Indy Pass 2026-27

The big announcement for Sept. 8, 2026 is that Smuggs is joining the Indy Pass.  Not too much of a surprise given that Bear Den Partners is co-owned by the man who put Bershire East and Catamount from the start.  Bear Den Partners also owns Burke.  With Jay, Burke, Smuggs on Indy, people in the northeast should have a grand time in a good snow season.

Public sales for Indy started this morning.  Not likely to last long.

New Indy locations for 2026-27 in N. America, sorted more or less by geography:

• Skeetawk, AK
• Ski Land, AK
• Pebble Creek Ski Area, ID
• Showdown MT
• Frost Fire, ND
• Thrill Hills, ND
• Kendall Mountain, CO
• Camp 10 Ski Area, WI
  
• Nutt Hill, WI
• Paul Bunyan Ski Area, WI
• Whitecap Mountain Resort, WI
• Coffee Mill Ski Area, MN
• Elm Creek, MN (both alpine and XC)
• Powder Ridge, CT
• Mt. Pisgah, NY
• Spring Mountain, PA
• Winter4Kids, NJ
• Smugglers’ Notch, VT
• Veterans Memorial Recreation Area, NH
• King Pine, NH (now a full partner)
• 
  
• Granby Ranch, Colorado (Nordic)
• Haymaker Nordic Center, CO (XC)
• Steamboat Ski Touring Center, CO (XC)
• Elm Creek, MN (both alpine and XC)
• Spirit Mountain Nordic, MN (XC)
  
• The Loppet, MN (XC)
  
• Osceola Tug Hill XC Ski Center, NY
• Scotts Cobble/High Peaks XC, NY
• Jay Peak XC, VT
• Sleepy Hollow, VT (XC)
• Eastman XC, NH
• Franconia Village, NH (XC)
• Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center, NH (XC)
  
• Bethel Village Trails, ME (XC)
• Carters XC Ski Center, ME (XC)
• Fort Kent Outdoor Center, ME (XC)
• Northern Maine Community Trails, ME (XC)

• Murray Ski Ridge, BC
• Mont Kanasuta, QC
• Ski Saint-Bruno, QC

Lost a few popular locations in the midwest.  Think most of them became Ikon Bonus Mountains.

Also added locations in Europe and Japan.  Could have a fun time in Scandinavia doing an Indy ski safari.  There are more posts on the Facebook Indy Passholders Group about Europe and Japan these days. Also a little discussion on Snowheads, the UK-based ski forums.  :-)

Scott wrote:

Indy Pass sent an e-mail today (September 11) saying today's the last chance to buy the pass, as they are nearing capacity and will take the pass off sale after midnight tonight.  So if you were thinking of grabbing one for the upcoming season, now's the time.

The on-again off-again sales windows are getting a bit tiresome, and contrived. My two cents.

JohnL wrote:

Scott wrote:

Indy Pass sent an e-mail today (September 11) saying today's the last chance to buy the pass, as they are nearing capacity and will take the pass off sale after midnight tonight.  So if you were thinking of grabbing one for the upcoming season, now's the time.

The on-again off-again sales windows are getting a bit tiresome, and contrived. My two cents.

I disagree it's contrived.  It's just different.  Snow Play is doing the same thing.  The idea is to make sure the revenue model doesn't get broken because there are too many partners splitting the money AND that there aren't too many people on the slopes.  Re-opening sales for Indy always goes with adding locations.  Same reason those passes only provide 2 days.

Not really that different from Epic and Ikon pushing "deadlines" for the different price points for weeks, even when the increases are only about $20.

Based on the interviews that Storm Skiing did recently, Storm King will be on Indy for 2026-27.  At the same time, Storm King can choose to offer 2 free days to Snow Pass holders without getting any revenue from Snow Pass.

Not sure what's happening with Tamarack.  Having done an Indy ski safari that included staying slopeside at Tamarack, it's a natural fit for Ikon more than Indy.  That said Brundage makes perfect sense for Indy.  That trip also included a day at Bogus Basin, which is a non-profit not likely to ever be on either Indy or Ikon.

What I've learned tracking Mountain Collective and other multi-resort passes since 2012 is that what happened the season before is not a good indicator of what will happen for an upcoming season.  MAX Pass was great but it didn't last, partially because Intrawest went away.  Ikon had a lot of the MAX Pass locations but a completely different business approach.  Ikon Base Plus didn't last.  The Ikon Bonus Mountains idea is relatively new.

