Epic Pass just got more Epic

[AdironRider]

That is a 1 hour long + lift line. That sucks no matter how you want to slice it.

 

[gregnye]

Nothing can be as bad as this. Not my photo. Was posted on here (or maybe another forum I forget) a few years ago. Taken at Vail Resorts (the village)

 

[BenedictGomez]

That was taken at opening this morning when all lifts were delayed due to avalanche control, so everyone was just standing around waiting. I therefore wouldn't call that an accurate depiction of the mountain today.

Ahhhh, my guess was correct. Thank the lord for Jackson Hole's sake, that looked..... horrible.

 

[BenedictGomez]

The holiday weekend was the slowest weekend for a while, in reality it brings way more people to the same already busy mountains, everyone funneling to the same resorts. I've bought alot of day tickets to obscure mountains on my days off this year. I guess this is the future of skiing.

I do not believe so.

My prediction is that this entire thing falls apart within 10 years, and Robert Katz's name will become something of a joke or a "remember when" in ski circle conversation much the way Les Otten is today.

Why? Because while the pass sales data may look great today, I do not believe this is a financially sustainable model long-term.

 

[jaytrem]

19/20 Ikon details are out. My gamble that it would be god for the end of 18/19 has paid off. No I can start planning next years spring trip. We're going some place warm, where the beer flows like wine, where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano, I'm talking about a little place called Aspen!

 

[BenedictGomez]

We're going some place warm, where the beer flows like wine, where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano, I'm talking about a little place called Aspen!

It was actually Breckenridge, Park City, and Copper Mountain!

 

[AdironRider]

Ahhhh, my guess was correct. Thank the lord for Jackson Hole's sake, that looked..... horrible.

Avi danger is indeed quite high, but it is high quite often at a mountain that averages 450" of snow a year. This happened yesterday, and Sunday. And 4 times last week, and so on and so on. Delayed openings of 15-45 minutes happen a couple dozen times per year. This is not an aberration but the new normal this year.

 

[mbedle]

Avi danger is indeed quite high, but it is high quite often at a mountain that averages 450" of snow a year. This happened yesterday, and Sunday. And 4 times last week, and so on and so on. Delayed openings of 15-45 minutes happen a couple dozen times per year. This is not an aberration but the new normal this year.

I would say that the avalanche danger is at an all time high, considering they closed the back country gates for the first time every.

 

[AdironRider]

This is not true, not even two years ago the pass was closed for almost a week and so was the village due to conditions. We had more snow at all elevations then as well.

It is like you guys are rooting for Jackson to suck.

 

[Zermatt]

This is not true, not even two years ago the pass was closed for almost a week and so was the village due to conditions. We had more snow at all elevations then as well.

It is like you guys are rooting for Jackson to suck.

The village was closed because all the power lines got blown down in a bad wind storm.

Something just doesn't add up for the crowds at Jackson. Where are all these people staying? There are only so many beds within reasonable driving distance from Jackson. If 100% occupancy in your hotels/rentals means hour long lift lines something is wrong. I have to imagine resorts in CO have close to 100% occupancy in peak weeks and they don't have lift line disasters. Are there just thousands of additional people couch surfing and living in campers?

 

[thetrailboss]

19/20 Ikon details are out. My gamble that it would be god for the end of 18/19 has paid off. No I can start planning next years spring trip. We're going some place warm, where the beer flows like wine, where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano, I'm talking about a little place called Aspen!

Doesn't look like the specific day allocation for the partner resorts has been set yet...at least from my read of the site.

 

[Kleetus]

19/20 Ikon details are out. My gamble that it would be god for the end of 18/19 has paid off. No I can start planning next years spring trip. We're going some place warm, where the beer flows like wine, where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano, I'm talking about a little place called Aspen!

Headed there in a couple weeks. Very stoked to see if the legends of flocking women are true [emoji3]

Sent from my SM-G892A using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[KustyTheKlown]

it does look like the full pass was reduced to 7 days per place. wasn't it 9 this year?

i'll almost definitely go ikon base again, but i'd really love to see them add jay and a catskills spot to round out my eastern skiing.

