The pass wars continue to heat up, with more countries, more alignments, more partnerships and perks, more acronyms, more value—and more fine print. And it appears that all the options are having the desired effect, increasing the number of committed skiers and riders and encouraging them to visit more often.

Season passes have become the sport’s No. 1 inflation fighter. As Russ Pecoraro, director of mountain communication for Vail Resorts, notes: “Ten years ago, a season pass was over $1,000 for one area.” Today, Vail’s Epic Pass, which is good for unlimited skiing at all 11 domestic Vail resorts (five in Colorado, three in Tahoe, two in the Midwest, and Park City in Utah), plus new acquisition Perisher in Australia, and limited access to resorts in Japan and Europe, costs $769.

Through late September, VR’s Epic Pass sales were up 22 percent, though the company expected that percentage to drop by season’s end, explaining that early-buy incentives had pushed more purchasers to commit before fall arrived.


Expanding the Market?
Season passes have certainly made skiing and riding more affordable, but are they actually bringing more people into the sport? Or just moving existing skiers around?

“There are a couple of ways to talk about it,” Pecoraro says. “From one standpoint, we’re converting a lift ticket buyer into a season pass holder, which is great for them and us. We get a more loyal guest. When they make that conversion to a season pass holder, they ski more, and we increase loyalty.

“On the other hand, I think season passes are bringing more people into the sport across the board. They’re making the sport more accessible and more affordable.”

Greg Ralph, VP of sales and marketing at Purgatory, who started the multi-company season pass phenomenon nine years ago at Monarch, says consumers are looking for value and the ability to travel.

“We have conditioned them to think that they should ski multiple places, and that’s a good thing,” he says. “I think the more people get around and experience different venues and ski areas, the more engaged and more excited and more involved in the sport they are. I think it’s good to provide that variety.”

And variety skiers have.

In addition to the Epic Pass, there are many, many multi-area passes: The Boyne Pass, the M.A.X. Pass, the Mountain Collective, the Mountains of Distinction, the Power Pass, the Powder Alliance, the White Mountain Super Pass, the Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus, not to mention dozens of individual resort partnerships and combinations. Standalone, single area passes remain, of course, and they add to the overall options.

No matter what they offer, the common theme across North America is that pass sales are up. Here’s a snapshot.

Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus: The once Colorado-centric Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus ($559) has gone truly global this season. “The ski consumer is more and more savvy, and wants more options,” says Steve Hurlbert, communications director at Winter Park, one of five Colorado resorts offered on the pass, which now also includes Alyeska, Alaska, three resorts in Japan, and two in New Zealand.

“It’s not so much in response to any other pass, just giving people what they want, the chance to ski year round and all over the world,” Hurlbert says.

Mountain Collective: Sun Valley, Idaho, is this year’s newest member of the four-year-old Mountain Collective, a group of iconic destination North American resorts. For $369, skiers get two days at each of the 11 participating resorts/resort groups and 50 percent off additional days at the resorts, which include Mammoth, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows, Calif., Alta and Snowbird in Utah, Aspen Snowmass in Colorado, Jackson Hole, Sun Valley, and Canadian resorts Banff-Lake Louise-Sunshine in Alberta, and Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia.

“It’s a brand alignment that works very well for us,” says Jack Sibbach, sales and marketing director at Sun Valley. “We love it. It raises our awareness and the number of people who might not have had the chance to come here. We feel we fit in very well. We’re on a lot of people’s bucket list.”

Jeff Hanle, PR director at Aspen, one of the Collective’s original four resorts, says the pass is targeted at destination skiers. “It’s a strategic move to align these independent destination resorts and stimulate adventure travel among them,” says Hanle. “It does not compete against the Epic or any other pass offering. It’s really targeted at destination guests in L.A., San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Texas, and elsewhere, even globally. We’re very picky in the resorts we add. Sales have grown every year.”

Multi-Alpine Experience (M.A.X.): Another North American pass offering new this year is the Multi-Alpine Experience (M.A.X.) Pass, a partnership between Intrawest, Boyne, and Powdr that offers five free days at each of 22 resorts in the U.S. and Canada. The pass costs $699. Many participating resorts are also selling it as an add-on to their top-tier passes for $249.

