Indy Ski Pass

[LonghornSkier]

I have to say one of the bigger gems on Indy might just be Castle Mountain in AB. The closest US resort and not on Indy is Whitefish at 3:30 drive time. Two triples, a crazy long T-Bar and a summit double are all that's there, though they do offer cat skiing in a dedicated area. But 2800' and over 3000 acres with what appears to be legit terrain. Too bad one only gets 2 days per, would make a cool trip in and of itself.

You can combine Castle with Fernie... Not too far from each other.

 

[abc]

You can combine Castle with Fernie... Not too far from each other.

Fernie joined Indy???

 

[LonghornSkier]

Fernie joined Indy???

No, just was saying from a logistical/trip planning point of view.

 

[abc]

No, just was saying from a logistical/trip planning point of view.

Isn't that a bit like the tail that whacks the dog?

Going a long way to ski 2 days "for free" and pay to ski a more expensive mountain nearby...

If I'm going all the way to Alberta, I'd focus on Banff (and maybe tack on an easy detour to Castle just because it's free )

 

[LonghornSkier]

Isn't that a bit like the tail that whacks the dog?

Going a long way to ski 2 days "for free" and pay to ski a more expensive mountain nearby...

If I'm going all the way to Alberta, I'd focus on Banff (and maybe tack on an easy detour to Castle just because it's free )

Fair enough I suppose.

Not to get too off track but I prefer skiing at Fernie to Banff/Sunshine Village. Fernie and Louise are about the same for me (very different mountains but both great).

 

[KustyTheKlown]

the skiing at fernie and the town of fernie are a lot more to my liking than louise and banff. banff is a cool town but its too expensive to stay and its like an hour from louise. fernie has a super chill affordable town basically at the base of some amazing skiing.

 

[abc]

the skiing at fernie and the town of fernie are a lot more to my liking than louise and banff. banff is a cool town but its too expensive to stay and its like an hour from louise. fernie has a super chill affordable town basically at the base of some amazing skiing.

The one trip I went to Fernie, I wasn't particularly impressed. Granted, condition has a lot to do with it. It wasn't at its best. But I was told that kind of iffy condition are quite frequent there. So I put Fermie on the back of the list of mountains I want to go again.

Contrast that, I've had reasonably good experience with Sunshine. Snow had been mostly good for the 3 trips I went. Lake Louise can be good or not so good depends on one's luck.

There're so many good mountains nearby, Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, White Water, Panaramo... Fernie doesn't really stand out in that crowd.

 

[Smellytele]

Isn't that a bit like the tail that whacks the dog?

Going a long way to ski 2 days "for free" and pay to ski a more expensive mountain nearby...

If I'm going all the way to Alberta, I'd focus on Banff (and maybe tack on an easy detour to Castle just because it's free )

wags not whacks for future reference

 

[jaytrem]

wags not whacks for future reference

All depends on what you're in to.

Castle is cool, but can get windy. Mainly effects the upper lift, and you do lose a lot of terrain when that happens. Not much of anything around that area, so no crowds.

 

[2planks2coasts]

All depends on what you're in to.

Castle is cool, but can get windy. Mainly effects the upper lift, and you do lose a lot of terrain when that happens. Not much of anything around that area, so no crowds.

I love Castle!! Yeah it's pretty isolated though. Fernie is cool too, but I would certainly take a trip there and use two Indy days at Castle and buy a day ticket at Fernie.

 

[abc]

Not much of anything around that area, so no crowds.

Calgary is only 2 hr away. Can get crowded on weekends.

 

[jaytrem]

Calgary is only 2 hr away. Can get crowded on weekends.

How long were the lines when you were there? I've only been there on a weekend. No lines except maybe minute or two a the chair to the left. That was like 8 years ago. Has it become more popular? At the time there was almost no lodging available in the area. Center of Calgary is about 2.5, which is further than Lake Louis. To get to Lake Louise you have to pass Olympic Park, Nakiska, Sunshine and Norquay. Would be surprised if Castle is now crowded on weekends with some many closer options for a relatively small city.

 

[Killingtime]

From their website it looks like they are adding some new resorts (plural). Announcement on April 27th regarding pricing and 2021/2022 resort line-up.:

"As we turn our attention to next season we are securing renewals from our 63 partner resorts and signing up exciting new mountains that will add to our growing coalition."

