ikon pass details released

[cdskier]

Sunday River and Sugarloaf are further away from Boston than Stratton (which is a full pass now) as well as Killington and equal to Sugarbush so I don't really see the argument.

Losing Wawa isn't the end of the world here.

From Boston itself Sunday River is only 20-25 minutes further than Stratton. And Sugarloaf is only an hour further. No offense to Stratton, but I'd rather drive further to either of those other 2 places. An unlimited pass somewhere has no value if you don't want to ski at that place. Wawa also was a close option for many people in that area for a quick day trip. I can see why losing that would hurt the value of the Ikon for some vs what Max had but I don't think that was the biggest concern anyway.

For some this pass will be better than Max was. For others it won't be. It all depends on your specific situation. To say someone is "crazy" if they don't agree with your point of view on this new pass being better is...well...crazy.

 

[AdironRider]

The only people who seem to think this pass is worse must post on this board, as its a small minority compared to those who think its better, this is 10 times better than the Max in terms of quality of terrain (outside of the NY resorts being dropped) and days offered.

For any Eastern skier that is debating an Epic purchase, this is a no brainer. Compared to the Max pass (which is 779 bucks) the tradeoffs are way better.

I get this is an internet message board and hyperbole is a given, but keep fucking that chicken that the Ikon is worse than the Max. Not many folks are going to agree.

I bet Jackson just gained 25k skier visits at a minimum.

 

[WJenness]

Yep, probably looking elsewhere for next year. (Another metro-Boston day tripper).

I've skied out west a total of 4 days of the 10+ years I've been skiing, so you can give me unlimited days at every resort west of New England, and it adds basically zero value for me.

So for $599 (which is $30 cheaper than what I paid for this year's Max, granted) I go from 45 days max with no blackouts to a max of 20 days with 10 blackout dates. Sugarbush being on there is a nice surprise though.

The $899 price basically would get me unlimited Stratton days, 2 additional Killington days, 2 additional Sugarbush days, and 2 additional Boyne days, and get rid of the blackouts.

I honestly can't see any circumstance other than someone giving me an on mountain condo with the proviso that I couldn't sell it that would result in me saying "Sure, I'll ski Stratton more than 5x this season." So, it's basically an extra $300 for 6 more days of skiing and no blackout days. Yawn. The "No Blackouts" is the biggest pull for me, but it isn't big enough.

Leaning New England Silver pass depending on pricing at the moment.

Will continue to watch options coming down the line.

-w

 

[Jcb890]

The only people who seem to think this pass is worse must post on this board, as its a small minority compared to those who think its better, this is 10 times better than the Max in terms of quality of terrain (outside of the NY resorts being dropped) and days offered.

For any Eastern skier that is debating an Epic purchase, this is a no brainer. Compared to the Max pass (which is 779 bucks) the tradeoffs are way better.

I get this is an internet message board and hyperbole is a given, but keep fucking that chicken that the Ikon is worse than the Max. Not many folks are going to agree.

I bet Jackson just gained 25k skier visits at a minimum.

Again, if you plan to travel... to Jackson as an example, the pass can make sense.
People who are not traveling West next season and don't love Stratton, this pass is worse than the previously-offered MAX.

Also, the MAX was $599 the 1st year, then $629 last year, not $779... unless you mixed up the wording of MAX and EPIC in your post.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

max got up to $779 if you didn't buy early, I think

 

[Zand]

With all of the unlimited skiing they're giving you in the west, the best they could do for unlimited in the east is just Stratton? Even if they threw loon in there it would be infinitely better.

The only thing that's making me consider this is the addition of sugarbush. Otherwise what a slap in the face to the entire east coast.

 

[Jcb890]

max got up to $779 if you didn't buy early, I think

Okay... but this is early-season IKON Pass pricing... right? So $779 is irrelevant because IKON's price will probably jump too after the early-season pricing is over. Probably to something like $749/$1,049 or $1,100.

With all of the unlimited skiing they're giving you in the west, the best they could do for unlimited in the east is just Stratton? Even if they threw loon in there it would be infinitely better.

That's a good point!

