The company’s five resorts here are seeing mellow traffic despite well-above-average snowpacks
Ikon Pass
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Record number of skier days at American resorts this year despite so-so snowfall
For decades, traffic to American ski resorts has relied on one thing: Snow. Big snowfall meant big business. But the busiest season ever in American skiing — 2021-22, with an all-time high of 61 million skier days — was not a remarkable snow year. The previous high points for national skier visits were set in […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors, Outsider
Colorado’s independent ski areas are thriving in the shadow of dueling, consolidating resort giants
In the shadow of battling behemoths, smaller, independent ski areas are thriving. “It’s not just that the big areas are crowded and skiers want to escape crowds,” said Bob Nicolls, the owner of Monarch ski area, which saw record visitation in 2021-22, with income for the ski area climbing 20% above the previous season. “I […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors, Outsider
Epic crowds are colliding with epic labor shortages at ski areas
Alex Kaufman thought it would be an amusing website. Something to poke fun at the largest resort operator in North America. So he bought epicliftlines.com for $12 last March, just as Vail Resorts announced a plan to slash the price of its popular Epic Pass by 20%. “I thought ‘Oh, this could become a thing. […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors, Outsider
Snow may not be piling up at Colorado ski resorts this season, but anxiety sure is
It wasn’t that long ago that ski resort operators lost sleep over snowfall. Then they had to fret over once-in-a-lifetime protocols to limit the spread of contagion at their ski areas. Now, the worries are stacked even deeper, with affordable housing, dwindling numbers of workers and ever-lengthening lift lines joining the perennial fretting over snow […]
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Powdr’s Fast Tracks offers $49+ chance to skip the lift line at Copper Mountain, triggering a skier backlash
Powdr, the owner of Copper Mountain, Eldora and nine other resorts, likely thought its Fast Tracks program unveiled this week would be a defining perk in the increasingly competitive resort industry. The so-called “premium experience” program offers fast-access, beat-the-crowds lift lanes at Copper, Utah’s Snowbird, Oregon’s Mount Bachelor and Vermont’s Killington to skiers who pay […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Health, News, Outdoors
Vail Resorts will credit up to 80% of unused Epic passes value to 2020-21 pass
People who bought Epic Passes this ski season but did not use them can apply 80% of the purchase price to a pass for the 2020-21 season, Vail Resorts said Monday. In addition to reversing its no-refunds policy, which riled skiers who bought passes expecting to use them in the spring — after the company […]
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Arapahoe Basin’s effort to avoid overcrowding by leaving the Epic Pass may be working too well
Alan Henceroth wanted about 100,000 fewer skier visits at his Arapahoe Basin ski area when he left the Epic Pass last year, citing overflowing parking lots and crowds that threatened to degrade the 1,400-acre resort’s ski experience. He got it. And more. After 10 years with the Epic Pass, spearheaded by Vail Resorts, and a […]
Posted inBusiness, Growth, News, Outdoors
Veteran resort operator proposes to lead Granby Ranch out of chaos
A Colorado ski industry veteran has assembled a team that wants to run the ski area and golf operations at Granby Ranch even as the longtime owner of the resort navigates foreclosure. “The circumstance of Granby Ranch is relatively tumultuous. The current situation does not deter us at all,” Andy Wirth and his son Jace […]
Posted inOutdoors
Not sure which season ski pass to buy? Here are 10 questions to help guide your decision.
It’s the time of year to ponder passes. Season ski pass prices start climbing around Labor Day and today’s resort operators offer discounts for skiers who commit early. Remember: resorts punish poor planners with exorbitant prices for day lift tickets. Here’s a guide for the 2019-20 ski season in Colorado, which is ground zero for […]