Interesting places and things to do
Indy Pass organizers seem to be on a feeding frenzy. The company just announced that eight new resorts will be joining for the 22/23 season including Nub’s Nob, Michigan, plus alpine and cross-country resorts in the Upper Midwest, New England, and the Pacific Northwest. With these additions, the Indy Pass now offers two free days …
Indy Has Done it Again – 100 Alpine and Cross Country Venues and counting!Read More
Now that the U.S. ski industry season is in the history books, this might be a good time to check in on what is going on other parts of the ski world. Here is a sampling: For starters, a number of Australian ski areas have opened ahead of schedule with the earliest opening in 22 …
Still on the fence about buying a multi-resort season pass or maybe you are in the market for another? The Storm Skiing Journal has published a couple of interesting reads about pass programs that may not get a lot of attention but are a good value. One is Vail’s 22-resort seven day pass. It is …
For the first time in two years, the National Ski Areas Association recently concluded its in-person annual national convention held in Nashville. The biggest announcement for this gathering of industry professionals was the skier visit tally for the 2021-22 season. Guess WHAT!? U.S. ski areas hit an all-time-high 61 million skier visits for the 2021-22 ski season …
Indy Pass recently announced some major updates to its 2022-23 product line with three new downhill and two new cross-country ski areas. Indy dropped a western partner; introduced a new blackout grid; and rebranded its core pass product. New downhill partners are Bluewood, Washington; Kelly Canyon, Idaho; and Ski Sawmill, Pennsylvania. Alberta-based Marmot Basin will …
Info for this article provided by Roger Lohr – Most dedicated winter sports enthusiasts are familiar with the major season passes such as Epic, Ikon, Mountain Collective and Indy Pass, among others. So far, these passes have been geared toward Alpine skiing and snowboarding. Not anymore! Make way for a new season pass specifically for …
Most in-the-know skiers and snowboarders are familiar with Ikon, Epic, Indy and The Mountain Collective. But what about the Powder Alliance, with its 16 resorts in the U.S., Canada and Japan or the the Freedom Pass, a collection of smaller size resorts in the U.S. plus one in Spain. There are various reciprocal lift ticket …
Season Pass Chess Game: Reciprocal Programs VS “The Nationals”/What’s the Best Value?Read More
Major season pass players Epic and Ikon continue to duke it out for customers but there are additional options including the Mountain Collective, Indy Pass and something called Mountain Capital Partners. More on those later. We previously looked at Ikon so it is Epic’s turn this time. Vail has increased the cost of its 2022-23 Epic …
Epic Raises Prices, Adds Perks and is Still Cheaper than Ikon.Read More
Earlier this month, the Ikon Pass released its 2022-23 pass prices. The cost of an Ikon Pass went from $999 to $1,079. The discounted renewal rate is $979 (until April 21). The Ikon Base Pass went from $729 to $769 (renewal discount is $719). The Ikon Session Pass comes in two-, three-, or four-day increments. As in …
Figuring Out 2022-23 Season Pass Programs is More Complicated Than Playing ChessRead More
To say that this has been a curious winter for the ski industry is putting it mildly. Early winter challenges with making snow, lack of personnel at resorts due to Covid and low wages, and dearth of affordable housing for employees have been well documented. The staff and customer revolt at Washington state’s Stevens Pass …
Curious Instagram Account Contributes to Epic ResultsRead More
Recently, my friend and former ski journalist Charlie Leocha (And now president of Travelers United) sent me something that made my jaw drop. It actually was more shocking than the $269 one day lift ticket at Steamboat, harder to fathom than photos of long lift lines at Vail Resort properties and more amazing than the …
This winter may be remembered as a year of reckoning for the ski/snowboard industry. A flood of what many industry insiders consider “bad press” has been plaguing them for the better part of the season. Early on, social media posts focused on lack of terrain available and poor customer service resulting from lack of staff …
The “Perfect Storm” Creates Angst for the Ski IndustryRead More