 

[FBGM]

This pass is tits. So much better then epic fail pass. Lots of options.

 

[Zand]

Maybe this time next year we'll be seeing Jay on the epic pass. That would be a no brainier purchase.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

or jay on the ikon pass.

and I agree that whichever one gets jay/burke will be making a serious play for my business

 

[Killingtime]

Paid $349 for my Max Pass last year as an add-on and beat the s--t out of it. Steamboat/Gore/Loon/Windham/Belleayre/St Anne. Gonna miss the Catskills for an easy day trip and Gore as a low cost way to ski a fun mountain. The Sugarbush addition is cool though. The question is Wyoming or Utah?

 

[Jully]

The base pass is almost definitely targeted at a replacement for the RMSP.

I wish there was either 1) an add-on option or 2) that the Boyne resorts weren't all lumped together. If you got 5 days at SL, SR, and Loon each, the base pass would be what I'd get and I would be stoked.

Don't know if I will be getting this yet. I do 10 days out west and 40 back east or so. so $899 is steep for what I'll ski as I will need another pass besides this, even if I get the $899 version (I'm not skiing more than 3ish days at Stratton). The only reason I'm looking is because they got Sugarbush added to it. That was amazing of them to get SB on the pass as they really needed one more eastern destination.

I'll be interested in the MCP this year. Probably not Vail even if they get another eastern resort as I'd be too concerned about crowds.

 

[Zermatt]

Prior FAQ:

Will any other mountains be added? No...this is the final list.

Final list....added Sugarbush.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

also added revelstoke, pretty substantial adds. not complaining.

 

[speden]

This looks like a really strong offering for my situation. I can't get that much time off work to ski enough days for the limits to really matter, and the list of eastern resorts is good except for Stratton.

I was thinking of two trips out west next season and the mountains on the list cover a lot of geography, so it should be possible to avoid a region that doesn't get the goods. Might have to throw in a Canada trip too. Revelstoke would be very interesting to me.

Bummer that it doesn't have any days at WaWa. Would probably have to pony up for a few night sessions there for days when I get the shakes and need a fix, but that's not too costly.

 

[boston_e]

The only people who seem to think this pass is worse must post on this board

Right and this is an northeast skiing and snowboarding forum. Clearly, unless someone really likes Stratton, or is in a position to take multiple western trips, this is a step down from Max.

For any Eastern skier that is debating an Epic purchase, this is a no brainer. Compared to the Max pass (which is 779 bucks) the tradeoffs are way better.

I completely disagree about this being better than Max for the northeast skier. Unless you really love Stratton what makes it better? Apart from unlimited at Stratton there are fewer days in NY / New England overall, fewer eastern options, a higher price tag and no add on option.

I think this IKON pass is a total fail for most New England based skiers when compared to what the Max pass was.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

I don't know about it being "better" as a whole, but it is acceptable for sure, and I'm not angry like I thought I would be. also, sugarbush is better than any eastern mountain that was on max. max's huge gaping hole was good terrain in northern vt.

 

[NYDB]

As someone who has a house in Southern VT and was planning to take the family out west next year (and maybe take a boy's trip too) , this gives me a lot of options. K is great. Bush too. This and a Magic pass will work nicely.

 

[sankaty]

Unless something has changed, the Ikon Pass does not include Pico. It seems so strange that it wouldn't, but according to this article, it's explicitly not included per the Killington CEO:

http://mountaintimes.info/killington-joins-ski-industry-new-ikon-pass/

I hope that changes.

I understand that the Ikon pass is great for lots of people, but for folks like me who consider Pico their home mountain, it's a terrible deal. My Pico pass plus MAX add-on last year was around $680 for me. If I still want to ski unlimited at Pico, the Pico pass plus Ikon base would be around $1000. That's a huge increase, and we lose the option to ski Okemo, which is actually the closest mountain to where we stay.

 

[TheArchitect]

For me this is a great pass, at least for next year, but only because they added Sugarbush. $600 for the base pass for me and $150 for my son is less than what we'd pay for SB tickets and now my trip to Jackson Hole next year is covered.