White Mountain Superpass: 2013-2014 Waterville, Cannon, Bretton Woods and Cranmore

[4aprice]

I love these multi mountain passes and hope this trend continues in the Northeast. Put together a good combination and I think it would be worth the price. Been waiting to see If NY state was going to offer a 3 mountain pass with Belleayre joining ORDA but haven't seen anything yet.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[snoseek]

This pricing seems way too high to me. Knock it down a couple hundred and that's a good deal and a good pass.

In this day and age I have a problem buying a pass anywhere for a grand really

 

[deadheadskier]

I'd say compared with the Peaks and Boyne offerings, the pass does seem a tad high.

Wish Gunstock would get involved in a multi-mountain pass with places further up North, but I don't see it benefiting them much. Their clientele is locals and people who own homes on the lake. At least, that's the majority of people I ride the lift with there.

 

[riverc0il]

But I think this would also appeal to a pretty big demographic, the dedicated skier with a family.

I am not convinced. I think that market is pretty limited, especially narrowing it down to just NH and then narrowing down further to skiers that are interested in skiing frequently at two or more of these mountains (and narrowing it down to just I-93 focus as Cranmore/North Conway skiers really are not going to be enticed by a nearly 2 hour drive to Waterville after driving 3 hours to North Conway).

A lot of hardcore skiing families hole up at particularly resorts, often buying a condo. I think families that play the field are more likely to not have season passes, and families that end up with season passes would seem to me more likely to find a home and stick it out.

Let's hear about it from families that skied on the ASC deal. Did you play the field or mostly stick to one mountain? That pass was absurdly low priced, so I don't think it is completely comparable.

Burke and Jay are complementary just as Wildcat and Attitash are complimentary. They are also both not terribly far apart (though Burke and Jay are further apart than Wildcat and Attitash). This pass just seems a touch to far apart from each other to hit multiple areas from the same base of operations. I don't see this group of mountains complimenting each other the way the other two competing passes do.

I am not saying that this is a bad pass nor am I saying people won't buy it. I am just suggesting it doesn't jump out at me as an unreal deal or a super value, especially in comparison to the other multi-mountain passes that are cheaper with the mountains clustered closer together.

 

[octopus]

i think a gunstock, bretton woods, sunday river would be cool for people coming from the boston area. pretty sure boyne and omni aren't working together anytime soon, though.

 

[yeggous]

I am not convinced. I think that market is pretty limited, especially narrowing it down to just NH and then narrowing down further to skiers that are interested in skiing frequently at two or more of these mountains (and narrowing it down to just I-93 focus as Cranmore/North Conway skiers really are not going to be enticed by a nearly 2 hour drive to Waterville after driving 3 hours to North Conway).

A lot of hardcore skiing families hole up at particularly resorts, often buying a condo. I think families that play the field are more likely to not have season passes, and families that end up with season passes would seem to me more likely to find a home and stick it out.

Let's hear about it from families that skied on the ASC deal. Did you play the field or mostly stick to one mountain? That pass was absurdly low priced, so I don't think it is completely comparable.

Burke and Jay are complementary just as Wildcat and Attitash are complimentary. They are also both not terribly far apart (though Burke and Jay are further apart than Wildcat and Attitash). This pass just seems a touch to far apart from each other to hit multiple areas from the same base of operations. I don't see this group of mountains complimenting each other the way the other two competing passes do.

I am not saying that this is a bad pass nor am I saying people won't buy it. I am just suggesting it doesn't jump out at me as an unreal deal or a super value, especially in comparison to the other multi-mountain passes that are cheaper with the mountains clustered closer together.

I see this pass as being an attractive option for those with a place in the Lincoln / Woodstock or Littleton / Franconia areas. With the exception of Cranmore, all are easy from there. The price may have been set with the Boyne pass (I.e., Loon) in mind as they are about te same. It would give the current Loon skier 3 local mountains instead of one for the same price.

I agree that the convenience from North Conway is less than ideal. However, I know lots of people in the ski clubs up there that make the drive to Bretton Woods on a regular basis.

The price is absurd compared to the Peak pass or most of the individual mountains. I can't help but assume it is Bretton Woods that is demanding that premium given their own inflated prices. I could see this pass being an attractive option for North Conway based skiers for $200-300 less.

 

[EPB]

The price is absurd compared to the Peak pass or most of the individual mountains. I can't help but assume it is Bretton Woods that is demanding that premium given their own inflated prices. I could see this pass being an attractive option for North Conway based skiers for $200-300 less.

I'm based out of the Mount Washington Valley on the weekends and I probably wouldn't give the pass too much consideration even if it were priced at the Attitash/Wildcat level. My appetite for regular trips to any of the 4 mountains in the pass would be limited with the exception of Cranmore because I'm not interested in making a habit of ~30min drives to BW or ~50min drives to Cannon after driving up to the Valley each weekend. Cranmore's terrain just doesn't do it for me on a regular basis, especially when compared to Attitash and Wildcat combined.

Factoring in the difference in price, the Peaks pass is a no-brainer for people out of North Conway. Sunday River is only an hour away if I really need the early season fix (one could spend part of their $300 in savings on this) and the steeper groomed terrain at Attitash serves as a better place to tide me over before the natural snow begins to pile up than Cranmore and Bretton Woods. Wildcat also has its merits over Cannon for a pass holder as Wildcat, in my experience, tends to have more of its natural terrain open on a regular basis than Cannon. That's not to say that Cannon doesn't have more to offer when both areas are 100% open (well 100% skiable). Again, it would be easier to just allocate some of the $300 you saved by sticking with the Peaks pass to hit Cannon when the getting is especially good.