 

[deadheadskier]

This is not true, not even two years ago the pass was closed for almost a week and so was the village due to conditions. We had more snow at all elevations then as well.

It is like you guys are rooting for Jackson to suck.

I don't know about rooting for Jackson to suck, but I'm guessing many of the people questioning you don't realize that you've been a resident of the area for what? A decade?

If you say the crowds are at all time highs, I'm certainly not going to question you.

Unfortunately for you, I don't see Jackson pulling out of Icon. Too much of a high end resort these days. A-Basin being just a ski area and a major metro day trip destination can be a little more nimble.

Sent from my XT1635-01 using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[Jully]

it does look like the full pass was reduced to 7 days per place. wasn't it 9 this year?

i'll almost definitely go ikon base again, but i'd really love to see them add jay and a catskills spot to round out my eastern skiing.

Was 7 and 5 this year too. Wouldn't be shocking if access was reduced at places this next year though.

It's interesting how we're talking about Ikon/Alterra (and I personally believe they might) cares about crowds and/or the partner resorts on the pass might have the leverage to force a change. We don't have those conversations for Epic/Vail. I haven't heard how Telluride and other Epic partners crowds were, but I can't imagine they're substantially better than JHMR or LCC experienced this year.

 

[cdskier]

it does look like the full pass was reduced to 7 days per place. wasn't it 9 this year?

i'll almost definitely go ikon base again, but i'd really love to see them add jay and a catskills spot to round out my eastern skiing.

No, it was 7 this year for the full (although I still interpret the website the same way trailboss does with it perhaps not being a full 7 at all destinations).

I don't think I see Jay being added to any multi-mountain pass until they are sold and we see who ends up buying them. Anywhere in the Cats being added to Ikon is just wishful thinking for people in the NJ/NY area. I don't see any chance of that happening. They just don't fit the Ikon resort destination profile.

 

[Jully]

I don't know about rooting for Jackson to suck, but I'm guessing many of the people questioning you don't realize that you've been a resident of the area for what? A decade?

If you say the crowds are at all time highs, I'm certainly not going to question you.

Unfortunately for you, I don't see Jackson pulling out of Icon. Too much of a high end resort these days. A-Basin being just a ski area and a major metro day trip destination can be a little more nimble.

Sent from my XT1635-01 using AlpineZone mobile app

Could places have signed multi year deals with Ikon? Just because we don't see changes this year might not mean the resorts don't want change.

While I agree the industry is moving towards Epic/Ikon or bust since an interesting plurality of destination skiers have one, AdironRider is right in that Jackson Hole is special. There was no Ikon, but they were setting skier records in recent seasons.

Unless the owners are trying to really maximize profit in the short term, then I'd expect they could do absolutely fine on their own. I know nothing about the owners intentions though, but AR made it seem like they might care about that.

 

[Zermatt]

it does look like the full pass was reduced to 7 days per place. wasn't it 9 this year?

i'll almost definitely go ikon base again, but i'd really love to see them add jay and a catskills spot to round out my eastern skiing.

No, it was 7.

 

[cdskier]

It's interesting how we're talking about Ikon/Alterra (and I personally believe they might) cares about crowds and/or the partner resorts on the pass might have the leverage to force a change. We don't have those conversations for Epic/Vail. I haven't heard how Telluride and other Epic partners crowds were, but I can't imagine they're substantially better than JHMR or LCC experienced this year.

Interesting point, but I think some of that also has to do with the fact that some of our regular members here on AZ happen to have close ties to JH and Utah. Do we have anyone that lives in or near Telluride? They're the only US-based Epic partner if I remember correctly.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

ah, my mistake.

just caught up on the thread.

i haven't really experienced any insane crowding at ikon resorts this year, and i've skied all holiday times.

copper and winter park over x-mas week. no problems really.

copper and a-basin over mlk weekend. really bad traffic up i-70, and we knew enough to get to a-basin early to avoid a parking nightmare, but lift lines were never really bad

revelstoke, lake louise, and sunshine last week. no lines. maybe a few at louise on the snowy saturday. nothing bad.