So who is getting a 2020-2021 season pass?

NELSAP

We have the great thread on the prices, but let's have a thread on if you are buying a pass - which one, and why?

I'm leaning towards the holiday restricted NY Ski-3 pass, but I may still change my mind. Gore is the closest mountain for us, 50 min away, and it's a big place with a lot of variety. Mixing it up with several visits to Whiteface is a nice option to have too. This enables a ski season of Mid-Nov to Late April (at least at Whiteface). It gives me the option to visit my favorite independent places on vacation or holidays.

Yet a combination of the Indy Pass and My Champlain Valley Card is a good mix too, that's less than $400 for the both of them, though a lot of the Indy Pass areas are too far for me to realistically drive to.

What are your plans for next season?

NewEnglandSkier13

Besides employee passes at the mountains I work at, I may still get a Whaleback pass, which includes the Freedom Pass.

DrJeff

Whatever Epic when announced that has no blackout days for Mount Snow (if it's still the Epic local, then that's what it will be). Probably going have some type of IKON as well (still figuring out Western travels plans for next season, and otherwise my kids have enough race days at IKON resorts that it makes financial sense as well as gives me and the family more options) and then presuming my kids highschool ski team is racing at Mount Southington, CT next year as they did this year, I'll also have a pass there, unless they get "gobbled up" by some multi resort pass instead of just being solo....

newpylong

Employee pass and Ragged per usual!

jgreco

If all Epic passes stay the same, then Epic Local and maybe an Indy pass for weekends and vacation.

jaytrem

Epic is now available. 20% off food is nice.

jgreco

jaytrem;c-40633 wroteEpic is now available. 20% off food is nice.

Oof, unless they copy and pasted in error, there won't be any buddy tickets for 2021 at former Peak mountains.

DrJeff

jgreco;c-40635 wrote
jaytrem;c-40633 wroteEpic is now available. 20% off food is nice.
Oof, unless they copy and pasted in error, there won't be any buddy tickets for 2021 at former Peak mountains.

That's how I read it as well....

And the 20% of of F&B doesn't apply to alcohol....

jgreco

As Chuckstah pointed out in the other thread, the Northeast Value Pass is attractive. Didn't see that on first scan. 99% sure I'll get that and an Indy for holidays.

Edit: JD, I'd be all in on NY ski 3 if I was in your area. Good deal. My pops has had his for 3 years now... the 70+ for ~$230 is a steal.

ski_it

jgreco;c-40635 wrote
jaytrem;c-40633 wroteEpic is now available. 20% off food is nice.
Oof, unless they copy and pasted in error, there won't be any buddy tickets for 2021 at former Peak mountains.

Still? That's surprising...I thought

yardsale

At Snow, no food discounts at Bull Wheel, Cuzzins, Iron Loft, 1900 etc. Just the cafeteria food is discounted.

edit - and the only wax/tuning discount in the Northeast is at Stowe.
https://epicpass.com/-/media/epic-pass/documents/emr-wax--tune--final-launch.ashx

rickbolger

Right now I'm at $48/visit on the Epic local for this season. That includes multiple days at Okemo, Attitash, Wildcat, Hunter, Mount Snow, Crested Butte, Vail, Beaver Creek. If I really push I may get that down to $40/visit.

The Champlain Valley card I'm at $35/visit for Oak, West, Bretton Woods, Burke, Gore.

I'll do the Champlain Valley card for sure.

Undecided re. Epic. Best part about it has been going to Mount Snow with no concern for daily cost. I have family members who live less than 2 hrs from Wildcat and Attitash so they were talking Peak pass again, then Epic, and it kind of forced all of us to make a move when we began to discuss western trips.

One of the drawbacks to the big passes is that it pre-determines who you will and won't be skiing with

shpride

Blue Hills is a definite. It'll be 14 years in a row. Even with how tough of a year it's been I am really happy with the product.

I got the Epic this year and was happy with it. I am at break even right now and imagine I'll get at least one more day in this year. I am undecided for next year as of right now because I like the Mt. Snow/North Conway area access and my west trip is typically at Breck. The only think that may change is I'd like to branch on my west trip and I'm in the beginning phases of planning that right now.

Cannonball

Estimating how this season will finish out: I'll be at ~$13/day for Cannon and ~$40/day on Ikon. Or a total of ~$21/day. All of those Ikon days are at expensive places like Squaw, Steamboat, Sugarbush, etc.

