Alterra acquires Arapahoe Basin.

[crosscountry]

Ruined Solitude . why not another cool place
($35 parking / unlimited IKON)

People talk about ruining Solitude. I’m not sure I entirely agree.

I’ve been to Solitude pre-Ikon. It was pretty dead. Dead quiet, that is. I can see why some locals would prefer it that way. I would too if I live there. But the increased traffic hardly “ruin” it. It just brought it to a level of a quiet (but not dead quiet) mountain. I invited a friend to join me when I was there. She thought it was pretty nice. She just shrug when I told her how much quieter it was pre-Ikon. (we parked on the highway, for free)

Similar situation with Big Sky. I love it pre-Ikon. I love it less now as it got a lot busier and a lot more expensive. Still, I like it enough I used up all my IKON days there. I took another friend with me the year it joined IKON. It was a lot busier and I was somewhat disappointed. But my friend, who was there for the first time, thought it was incredibly nice and “uncrowded”! Once I adjust my expectation to the reality of the new Big Sky, I have to admit it’s still one of the quietest mountains by far.

 

[blackke17]

People talk about ruining Solitude. I’m not sure I entirely agree.

I’ve been to Solitude pre-Ikon. It was pretty dead. Dead quiet, that is. I can see why some locals would prefer it that way. I would too if I live there. But the increased traffic hardly “ruin” it. It just brought it to a level of a quiet (but not dead quiet) mountain. I invited a friend to join me when I was there. She thought it was pretty nice. She just shrug when I told her how much quieter it was pre-Ikon. (we parked on the highway, for free)

Similar situation with Big Sky. I love it pre-Ikon. I love it less now as it got a lot busier and a lot more expensive. Still, I like it enough I used up all my IKON days there. I took another friend with me the year it joined IKON. It was a lot busier and I was somewhat disappointed. But my friend, who was there for the first time, thought it was incredibly nice and “uncrowded”! Once I adjust my expectation to the reality of the new Big Sky, I have to admit it’s still one of the quietest mountains by far.

Great terrain at Solitude . one of my favorite places b4 the mega pass invasion. now its about dodging meat missles on every groomer, long lines, parking panic. seeing the change first hand is really depressing. It used to really live up to its name of Solitude. That made it a special place.

Grilling out in the FOG lot. No hostilities in the lift lines.

just a jaded locals opinion but man i miss the old days.

 

[Ken_R]

I think Al will stay for a while since he knows A-Basin inside and out and thats not a position that is easy to find a replacement for. He is the king of operations at that place.

I know a lot of people vilify the EPIC Pass and the Epic Pass era at A-Basin but I had PLENTY of amazing ski days at A-Basin during that time. Yes, even some uncrowded powder days. A-Basin got some significant improvements while on that pass.

I know I know, times have changed.

I would expect A-Basin to become unlimited on the Ikon Pass in the near future given it will be whole owned and operated by them. Would make little sense for Alterra to limit A-Basin days on their own pass.

Would A-Basin be much better as a fully independent ski area like Loveland? Of course, but that ship has sailed. Its not like they are going to close the place like the defunct Berthoud Pass Ski Area.

Keep Calm

 

[JoeSchmoe]

Great terrain at Solitude . one of my favorite places b4 the mega pass invasion. now its about dodging meat missles on every groomer, long lines, parking panic. seeing the change first hand is really depressing. It used to really live up to its name of Solitude. That made it a special place.

Grilling out in the FOG lot. No hostilities in the lift lines.

just a jaded locals opinion but man i miss the old days.

Just curious when the old days were?

I was last in SLC a few weeks before COVID in 2020. We went expecting the worst based on reports on here about IKON crowds. We skied Monday to Thursday at Snowbird, Brighton, and Snowbasin and the only real lineup was coming out of Mineral Basin. I don't recall any powder days, but conditions were still pretty good.

Granted, we didn't make it to Solitude, but I didn't think things had changed that much due to IKON.

 

[blackke17]

Just curious when the old days were?

I was last in SLC a few weeks before COVID in 2020. We went expecting the worst based on reports on here about IKON crowds. We skied Monday to Thursday at Snowbird, Brighton, and Snowbasin and the only real lineup was coming out of Mineral Basin. I don't recall any powder days, but conditions were still pretty good.

Granted, we didn't make it to Solitude, but I didn't think things had changed that much due to IKON.

Hey Joe,
I had a Solbright (Solitude Brighton Season pass) back from 2014-2016 . those were glorious years. Actually my last ski day prior to the Covid shutdown was at Solitude and I'd agree it wasn't that bad compared to the last couple of years. Think its more a combination of the Mega passes , the pandemic causing everyone wanting outdoor hobbies, and the population boom in SLC contributing. but IKON being unlimited is the major contributing factor in a much changed ski experience.

 

[SBrown]

Have any of these mega- multi- whatever-passes gone to a weekday-only option? As in, rather than 7 days on your Ikon pass, you get unlimited Mon-Thurs and, say, 4 days Fri-Sun. Or something like that. I guess it would make more sense to think of it as a weekend blackout. Just curious.

[Sorry that was kind of random but I was just thinking about possibilities for ABasin that wouldn't be full Ikon but would allow more than the current limitations.)

