Exactly my line of thinking.
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22/23 Passes
- Thread starter thebigo
- Start date
With the latest Ikon price increase, the Ikon base is now more expensive ($869) then the full Epic ($841). Like wow! Ikon has also removed the renewal discount going forward. And, of course, Ikon base no longer includes Alta. Alterra must be pretty confident in their product because they are much more expensive than Epic.
slatham
Well-known member
Early season base was $769, and this year at least they had a $50 renewal discount so $719. I guess maybe now its $869?
While my motivation for an Ikon pass is family near Taos and Sugarbush, I have really enjoyed having Stratton and 5 days of Killington on it, especially this spring. And I ended up using - and really enjoying - a weekday at Windham LOL. But my general feeling is this past winter the Northeast Ikon areas did better than their Epic competition, had less crowding, and arguably deserve a premium (especially if one likes spring skiing). We will have to see if that holds this winter as I suspect a meaningful shift to Ikon from Epic, and I have to think Vail will have more success running the NE areas this winter (though at some areas thats a pretty low bar).
Edd
Well-known member
After watching Vail's clown show this year, I'd be a confident competitor, also.
The Ikon session pass product also blows. The rate goes from $110/day (4 day pass) to $135/day (2 day pass). Pretty shitty deal for a pre-buy in April with holiday blackouts.
Don't get me wrong, Vail sucks big time. But I am beginning to think that both Epic and Ikon are losing propositions. Better to do a ski3 or Kmart or Indy or A-basin or Cooper, along with a few Epic day passes (for Stowe, of course).
Don't get me wrong, Vail sucks big time. But I am beginning to think that both Epic and Ikon are losing propositions. Better to do a ski3 or Kmart or Indy or A-basin or Cooper, along with a few Epic day passes (for Stowe, of course).
Kingslug20
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Go for it....I think youll get way more out of it.
eatskisleep
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And not from the mountain themselves, but there is local cat skiing too. On my list!
Ikon is cheaper for kids and there is a 100 further discount for a kids pass buying at the same time as an adult pass. So if you are adding kids they almost end up the same.
For a family of 4 with 2 kids under 12 I came up with the following
Epic Local 1902
Ikon Base 1936
New England Silver 2796
White Mountain Super pass 3360
Indy Switch (not Indy plus) 736
Despite all the Epic problems we will probably renew Epic and maybe add Indy. From Boston Epic options are just a bit closer for a day trip. If Ikon would ever add an unlimited option closer to Boston we’d switch in a flash but 5 days at Loon (also crazy busy at weekend) isn’t really enough.
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
Agreed...Ikon has no reason to try to compete with Epic on pricing. Epic is way under-priced. Even Ikon is still probably priced a bit lower than it really should be...
Kusty, I have enjoyed your posts over the years, but in this case you have no idea what you're talking about. This past season I purchased two Epic days and used them at Crested Butte and Stowe. There's nothing Walmart about these places and I paid roughly $65/day. And while Vail has messed up at Stowe, if you go during the week, it's pretty much the same as always, and still effin great.
But, yeah, I am ticked off at Ikon and I'm not renewing. Too many price increases. I am certainly not buying a full Epic Pass either.
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
you are fortunate to be able to ski mid-week and at less crowded locations (CB, not stowe). and the 'epic day pass' product you are talking about is fine if you need a relatively inexpensive any day ticket to a vail owned mountain. $65 per day or something to buy stowe days well in advance. fine and good if you can ski midweek.
if you cannot ski midweek, and you are on home-court in new england, epic is the very definition of walmart skiing. i don't need to re-hash the 300+ pages of vail sucks, but look at what they have done to the on-mountain and on-road crowding situation at nearly every northeast property
if you are fortunate enough to be able to ski mid-week non-holiday, more power to you. most people don't have that flexibility, and for those people - the overwhelming majority - epic pass is hot trash
if i was retired and getting my days m-f, i'd laugh at all the commotion. but as a dedicated weekend warrior for the foreseeable future, i hate what they are doing and have done
if you cannot ski midweek, and you are on home-court in new england, epic is the very definition of walmart skiing. i don't need to re-hash the 300+ pages of vail sucks, but look at what they have done to the on-mountain and on-road crowding situation at nearly every northeast property
if you are fortunate enough to be able to ski mid-week non-holiday, more power to you. most people don't have that flexibility, and for those people - the overwhelming majority - epic pass is hot trash
if i was retired and getting my days m-f, i'd laugh at all the commotion. but as a dedicated weekend warrior for the foreseeable future, i hate what they are doing and have done
Sticking with the Military Epic pass. Price is too good to pass up. Will also have a Wachusett pass for Night League. Not adding anything else. With my sons ski team schedule there's not a lot of opportunity for a lot of ski days in NH/VT.
Too many price increases? Not sure I understand that comment. The overall original early purchase price went up from last year (as did Epic and most other passes). And then after the first early cutoff date, it went up again (as pretty much all passes always have done in the past after the first deadline). Not really sure what is unique or surprising about Ikon here that is ticking you off at them.
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
seriously, i apologize to walmart. no company should be compared to vail.
Ikon pass goes up about 7% per year. Four years ago, you could use the base pass to go to Alta, Aspen, JH, but now you have to upgrade to base pass plus. Maybe I'm wrong, but it sure seems like the renewal discount went away sooner this year. So, yeah, at least with the base, the price has increased while offering less. The base pass is becoming sort of irrelevant, I guess you just take the plunge and go full Ikon. But I'm just not ready to pay $1K for a pass. And it has to be said that the Ikon Session pass is crap.
ss20
Well-known member
How quick people forget that 15 years ago a pass to any major mountain East or West was $900-$2,000....
When Ikon was first released 4 years ago it had access to 23 resorts. Now it has access to 50 destinations. Even Sugarbush was only 5/7 days on the pass a few years ago before Alterra purchased them and it became unlimited. But all these additions don't justify a price increase? And moving premium resorts like Aspen, Alta, and JH to the new "plus" tier makes sense. Bottom line is the original price was too cheap and they're slowly correcting it. $1K for a pass that offers the amount of access that Ikon does is still ridiculous.
Exactly...I'm still paying less now for Ikon than I did for a Sugarbush only pass just a few years ago. And I thought the Sugarbush pass was fairly priced at the time.
ss20
Well-known member
And the premium resorts that are all now off the base are charging WELL over $1,000 for a season pass to their individual mountains.
People also forget that Epic pass mountains are almost all Vail-owned. Alterra owns very few of the resorts on Ikon. They have to cater to all the parties involved... if the option is "lose 10 destination resorts" or "increase the price of the pass".... they're gonna increase the price.
Also when Ikon started there were blurred lines between them and Vail. They were similar products. Now Ikon and Vail are totally differentiated. I think Ikon/Alterra wants to avoid any kind of extreme overcrowding and poor product seen at Vail resorts at all costs.
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