I generally tend to agree with Riv that this pass has limited appeal. It would be a no brainer for Bretton Woods pass holders if they liked to ski places like Cannon (which many probably don't), it doesn't seem to make sense for people that have a property in a Loon-centric development and it could be a tough sell for the Cannon crowd too (assuming the Cannon pass is substantially cheaper than the bundle). People with ski appetites like AdironRider would probably like this deal, but I'm not convinced that there are enough people from SNH/Northern Mass that are interested in hopping around to places in NH that are as spread out geographically and serve as different of niches as the areas included in this pass.

 

[St. Bear]

I am not convinced. I think that market is pretty limited, especially narrowing it down to just NH and then narrowing down further to skiers that are interested in skiing frequently at two or more of these mountains (and narrowing it down to just I-93 focus as Cranmore/North Conway skiers really are not going to be enticed by a nearly 2 hour drive to Waterville after driving 3 hours to North Conway).

I dunno. Maybe I'm projecting too much, but I would seriously consider buying this pass for all the reasons I stated (variety, accessibility, snow options, family friendly options).

Like I said, if I'm lucky enough to move back to NH in the next few years, I hope they're still offering this.

 

[Edd]

White Mountain Superpass: 2013-2014 Waterville, Cannon, Bretton Woods and Cranm

I'm surprised this pass isn't tiered so that lower priced options are available but I guess that indicates what market they're going after: I-93 weekend warriors. Not interested at all.

 

[stomachdoc]

Let's hear about it from families that skied on the ASC deal. Did you play the field or mostly stick to one mountain? That pass was absurdly low priced, so I don't think it is completely comparable.

With the mountains offering the option of their own "local" pass, this is a big difference from the days of the "Threedom" pass where you were forced to buy the all mountain pass; there was no local pass option. I suspect that many of us who are anchored to one place (because of kids in seasonal/race programs, real estate, etc.) will still choose the cheaper local pass option.

It's nice to have the choice between the local pass and the multi-mountain option; we didn't have that before.

As a WV-based skiing family, the Cannon and Bretton Woods option gives a lot of new terrain types/options. We would be unlikely to make the trip to Cranmore as that's a pretty big haul from Waterville (although the outlets in North Conway might interest my wife

 

[Smellytele]

Way out of my price range for my family of 5. This would cost me about 3400 bucks.

 

[kickstand]

I'm also based in the MWV on weekends. While I can't see me buying this pass, I definitely think it has its merits. If my wife skied more (and she is not a strong skier at all), this pass would be perfect. She won't go to Wildcat and could take or leave Attitash. On the other hand, she loves BW and I'm sure she'd like Cranmore. Factor in the kids, and it makes sense. And for me, Cannon is sub-2 hr day trip from home. I have a friend whose in-laws live in Intervale. He takes his daughter to BW all the time and recently mentioned he was going to hit Cranmore, too. I could totally see him buying this sort of thing.

Point being, I don't think this completely an I-93 pass. I think for the right situation, it offers up some nice options. If you're in Conway, BW and Cranmore. If you're near Twin Mountain/Littleton, BW and Cannon. If you're near Lincoln and don't ski Loon, you have Waterville and Cannon. And Cannon is a great short day trip from Boston.

I think it will be very interesting to see how this thing sells. Hopefully, New England sees more of these types of deals moving forward.

 

[St. Bear]

Hopefully, New England sees more of these types of deals moving forward.

I think this is something that we all can agree on.

 

[AdironRider]

You guys sure demand a lot cost wise.

A NH local pass to Cannon runs round 500 for Cannon alone. For less than double you get way more. Even a full season Cranmore pass is like 400 bucks.

Isnt hte Peak pass with Crotched, etc more like 8-900 as well? I see no difference. Comparing this full pass to a mid level pass from another company seems like stacking the deck.

 

[Puck it]

Not worth the extra money for me. I will stay with Cannon only.

 

[AdironRider]

Truth be told I will as well, but I see this being a solid option otherwise.

Im thinking ski racer families would be all over this with the Waterville/Cannon combo aspect of the pass. Those are pretty much the premier ski racing hills in NH, and those families are the ones with the most cash usually.

 

[yeggous]

The Peaks pass with Crotched is $599 if purchased early season, compared to $949 for the Superpass purchased in the same time frame. It is a significant difference. The price is competitive compared to some of the VT mountains or the Boyne resorts where prices are outrageous, but much higher than most of NH or ME. This is one reason why a lot of us from MA and southern NH ski NH and ME even though the drive time to VT is the same: smaller crowds and lower prices.

 

[Smellytele]

You guys sure demand a lot cost wise.

I am spoiled and have free season passes to my local hill - Pats Peak. I then spread out another 15 days at other places which this year will cost my family around $1500.

 

[AdironRider]

The Peaks pass with Crotched is $599 if purchased early season, compared to $949 for the Superpass purchased in the same time frame. It is a significant difference. The price is competitive compared to some of the VT mountains or the Boyne resorts where prices are outrageous, but much higher than most of NH or ME. This is one reason why a lot of us from MA and southern NH ski NH and ME even though the drive time to VT is the same: smaller crowds and lower prices.

Didnt realize the early season Peak pass was that cheap. Interesting to see if it stays there now.

 

[AdironRider]

I am spoiled and have free season passes to my local hill - Pats Peak. I then spread out another 15 days at other places which this year will cost my family around $1500.

My buddy got the same deal at Pats being an NEC student. You going to school there, work at the hill, or do they have other such hookups?

With free skiing at any hill Id be hard pressed to buy a pass anywhere else.