Add 4 more ski areas to the Ikon Pass
Once again they said to check back tomorrow .....
The addition of the Boyne areas is good news for Midwesterners who invested in an Ikon pass.
Yet another MCP location was added to Ikon. Niseko was added to the MCP last year. Should make Aussies pay more attention to Ikon.
That only leaves Sun Valley and Snowbasin on the MCP but not on Ikon.
Wonder how the GM of Sun Valley is feeling about his comments about the Ikon pass back in Feb. 2018. He gave the impression that the MCP was more than enough for SV and that Alterra was not necessarily a good partner. I'm pretty sure that SV asked to be included in the MCP, not the other way around. SV is a resort with cushy lodging options and a pretty fun ski town, but fairly isolated and far away from a major airport. Snowbasin is owned by the same family as SV but is in a very different situation. Snowbasin is just over an hour away from a bunch of MCP/Ikon destinations, plus Vail Resort's Park City. Snowbasin has no ski in/out lodging. Some locals were complaining about "crowds" after Snowbasin joined the MCP. Snowbasin joined the MCP for 2017-18 while SV joined a couple years earlier.
https://www.mtexpress.com/news/sun_valley/new-ikon-pass-passes-over-sun-valley/article_ce15d264-0799-11e8-9f04-23bb6adfd7ef.html
". . .
“It’s something we should weigh very, very carefully,” Silva said. “We have to be very careful about who we associate with. Getting that just right is very important.”
Silva said Sun Valley is included in the Mountain Collective pass, which will continue into 2019. He said that has been successful in bringing business to the resort.
“Mountain Collective drives visits this year,” he said. “I think the success with Mountain Collective will just continue. We’re confident that Mountain Collective will continue to be the boon it has been for the last several years.”"
Alterra buying Crystal Mtn Resort
Bonzski wrote:
Alterra buying Crystal Mtn Resort
Very interesting development! John Kircher has only been sole owner/operator of Crystal for a little while. I guess he couldn't resist having the strong financial backing of Alterra.
* * * exerpt from press release
“It has always been my goal to ensure Crystal Mountain Resort be taken the farthest in the shortest amount of time in order to keep Crystal at the top of Northwest skiing,” said John Kircher, Owner of Crystal Mountain Resort. “Alterra Mountain Company is able to offer a depth of experience and resources, as well as inclusion on the Ikon Pass with its outstanding destinations throughout the world. The mountain sports business has changed more in the last year than I have seen it change in my entire 40-year career, and I am excited to see what lays ahead.”
* * *
A little more background about the decision by John Kircher and his family to sell Crystal to Alterra. The goal is to complete the sale by the end of September 2018. Pretty fast but that's what can happen when both companies involve are privately held.
https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article217924370.html
" . . .
Talks with Alterra Mountain started in June, Kircher said, after Vail Resorts purchased the Stevens Pass Ski Area.
“It changed the equation quite a bit,” Kircher said, discussing Vail’s Epic Pass, which allows skiers to visit myriad ski areas for one price. “I thought, ”˜Wow, the earth has sort of changed beneath our feet.’”
. . .
“This is about what is best for Crystal in the long run,” Kircher said. “For a skier at Crystal, Alterra is going to take Crystal further more quickly than we would have been able to do.”
. . ."
https://www.rei.com/blog/snowsports/why-john-kircher-decided-to-sell-crystal-mountain
". . .
The sale of Crystal Mountain, which sold at an undisclosed price, will close September 30. The Kirchers will walk away from mountain operations at that point””a move they both said brings very mixed emotions””but they’re hardly leaving the mountain for good. “We’re going to show up and ski a lot,” John Kircher said. “I’m going to ski Crystal without a phone pressed to one ear and I couldn’t be happier about that.”
