One fee, 65 resorts: Will global lift passes transform the traditional ski holiday?
For most British skiers and snowboarders the annual ski holiday comprises a week’s trip to a single resort, perhaps with the opportunity to explore a neighbouring ski area covered by the same lift pass. However, the rise of season-long lift passes covering many resorts worldwide brings the possibility for adventurous globetrotters to travel across multiple, previously unrelated resorts, even in different countries, during one or multiple trips in a season.
At the start of 2018 a conglomerate of American ski resorts, formed by the Alterra Mountain Company, launched the latest of these, the Ikon Pass, covering 23 ski resorts accross nine US states and three Canadian provinces. Eight months later the company has just announced that a further 12 resorts have been added to the Pass, taking the total available to 35.
Alterra has expanded its offering out of the US and Canada and into Japan, with the addition of the country’s four leading resorts Niseko, Grand Hirafu, Hanazono, and Annupuri. Australia is also now covered, where pass holders will be able to shred in Thredbo.
The latest expansion also further increases Alterra’s reach across United States, with resorts in Washington, Michigan, New Hampshire and Maine now covered.
The Ikon Pass already covered Deer Valley, Alta and Snowbird in Utah, and has now expanded coverage in the state with the addition of Solitude and Brighton.
The pass now spans three continents, 12 US states and four Canadian provinces, offering a total of 72,032 acres of skiable terrain.
“The Ikon Pass is expanding and we are thrilled to jump start the 2018/19 ski and snowboard season by adding more premier destinations for pass holders, now giving access to iconic terrain across three continents,” said Erik Forsell, chief marketing officer of the Alterra Mountain Company.
Multi-resort and multi-country season passes are not a new concept, especially across the Atlantic, with many of the most popular resorts in America and Canada now covered by such passes. Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass has been the industry leader since its launch in 2008. It covers 65 resorts around the world, including three recent acquisitions, Okemo in Vermont, Mount Sunapee in New Hampshire and Crested Butte in Colorado. Better-known resorts covered by the Epic Pass also include Vail, Park City,and Breckenridge and limited access to resorts in the Alps, Japan and Australia
Vail’s biggest story of late has been the $1.4 billion (£1bn) purchase of Canada’s most popular resort, Whistler, last season, meaning it could be added to the Epic Pass. Eight percent of the 750,000 Epic Pass holders visited the resort in British Columbia during the 2017/18 winter.
Alterra’s recent growth puts the Ikon Pass in more direct competition with the Epic in North America, and as well as targeting Americans, the company aims to tempt adventurous Europeans to use the pass to explore a multitude of resorts away from their comfort zone in Europe.
The Ikon Base Pass is intended to increase appeal of the season pass to international visitors by cutting the cost. It gives access to the same destinations as the main pass, but at a reduced price because certain peak dates are blacked out. There is no similar Epic Pass, although seven- and four-day passes covering a selection of the Epic resorts are available.
“The Ikon Pass is an ideal way for visitors to North America to enjoy a long stay or explore a number of destinations in one visit,” said Forsell.
Some of the other key destinations covered by the Ikon Pass and the best-known by Britons include Squaw Valley, Mammoth, Aspen Snowmass and Jackson Hole in the US, and Revelstoke and Tremblant in Canada.
