Sunapee, Okemo join epic pass

[boston_e]

Stratton is closer to home and is almost 1000 feet higher up, which can make a difference in fickle southern Vermont. the terrain at okemo and Stratton both suck, but I give Stratton the edge on their tree skiing offerings. yes, sugarbush is almost as far as stowe, but I'd much rather have options at killington and stratton further south as opposed to okemo and Sunapee. I would literally never go to Sunapee.

I can see that... plus unlimited at something closer to home vs unlimited farther away.

Keep in mind that Killington has said on their facebook page that Pico is not included in the Ikon offering. Might be worth confirming this if Pico is important to you as part of the package.

 

[Jcb890]

P.S. And please don't let them buy Jay. They will ruin Jay Peak!

This part of the post made me laugh. Ruin it, how? By running lifts?

 

[gregnye]

This part of the post made me laugh. Ruin it, how? By running lifts?

It's easy to generate a list of how to ruin Jay
-More crowds because it would be on the epic pass
-Bonnie 6-pack would happen. Say goodbye to skiing fresh snow after 1 hour on a powder day
-More people from New York. Maybe it's because I'm from Mass, but I hate the NYC vibe. Vermonters are much more down to earth/chill.
-More condos/development.
--Higher day prices. No more gas station 2 for 1's.

Really the only positive thing out of a purchase might be that there would be less "fake" or "debatable" wind holds.

Overall, Jay Peak is basically the Cannon of Vermont (with better snow of course) and should retain the vibe of Cannon. I don't see that happening under epic.

 

[gregnye]

You make Vail the worst evil because it’s a successful business?

I like successful businesses. However I don't like monopolies. There's a point where a business gets so large that it controls everything. Most extreme example is Disney. I see Vail resorts becoming the Disney of skiing.

Not every ski area needs to be a 5 star resort that caters to the ultra rich. On that note, perhaps Vail could buy out the Hermitage club, since it fits their style.

 

[Jcb890]

It's easy to generate a list of how to ruin Jay
-More crowds because it would be on the epic pass
-Bonnie 6-pack would happen. Say goodbye to skiing fresh snow after 1 hour on a powder day
-More people from New York. Maybe it's because I'm from Mass, but I hate the NYC vibe. Vermonters are much more down to earth/chill.
-More condos/development.
--Higher day prices. No more gas station 2 for 1's.

Really the only positive thing out of a purchase might be that there would be less "fake" or "debatable" wind holds.

Overall, Jay Peak is basically the Cannon of Vermont (with better snow of course) and should retain the vibe of Cannon. I don't see that happening under epic.

Jay is still in the middle of nowhere and forever away from NY, I don't think the amount of extra traffic would be huge.

Higher prices do suck, it basically forces you to go the season pass route. If they raise prices, they risk losing paying customers also due to being priced out.

 

[cdskier]

Jay is still in the middle of nowhere and forever away from NY, I don't think the amount of extra traffic would be huge.

Yes...New Yorkers that want to go to Jay are already there. I don't see a hypothetical Vail purchase suddenly causing an influx of "New Yorkers" to Jay. Not even sure what the relationship of Vail/Epic is to New Yorkers in general and why someone would think it would cause an increase. I'd expect a bigger increase of people from MA than NYC if there was in fact an increase. Did Stowe see an influx of New Yorkers suddenly in the past year since Vail bought them? Somehow I doubt it.

 

[farlep99]

I'm not really loving the fact that Vail resorts is coming east. Soon, skiing will be a monopoly, where Vail will own everything and they will be able to charge whatever they want.

The northeast was kinda the last place where ski resorts were independent. You used to be able to walk up to the window and find tickets for less than $80. Now, you have to commit to a pass way far in advance of knowing how the season is if you want to avoid paying over $100 a day.

What Vail doesn't realize is that they are killing the sport of skiing. Those beginner skiers aren't gonna pay $100 for a lift ticket on top of rental prices. They also are not going to get a season pass a year in advance. Basically the only way people will be able to learn how to ski is if their family is already rich.

While it is easy to see low season prices and get excited (I do as well), the future of this sport doesn't look bright, particularly for the U.S. Maybe I'll just fly to Europe to ski. After the airfare, I can ski for only 30 euros. What a deal!

Also, backcountry skiing continues to be more and more rewarding...

Someone needs to put a stop to Vail. But hey, this current presidency favors the large business and not the people, so I guess my life/hobbies/wallet doesn't matter.

**End Rant**

P.S. And please don't let them buy Jay. They will ruin Jay Peak!

i'm not one to defend Vail, but the window rates at Stowe (and most in the NE) were steadily increasing as it was. Vail didn't mess much with that, at least this year, so that can't be laid on them as far as NE window rates are concerned. I do agree that current window rates are bad for the sport going forward. Cheap pass prices are awesome for those of us that ski frequently, but the tradeoff is high window rates as a deterrent to newcomers. Not to mention a deterrent to visiting an area that you don't already have a season pass for.

As far as 'ruining Jay,' one could argue the waterpark/base area development already ruined it. I liked it better before. I also liked Stowe better before the monstrosity that is the Spruce Peak development. But things change...

 

[boston_e]

. Not to mention a deterrent to visiting an area that you don't already have a season pass for.

This is a big one for me. I'm sure we all have the experience of having good friends from our hometown, that we never ski with because they have passes / houses at other resorts. Once one has a season pass, there is little chance anyone going to take the family somewhere else for the weekend so they can buy day tickets at $100+ x 4 people x 2 days, when they can ski at their usual resort for nothing out of pocket.

The max pass add on was great for this as it allowed mixing it up at a different resort at a much more reasonable price point.

 

[slatham]

Neither are really in the mix for me, but looking at Stowe/Okemo/Sunapee vs Sugarbush/Killington/Stratton, all else equal you have to admit Ikon wins.

 

[Smellytele]

Neither are really in the mix for me, but looking at Stowe/Okemo/Sunapee vs Sugarbush/Killington/Stratton, all else equal you have to admit Ikon wins.

Not so sure about that - Unlimited at Stowe or unlimited at Stratton

 

[Zand]

Neither are really in the mix for me, but looking at Stowe/Okemo/Sunapee vs Sugarbush/Killington/Stratton, all else equal you have to admit Ikon wins.

You can really even look at it as Stowe/Okemo/Sunapee vs Sugarbush/Killington/Stratton/Boyne. To me adding the Maine resorts turns a toss-up into a clear win for Ikon. But if Epic adds Jay, there goes that clear win.

 

[Edd]

The Ikon 5 days combined at Boyne sucks. I still might buy it but I’ll be grumpy about it.


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