So it would be pretty easy to repeat a Cannon+Ikon combo. Not to mention $50 off to renew Ikon.

But I'm not locked into Ikon yet. As Rickbolger says, the pass you get determines who you ski with. For the past 10 years I've been buying my 3 nephews Cannon season passes. Now they are scattered to the winds of college and military. I may re-align my pass to what works best for them, or cut them loose and change it up for me.

ski_it

yardsale;c-40640 wroteAt Snow, no food discounts at Bull Wheel, Cuzzins, Iron Loft, 1900 etc. Just the cafeteria food is discounted.

They'll just raise all their prices 20%.
Wait...Cuzzins is fine dining?

Edit: and the Stowe tune is lowest amount out of all of them too

yardsale

From the Mt Snow perspective with apologies to the rest of Epic.... Do Snow crowds dissipate because the Drifter pass disappears? Do Snow crowds increase due to the new Northeast value pass?

Also, it seems the Peaks purchase was more defensive in nature since there really is no added benefits being given to Peak's Epic customers.

The one thing that Epic was all about prior was simplicity. You bought an Epic or an Epic Local. Now, their passes and benefits are all over the place - the benefits aren't even consistent at the pass level. It's a spider web of pass level / resort with the only logic being that former Peaks resorts are at the bottom on the benefit list. Not really what Katz had promoted in the past. I suspect Peaks mt's are at the bottom of the lift replacement list as well.

DrJeff

yardsale;c-40648 wroteFrom the Mt Snow perspective with apologies to the rest of Epic.... Do Snow crowds dissipate because the Drifter pass disappears? Do Snow crowds increase due to the new Northeast value pass?

Also, it seems the Peaks purchase was more defensive in nature since there really is no added benefits being given to Peak's Epic customers.

The one thing that Epic was all about prior was simplicity. You bought an Epic or an Epic Local. Now, their passes and benefits are all over the place - the benefits aren't even consistent at the pass level. It's a spider web of pass level / resort with the only logic being that former Peaks resorts are at the bottom on the benefit list. Not really what Katz had promoted in the past. I suspect Peaks mt's are at the bottom of the lift replacement list as well.

If you believe any of the social media ranting today, *some* of the Drifter crew decreases... Remains to be seen...

Some of the 3 big Holiday period crowd deceases as a result of the new Northeast Epic pass with those days blocked out.

Will this make a BIG difference? Probably not. Will it make a small, maybe not very noticeable difference? Maybe

As a close to 2 decade, spanning now 3 owners, Mount Snow regular, I'm going to hold my Vail judgement for another season or 2 to see how they choose to run the resort after a few seasons.

Do I know for a fact that there are a bunch of us 2nd home owners, with numerous kids in multiple kids programs, who have been long term big supporters of Mount Snow who have been quite disappointed in numerous things that have happened this under under Vail's ownership? 100% yes

If there was one thing that I would strongly suggest that Vail returns to Mount Snow from the Peak era, and moreso the Peak era of 3+ seasons ago, was the incredibly open channel of communication that existed between multiple resort department heads and the public. The often lack of basic communication in a timely, if at all, fashion, with the public this year has made some problems that likely could of been smoothed over to a much greater degree with communication much greater of an issue and an often poor optics situation. That has been very frustrating thing this season

Chuckstah

Vail fails miserably with communication. Little chance of that happening. They will get your money now, and that is the end of communication. Until they want more money.

rickbolger

yardsale;c-40648 wroteFrom the Mt Snow perspective with apologies to the rest of Epic.... Do Snow crowds dissipate because the Drifter pass disappears? Do Snow crowds increase due to the new Northeast value pass?

I'll go out on a limb here and predict that crowds will increase and holiday crowds will increase and slowly but surely everything will become more crowded and driving through Hoosick will be even worse and the old worn out properties will be torn down for new condos and throughout the valley property values will ultimately go up and Vail will eventually propose some sort of "innovative" expansion.

Maybe not next year, but slowly but surely all of this grinds upward (or downward, depending on your perspective)

yardsale

Mt Snow "snow" reporter touting the buddy tickets that apparently don't apply to Mt. Snow in today's report :neutral:

From one day to every day—Epic 2020/21 Passes are on sale now, including the new Northeast Value Pass and Northeast Midweek Pass. Lock in your pass today for just $49 down and receive 10 buddy tickets.

Have a nice night!

Lauren