For people willing to travel a fair amount, combining Ikon and MC has made sense for a while.  At this point, combining Ikon with Indy opens up all sorts of possibilities for people willing to do some driving in New England or out west.  Lately the Indy group on Facebook includes discussions about Japan and Europe.  I would guess Doug Fish is a little surprised at what Eric M. has managed to accomplish with Indy.  Doug's first goal was to get 80 locations.

I can see why the Indy Pass purchase model can be frustrating for skiers.  It's true that the other "big" passes have a "buy early to save the most" model, but they do allow continuous sales up until the Fall.  The Indy Pass is more of a fleeting chance at purchasing, like trying to score concert tickets for a popular artist.  There have been a few times when I've written a story about the Indy Pass, only to discover that they already reached capacity and ended sales, so I had to either heavily modify the story or simply choose not publish it for fear of upsetting readers.

I recognize the business model necessitates limiting sales, and I don't know how they could do things any better.  But it certainly can be disappointing for a skier to get excited about the concept of the Indy Pass, only to visit the site and see that it's Sold Out.  Skiers should definitely add their e-mail to the waiting list as it seems like they do have a few "second chances" to get one throughout the year.

marzNC wrote:

JohnL wrote:

Scott wrote:

Indy Pass sent an e-mail today (September 11) saying today's the last chance to buy the pass, as they are nearing capacity and will take the pass off sale after midnight tonight.  So if you were thinking of grabbing one for the upcoming season, now's the time.

The on-again off-again sales windows are getting a bit tiresome, and contrived. My two cents.

I disagree it's contrived.  It's just different.  Snow Play is doing the same thing.  The idea is to make sure the revenue model doesn't get broken because there are too many partners splitting the money AND that there aren't too many people on the slopes.  Re-opening sales for Indy always goes with adding locations.  Same reason those passes only provide 2 days.

Not really that different from Epic and Ikon pushing "deadlines" for the different price points for weeks, even when the increases are only about $20.

It is contrived. An attempt to periodically boost sales by creating an aura of continued desirability and scarcity. The Ikon and Epic model is how just about every ski area sells season passes, the earlier you buy, the better the price. And total sales may be limited. I get many emails from ski areas warning of impending price increases.

And not having areas lined up for first pass sales is very frustrating. Indy has a “trust us” motto. Whether Indy pays off for me depends upon their specific pass partners.

Yes, Indy has to and should limit pass sales. Their partners would revolt if they didn’t. I think a more straightforward first come, first served model is better than their current randomness.

JohnL wrote:

“Not sure what's happening with Tamarack.  Having done an Indy ski safari that included staying slopeside at Tamarack, it's a natural fit for Ikon more than Indy.  That said Brundage makes perfect sense for Indy.”

Brundage and Tam are only 30ish minutes apart. Not sure I see your reasoning. Despite trying to be a destination resort with its base area development, Tam is a mom and pop mountain in a somewhat isolated location. I don’t know the numbers, but seems like Brundage is a higher traffic mountain than Tam, talking to many locals I know. Brundage is certainly the better mountain.

I'm not thinking about the terrain.  I'm thinking about the base area, slopeside lodging, and the other amenities that Tamarack has built in recent years.  Tamarack has become a 4-season resort for snowsports, golf, and watersports on the lake based on a private marina.  I talked to several people who make the drive from Boise who stop at Tamarack instead of continuing on to Brundage.  Different strokes for different folks.

Tamarack intends to build out more beginner terrain.  That is lacking.  My cautious intermediate Ski Diva friends found Brundage more friendly.  One was sticking strictly to greens that trip.

Camelback and Blue in PA are Ikon Bonus Mountains.  Tamarack compares well to those based on my experience.  I haven't skied Camelback or Blue yet but have stopped by the bases during the off-season.

JohnL wrote:

And not having areas lined up for first pass sales is very frustrating. Indy has a “trust us” motto. Whether Indy pays off for me depends upon their specific pass partners.

Yes, Indy has to and should limit pass sales. Their partners would revolt if they didn’t. I think a more straightforward first come, first served model is better than their current randomness.

From what I've read, anyone who signed up for the Indy Wait List for 2026-27 before the September sales opened was given the opportunity to buy before public sales opened.  Public sales were open for a few days, not hours as has happened.

I remember a first-come, first-served online fiasco a while back.  The server couldn't handle the volume and kept crashing.  People were put into a "waiting room" and some stubborn folks waited for hours.  The fact that Indy releases individualized codes to people on the Wait List in batches has worked to avoid that sort of situation.  I assume the batches are based on when someone signed up for the Wait List.