Personally I don't see how they can keep the price at $199 for the base product anymore. Even with a miserable covid year I still managed six Indy days. That works out to $33 a day. I would bet that the average user had a least that if not more. If all goes well next year I should have easily 10+ Indy days. Curious to see the new pricing though.

 

[PAabe]

They seemed to be hinting at a small price increase in a different annoucement

 

[2planks2coasts]

From their website it looks like they are adding some new resorts (plural). Announcement on April 27th regarding pricing and 2021/2022 resort line-up.:

"As we turn our attention to next season we are securing renewals from our 63 partner resorts and signing up exciting new mountains that will add to our growing coalition."

Personally I don't see how they can keep the price at $199 for the base product anymore. Even with a miserable covid year I still managed six Indy days. That works out to $33 a day. I would bet that the average user had a least that if not more. If all goes well next year I should have easily 10+ Indy days. Curious to see the new pricing though.

I'm guessing it'll be $300-ish. Still a pretty sweet deal and maybe better, depending on what other mountains they sign.

 

[PAabe]

I mean $33 per day doesn't seem that insane to me, if I didn't beat $40-50 per day or so I would be better off just continuing to buy night tickets and discount deals rather than the pass

People will spend money on beer and stuff at those places if they can get them to come also especially if the ticket is already paid for it they bring friends or kids. It is a good way to attract new customers and word of mouth advertising too

 

[Ski2LiveLive2Ski]

Epic was $15/day for me this season for generally better places IMO

I mean $33 per day doesn't seem that insane to me, if I didn't beat $40-50 per day or so I would be better off just continuing to buy night tickets and discount deals rather than the pass

People will spend money on beer and stuff at those places if they can get them to come also especially if the ticket is already paid for it they bring friends or kids. It is a good way to attract new customers and word of mouth advertising too

 

[PAabe]

Places on epic considered higher tier but if price structure and driving distances were equal I would actually be more excited to ski the indy places. More places I havent been before, less crowds, less resort-y vibes, and less dominance of groomers. Indy may not have have the best of the west or the mid Atlantic but they do appear to have some of the more interesting of New England imo.

 

[Smellytele]

Epic was $15/day for me this season for generally better places IMO

But indy resorts had no "epic" crowds even on weekends. Also how many days did you ski to get it to 15? I got the indy pass to under 12 in 17 days. It is more of a add on to a regular season pass for most.

In VT I would rather ski Magic and Bolton then Okemo or Mt Snow. Stowe is nice but the stories of the crowds weren't great. And Jay is a good substitute for Stowe.

In NH the horror stories of Wildcat (which I do love) and Attitrash were epic as well. Cannon which in my top 2 in NH was on the pass. Not a fan of Sunapee but it is similar to Waterville. Black is better than the crotch terrain wise.

So in those 2 states the "generally better" sways to the Indy pass.

Then Maine has no Epic and Indy now has Saddleback. Also no Epic in Mass and Mass has Catamount and Berkshire East.

Now if you include Colorado Epic has it all covered where Indy has nothing. But I like what Indy has in the east better.

 

[Killingtime]

But indy resorts had no "epic" crowds even on weekends. Also how many days did you ski to get it to 15? I got the indy pass to under 12 in 17 days. It is more of a add on to a regular season pass for most.

In VT I would rather ski Magic and Bolton then Okemo or Mt Snow. Stowe is nice but the stories of the crowds weren't great. And Jay is a good substitute for Stowe.

In NH the horror stories of Wildcat (which I do love) and Attitrash were epic as well. Cannon which in my top 2 in NH was on the pass. Not a fan of Sunapee but it is similar to Waterville. Black is better than the crotch terrain wise.

So in those 2 states the "generally better" sways to the Indy pass.

Then Maine has no Epic and Indy now has Saddleback. Also no Epic in Mass and Mass has Catamount and Berkshire East.

Now if you include Colorado Epic has it all covered where Indy has nothing. But I like what Indy has in the east better.

Exactly! That's why I'm getting the Indy as an add on to the Epic. As long as they keep the Indy Pass price within reason this year, I'm in again for the third year.