 

[Noodler]

Have any of these mega- multi- whatever-passes gone to a weekday-only option? As in, rather than 7 days on your Ikon pass, you get unlimited Mon-Thurs and, say, 4 days Fri-Sun. Or something like that. I guess it would make more sense to think of it as a weekend blackout. Just curious.

[Sorry that was kind of random but I was just thinking about possibilities for ABasin that wouldn't be full Ikon but would allow more than the current limitations.)

Phenomenal idea. I would jump on that in a heartbeat.

 

[Philpug]

Have any of these mega- multi- whatever-passes gone to a weekday-only option? As in, rather than 7 days on your Ikon pass, you get unlimited Mon-Thurs and, say, 4 days Fri-Sun. Or something like that. I guess it would make more sense to think of it as a weekend blackout. Just curious.

[Sorry that was kind of random but I was just thinking about possibilities for ABasin that wouldn't be full Ikon but would allow more than the current limitations.)

Phenomenal idea. I would jump on that in a heartbeat.

Mt. Rose as a mulitude of pass options with various limitations. The also offer a day of choice pass, so you can get a (example) "Tuesdays Only" pass. They will aslo credit "day of" ticket towards a season pass purchase. Also the food is 20% off and $3 off beer/wine. which both already are competitively priced.

 

[SBrown]

Mt. Rose as a mulitude of pass options with various limitations. The also offer a day of choice pass, so you can get a (example) "Tuesdays Only" pass. They will aslo credit "day of" ticket towards a season pass purchase. Also the food is 20% off and $3 off beer/wine. which both already are competitively priced.

Yes, I was speaking of the mega passes (Ikon, Epic mostly). There are tons of options within individual resorts, for sure. Honestly, it already gets so confusing about who can go when where, this might be a bad idea. But it also seems like it could be a decent compromise. Caveat as usual, I don't know the numbers.

 

[RachelV]

Ikon already has a good number of options with Base / Base+ / Full and the 5 or 7 day limits that I do think they have enough choices to dial up visitation a bit without going full unlimited.

I do hope A-Basin keeps offering the A-Basin only passes, with all the fall / midweek / blackout stuff they've already got going on.

 

[mikel]

I'm sure there are seniors that also hope A Basin keeps offering A Basin only passes. Based on timelines I'm guessing they might not be affected for next season?

 

[Tricia]

Have any of these mega- multi- whatever-passes gone to a weekday-only option? As in, rather than 7 days on your Ikon pass, you get unlimited Mon-Thurs and, say, 4 days Fri-Sun. Or something like that. I guess it would make more sense to think of it as a weekend blackout. Just curious.

[Sorry that was kind of random but I was just thinking about possibilities for ABasin that wouldn't be full Ikon but would allow more than the current limitations.)

I was just thinking about this. Many smaller ski areas have pass options that fit a variety of lifestyles and budgets.
The first A-Basin pass I purchased was beause I was skiing there on Mother's day and figured a pass was worth it. I think it was a smidge over $500.00 and it encouraged me to go back and ski there again. At that time, it was connected to Epic and also gave me 5 days at the VR options in Colorado. It was blacked out on holidays but I wasn't going to ski during those times anyway.

Another small ski area that does this kind of thing.
We took a friend's neice to Rose last week. She is moving to the area temporarily while working at a clinic before going back to finish medical school. She is working 4 days a week with Fridays off.
She was able to get the Off-Peak pass for the rest of this season. For now she can ski Fridays, but starting in March, she'll be able to ski weekends as well. This will give her a ton of opportunity to ski through the end of season. The price was $650.00, well worth the value. It would make sense for the mega pass resorts to do something similar.

 

[Tricia]

Ikon already has a good number of options with Base / Base+ / Full and the 5 or 7 day limits that I do think they have enough choices to dial up visitation a bit without going full unlimited.

I do hope A-Basin keeps offering the A-Basin only passes, with all the fall / midweek / blackout stuff they've already got going on.

I'm not sure about other areas, but places like Palisades Tahoe still offer their own pass options.

Season Passes

Choose from Lake Tahoe ski resort season pass options at Palisades Tahoe.

www.palisadestahoe.com

 

[mikel]

Received a survey from A Basin yesterday. Mostly looked like a generic survey that randomly gets sent out to skiers that ski A Basin. There were some Ikon Pass and crowding related questions and when is your favorite time to visit A Basin, including summer. I definitely made comments around encouraging them to please keep the available and reasonably priced A Basin specific passes.

 

[SBrown]

 

[RachelV]

Yessssss. I can postpone panicking about this for one more season, at least. I'll take it.

 

[Tricia]

Al posted an update on A-Basin season passes for the coming season.

Passes, Parking Reservations and The Ikon Pass

Our 2024-25 season passes went on sale today. Some of those passes include 3 days at Monarch and a day at Silverton in the unguided season. ...

arapahoebasin.blogspot.com

 

[Noodler]

Al posted an update on A-Basin season passes for the coming season.

Passes, Parking Reservations and The Ikon Pass

Our 2024-25 season passes went on sale today. Some of those passes include 3 days at Monarch and a day at Silverton in the unguided season. ...

arapahoebasin.blogspot.com

This is the "concerning" part:

"Until the sale to Alterra actually closes, we are still working for Dream and not Alterra. While not contemplated yet, upon closing there may be changes to Ikon Pass access."

 

[SBrown]

Change is inevitable, just try to do it right.

 

[Philpug]

Change is inevitable, just try to do it right.

But right for who? That is the concerning part.