A Denver Post article on Alterra's new Ikon Pass:  here

"move over little dog, a big old dog is movin' in"

This is really cool.  Now for the selfish update... I hope this does not affect the Ridiculous Pass.  I have one very small child and another on the way.  I will be lucky if I get to go to a destination to ski once in the next ~8 years.

AndyGene wrote:

This is really cool.  Now for the selfish update... I hope this does not affect the Ridiculous Pass.  

You're not alone on the R Pass and congrats on #2.  

Looking at my 17 - 18 season plans / budget

239 for the R Pass

510 for 3 days in Colorado next week

200 for 2 days in VT / NH in March

I'm in 949 for unlimited at SS and 5 days elsewhere.   If the IKON pass allowed unlimited at a home resort and 6 days ala carte I'd be better off.

That said, I have to believe SS will still offer some type of discounted pass.  It's been a huge success in getting people to make that awkward drive there.  We were told that each resort will still have some autonomy in running their operations. 

The surprise here is the Ikon pass will have 23 resorts under it's belt....to include many outside the Alterra family:

Aspen Snowmass, Copper Mountain, Eldora, Jackson Hole Mountain, Big Sky, Killington, Sunday River and Sugarloaf,  Loon Mountain, Alta and Snowbird

We'll probably need lawyers and an abacus to figure this all out!

Wow...really interesting.

I'm unsure about what to do for next year.  Have had the Snowshoe pass for the past few years.  Considering possibly a Highlands pass next year, but man, this new Ikon pass is tempting.

We need pricing details...

Will there ever be a pass that's good at several southeast and mid atlantic ski areas?

Bonzski wrote:

The surprise here is the Ikon pass will have 23 resorts under it's belt....to include many outside the Alterra family:

Aspen Snowmass, Copper Mountain, Eldora, Jackson Hole Mountain, Big Sky, Killington, Sunday River and Sugarloaf,  Loon Mountain, Alta and Snowbird

We'll probably need lawyers and an abacus to figure this all out!

What's really interesting is that the MCP will continue.  Here are the 2017-18 MCP locations not included in Ikon.

* Snowbasin

* Sugarbush

* Sun Valley

* Taos

* Telluride

* Banff: LL, Sunshine

* Revelstoke

* Thredbo

* Coronet Peak, The Remarkables

The Ikon FAQ has plenty of TBD about pricing and tier details but does answer other questions like what happens to the Rocky Mountain Pass and that Deer Valley stays for skiers only.

https://www.ikonpass.com/en/faq/

Ikon list for 2018-19:

California: Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Mammoth Mountain, June Mountain, Big Bear Mountain Resort
Colorado: Aspen/Snowmass, Steamboat, Winter Park Resort, Copper Mountain, Eldora Mountain Resort
Montana: Big Sky Resort
Wyoming: Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
Utah: Deer Valley Resort, Alta Ski Area, Snowbird
West Virginia: Snowshoe
Vermont: Stratton, Killington Resort
New Hampshire: Loon Mountain Resort
Maine: Sugarloaf, Sunday River
Ontario, Canada: Blue Mountain
Quebec, Canada: Tremblant

crgildart wrote:

Will there ever be a pass that's good at several southeast and mid atlantic ski areas?

I miss the days of the resort swap feature among SS, 7S, HV, LM, BK and Wisp.  Have one of those passes and get one day free at the others.  Sat and holidays blacked out.  I was never able to swap my SS at all the others in one season due to time constraints / weather.    

crgildart wrote:

Will there ever be a pass that's good at several southeast and mid atlantic ski areas?

I miss the days of the resort swap feature among SS, 7S, HV, LM, BK and Wisp.  Have one of those passes and get one day free at the others.  Sat and holidays blacked out.  I was never able to swap my SS at all the others in one season due to time constraints / weather.    

First shot fired....Ikon has signed Mikaela as their ambassador.  She's from Vail.

I assume this means the Max Pass dies? or at least Sunday, Sugarloaf and a few other defect. Leaving what Mountain Creek NJ?

Blue Don 1982 wrote:

AndyGene wrote:

This is really cool.  Now for the selfish update... I hope this does not affect the Ridiculous Pass.  

You're not alone on the R Pass and congrats on #2.  

 

 

Thanks.  My son makes every day amazing.  However, he does not yet make my ski life amazing (he is 15 months old currently).  And that is 100% ok!  I think we are going to stop after number 2.  This givies me hope that in 5-10 years we can be an awesome skiing family.

And then maybe we can be Ikon families!

Until then 4-10 days total on the hill are all I can really expect.

This post was not intended to be as selfish as it came off.

I was in your exact situation 10 years ago. At the time I was told that skiing with kids would be an awesome experience someday, and that has turned out to be 100% true. I am currently at about 15-20 days per season, all local.  Being a ski family does take work and planning but it is worth it. The kids are now at the point where a trip out west would be worthwhile, so we will be definitely be looking into the details on the Ikon pass.

Same as others, I have four boys and only the two oldest are ski age.  But the hard work at the tiny ski bump when they were 3/4 is paying off now.