“There are so many resorts involved, obviously there is a deep reach into everybody’s customer database to sell the pass,” says Nick Lambert, VP of sales and marketing at Sunday River, Maine, a participating resort. “But we’re also targeting skiers nationally, and potentially will bring in new customers not already loyal to one of these resorts.”

He says sales of the pass at Sunday River, which also sells a local Boyne pass good at Sunday River, Sugarloaf, and Loon, are up.

Pass sales are also up at Snowshoe, W.Va., another participating M.A.X. Pass resort. The Intrawest resort, which kicked off its pass sales with a “ridiculous” $200 price last spring, did not offer the M.A.X. add-on price, but marketing director Dave Dekema says all pass sales are up.

“Pass sales are fantastic,” says Dekema. “We’re coming off two very strong winters. There’s good momentum. People feel good about committing to a pass. They’re re-upping, and we’re also picking up some lapsed skiers.”

He said M.A.X. sales were also strong, even without the option to add it to a Snowshoe pass. “We’re not seeing any poaching from our existing pass database. We’re encouraged it will generate some new markets for us.”

Power Pass: Another new multi-area, multi-state pass offering this year is the Power Pass ($649), a collaboration between Purgatory, Colo., and new sister areas Sipapu and Pajarito in New Mexico, and Arizona Snowbowl in Flagstaff, Ariz. The pass also includes some reciprocal days at Copper, Loveland, and Monarch.


Too Many Choices?
As alignments and season pass partnerships continue to grow, is there a tipping point? Too many choices? There may be a lesson learned from Monarch, Colo. The resort, which started the multi-area pass craze and whose One Planet, One Pass partners reached as high as 32, has subtly shifted gears, paring its pass partners down to 17 this season.

“With that many partners and flexibility, passholders told us it was getting hard for them to put a value on those different partnerships,” says Jessie Smith, marketing manager. “We wanted guests to have a consistent product from us. We streamlined our partnerships, and are making a more stable product year over year.”

She said pass sales dipped some in recent years, but are up this year. The pass ($389) is the only one Monarch sells.

Instead of aligning with other resorts, Shanty Creek, Mich., is partnering directly with skiers, offering all Michigan passholders a free day.

“We’re challenging the status quo,” says Chris Hale, VP of sales and marketing. “We want people to test drive us, and compare what they pay elsewhere with our value and terrain, and maybe switch allegiance.” It seems to be working: Hale said pass sales this season were up more than 4 percent in units and 6 percent in revenue.

Pass sales were up about 10 percent at Shawnee Peak, Maine, part of the Mountains of Distinction, a group of about 15 East Coast ski areas who give one another’s passholders discounts on day tickets. “We’re in a very strong trend,” says Rachel Wilkinson, director of skier experience.

Shawnee’s most popular pass is the five-member family pass ($1,970). A close second is the unlimited night skiing pass ($139).

Pass sales were also strong at Okemo, Vt., which offered a $99 spring pass that could be rolled into a full-season pass. “That got us out of the blocks really fast,” says Bonnie MacPherson, PR director. “Last year was such a good season. We really capitalized on that enthusiasm.”

Adding to the enthusiasm was the resort’s new bubble chairlift, especially during last winter’s extreme cold. Okemo is adding a second bubble chair and RFID ticketing this season. It has pass partnerships with sister resorts Sunapee, N.H., and Crested Butte, Colo., as well as nearby Killington and Pico.

Matt Hesser, marketing director at Waterville Valley, N.H., says East Coast skiers now expect to be part of a larger pass. Waterville is part of the White Mountain Super Pass, which also includes Cannon, Bretton Woods, and Cranmore. He says sales of the resort’s own pass ($779) and the Super Pass ($949) were pretty even. Both are very strong.

“I’ve also noticed that someone buys our pass, then buys a bigger pass the next year. It gives people a chance to step up their commitment to the sport,” adds Hesser.

And that’s what passes continue to be about: commitment and value, with a little variety added in.