their own, but I think the Monarch pass is a great deal.

St. Bear · Aug 14, 2012

I don't know why I'm defending it so much. I would never buy this pass for the exact reasons AdironRider listed in #9.

I guess I'd like to see it be successful for the (very slim) hope that they'd market an East Coast equivalent.

Riverskier · Aug 14, 2012

Sounds like a great deal for the ski areas assuming anybody wants to buy it! Assuming proceeds are split evenly each resort gets $87.25 for each pass sold. All else being equal, only 25% of the 2 free tickets given away with each pass will be used at any one resort. Following that logic each mountain will only be giving away one free ticket for every 2 passes sold (or $174.50 in revenue). Then, additional tickets sold at the 50% off (plus corresponding F&B, rentals, etc.) in many cases will just end up being additional revenue that the resorts might not have had if people hadn't purchased the pass. Just not sure who this would appeal to, aside from the resorts themselves. It would make more sense, though still not a great deal, if the resorts were all close to each other.

AdironRider · Aug 14, 2012

jaytrem said:
The email Liftopia sent out and this page...

http://www.liftopia.com/resort_detail.php?ResortId=2461

say two passes for each resort. Looks like they count them as 4 different resorts, so you would get 8 tickets. It is a bit confusing though how they call things 8 in one spot, show 5 logos and mention 4 resorts.

Hmmmm, I've been every place except Jackson Hole on the Mountain Collective and every American place on the Monarch pass except Targhee, Indianhead and Arizona Snowbowl. I totally disagree with you. Along with your big mountains come big crowds. If you want 4 PM freshies the so called "feeder hills" are the way to go. The average vertical of these areas is 1665 (not counting Alta, Revelstoke and Targhee), so it's not like they're really that dinky. To each their own, but I think the Monarch pass is a great deal.

You are making it sound like you get full season access to all the resorts on the Monarch pass. Read the fine print and you'll realize its mostly just discounts, especially to the bigger names. You can do better at almost all the resorts included on lift ticket deals than you'll get out of that pass. Fun fact, out west you get 4pm freshies at every mountain. Its not hard with thousands of actual skiable acres.

And Jackson Hole et al arentt crowded unless they call a foot plus during Christmas week, where every hill would be crowded regardless of stature, pricing, or location. This is not the East Coast where everything is tracked up by noon and theres only a couple hundred skiable acres.

thetrailboss · Aug 14, 2012

St. Bear said:
Where did you see that? Click the link I posted, in my opinion it's pretty clear that it's 2 passes at each mountain:

Here: http://www.liftopia.com/resort_detail.php?ResortId=2461

Those who join the Mountain Collective receive two free days and an unlimited 50% off lift tickets, plus exclusive lodging deals at each of four destinations: Alta, Aspen/Snowmass, Jackson Hole and Squaw Valley/ Alpine Meadows. With the Mountain Collective, it’s now possible for passionate skiers and riders to claim thousands of vertical feet and chase ideal winter conditions across Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and California.

jaytrem · Aug 14, 2012

AdironRider said:
You are making it sound like you get full season access to all the resorts on the Monarch pass. Read the fine print and you'll realize its mostly just discounts, especially to the bigger names. You can do better at almost all the resorts included on lift ticket deals than you'll get out of that pass. Fun fact, out west you get 4pm freshies at every mountain. Its not hard with thousands of actual skiable acres.

And Jackson Hole et al arentt crowded unless they call a foot plus during Christmas week, where every hill would be crowded regardless of stature, pricing, or location. This is not the East Coast where everything is tracked up by noon and theres only a couple hundred skiable acres.

I think you need a reading comprehension lesson. 16 of the 19 that show the details are free skiing with no strings attached. It also looks like some of the new places are also going to be freebies. I'm not sure how that qualifies as "mostly just discounts". I guess if you consider free a discount...

As for the crowds, I'm guessing we have a different view on what crowded and not crowded is. I've managed to hit about 120 ski areas out west, so I've been around a bit. if I can't count the cars in the lot I consider it to be too crowded. I know what I like, and a lot of the areas on the Monarch pass I like more than the Moutnain Collective.

AdironRider · Aug 14, 2012

jaytrem said:
I think you need a reading comprehension lesson. 16 of the 19 that show the details are free skiing with no strings attached. It also looks like some of the new places are also going to be freebies. I'm not sure how that qualifies as "mostly just discounts". I guess if you consider free a discount...

As for the crowds, I'm guessing we have a different view on what crowded and not crowded is. I've managed to hit about 120 ski areas out west, so I've been around a bit. if I can't count the cars in the lot I consider it to be too crowded. I know what I like, and a lot of the areas on the Monarch pass I like more than the Moutnain Collective.

Fair enough. If your crowded standard is anything but front row parking then the Monarch pass is perfect for you. I prefer decent terrain and snow conditions and will pass on 90% of those hills. I'll take the best terrain in the country over the B leagues. Squaw is always crowded though, this much blows me away every time.

Red, Loveland and Silverton are the only ones that are worth anything, Revelstoke and Targhee require lodging, and Silverton's availability for use is very early and very late season. Otherwise grandstanding about the radness of Snowy Range, Ski Apache, and the others is not going to make me think its worth it.

jaytrem · Aug 14, 2012

AdironRider said:
Red, Loveland and Silverton are the only ones that are worth anything, Revelstoke and Targhee require lodging, and Silverton's availability for use is very early and very late season. Otherwise grandstanding about the radness of Snowy Range, Ski Apache, and the others is not going to make me think its worth it.

To me the other ones well worth while are Angle Fire, Chine Peak (love the Central Sierras), Durango, Pajarito (great bumps), Powderhorn, Red River (lousy managment, FU Red River (didn't treat my in-laws very well)), Discovery (maybe my #1 area to get back to), Sunlight and Monarch. Different strokes for different folks, I understand and I certainly don't question your preferences. I too enjoy the bigger places, but it seems my most memorable days always end up being at the smaller ones.

PS Silverton is too crowded!!!

New Product: The Mountain Collective (TM) Pass

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