We have passes to Hidden Valley (1hr door to door) and my goal is to get them out close to 10 days this year, we're on track so far.  What's great is they've progressed beyond learning to actually skiing the greens and blues.  This means I get to ski as well.  It's fun skiing with them.

If I've learned anything my only advice would be this: "Lessons matter to start, but reptition matters most."

Simply getting out there and practicing is how kids get good.  They need basic skills, but beyond that a TON of practice. The fun thing with practice is you get to ski as well, everyone benefits!

Thanks for the kind words.  I currently live in Cincinnati, about an hour door to door from Perfect North.  They have 400 ft of vert, and a pretty decent learning area.  I plan to get the boy up there as much as possible when he is ready (if he enjoys it). 

wgo wrote:

I was in your exact situation 10 years ago. At the time I was told that skiing with kids would be an awesome experience someday, and that has turned out to be 100% true. I am currently at about 15-20 days per season, all local.  Being a ski family does take work and planning but it is worth it. The kids are now at the point where a trip out west would be worthwhile, so we will be definitely be looking into the details on the Ikon pass.

 

And I was 13 years ago.  I remember meeting you to ski when you dropped a toddler off at the ski hill day care.  Bet that's gotten a lot better now that they're skiing with us now or old enough to hang out inside at the lodge or at home if they opt out..

I went to Miami University and skied Perfect North a few times.

I remember they had this crazy thing where it was dirt cheap to ski from 10pm-2am on Friday nights for college students.  A group of us from school would head up there and ski to the close.

AndyGene wrote:

Thanks for the kind words.  I currently live in Cincinnati, about an hour door to door from Perfect North.  They have 400 ft of vert, and a pretty decent learning area.  I plan to get the boy up there as much as possible when he is ready (if he enjoys it). 

https://www.ikonpass.com/en/

oddballstocks wrote:

I went to Miami University and skied Perfect North a few times.

I remember they had this crazy thing where it was dirt cheap to ski from 10pm-2am on Friday nights for college students.  A group of us from school would head up there and ski to the close.

AndyGene wrote:

Thanks for the kind words.  I currently live in Cincinnati, about an hour door to door from Perfect North.  They have 400 ft of vert, and a pretty decent learning area.  I plan to get the boy up there as much as possible when he is ready (if he enjoys it). 

 

Cascade Mountain (yes, they have "Mountain" in the name) Wisconsin for me. $10 college nights. I was a grad student at the time, we would head out on Friday late afternoon after the last lecture.

Blue Don 1982 wrote:

crgildart wrote:

Will there ever be a pass that's good at several southeast and mid atlantic ski areas?

I miss the days of the resort swap feature among SS, 7S, HV, LM, BK and Wisp.  Have one of those passes and get one day free at the others.  Sat and holidays blacked out.  I was never able to swap my SS at all the others in one season due to time constraints / weather.    

A b s o l u t e l y !

I agree with both Blue Don 1982 and crgildart.  The Resort Swap provided great opportunities for those of us who do most of our skiing here in the Mid-Atlantic and like to area hop.  I hope its absence in 2017-18 is just a one-year fluke.

Woody

The resort swap is alive between 7S, HV, LM, and Wisp. It would be nice to add back BK and SS.

OK, back to IKON pass. First of all, what does Ikon stand for? Anything?

Second of all: That is an awesome group of resorts. Our two favorites: Snowshoe for local trips, Aspen/Snowmass for a yearly trip out west. Then add in a bunch of areas on our list to visit and I'm salivating: Alta, Snowbird (we will be visiting them in Feb 2018) and Big Sky, Sugarloaf, Deer Valley, Jackson Hole...some heavy hitters that we've had in our sights for years. I'll very interested to hear the details

eggraid wrote:

OK, back to IKON pass. First of all, what does Ikon stand for? Anything?

The basic marketing blurb from the Ikon website, with bold added.  It's "Ikon" not "IKON."  Does that answer the question?

"The Ikon Pass is your access to the most iconic mountains in North America. Unique terrain. Real community. Authentic experiences. Enduring memories."

eggraid wrote:

Second of all: That is an awesome group of resorts. Our two favorites: Snowshoe for local trips, Aspen/Snowmass for a yearly trip out west. Then add in a bunch of areas on our list to visit and I'm salivating: Alta, Snowbird (we will be visiting them in Feb 2018) and Big Sky, Sugarloaf, Deer Valley, Jackson Hole...some heavy hitters that we've had in our sights for years. I'll very interested to hear the details

Agree that the Ikon list is quite impressive.  Fills in places that aren't on the MCP, which is what I've been using for a few years.

I've been thinking about a return to Big Sky.  While the MAX Pass was worth considering, it was hard to figure out how to get >10 days besides the five at Big Sky to make it worth it since I'm not that interested in making the drive to Snowshoe from Raleigh.

Apparently some Deer Valley regulars are worried about being overrun with Ikon pass holders.  How blackouts and the number of days are handled will be very interesting.