Colorado Arapahoe Basin Is NOW a Free Agent (8/2/19 Update: A-Basin has joined IKON)

[Green08]

Personally a game changer to me would be for Powder Alliane or Colorado Gems to become an actual pass upgrade.

All these independents swap 3 days already. Ikon and Epic seem to make 5 days the magic number. WP or Copper only passes we’re about $150 less than the Ikon Base I think.

Sell your own mountains unlimited pass at your usual price. But for $150 more you can get the ZXCVBNM Powder Allaince Pass with all the extra days at independents. I think it would create some serious competition in metro markets like The Front Range.

But maybe I am just dreaming.

 

[Green08]

And this is a long shot, but....

Could @Tricia and @Philpug pull some stings and make a sit down, in depth interview with the guys at ABasin happen when they are in town again?

I think we all would not mind one or two more layers of the onion peeled back to see inside.

 

[Philpug]

And this is a long shot, but....

Could @Tricia and @Philpug pull some stings and make a sit down, in depth interview with the guys at ABasin happen when they are in town again?

I think we all would not mind one or two more layers of the onion peeled back to see inside.

We can try. Al knows us and says Hi every time we are there.

 

[Ken_R]

We can try. Al knows us and says Hi every time we are there.

That would be awesome!

 

[James]

Fact check. VR Employees DO have pay when the other I-70 properties are closed. It's something nominal ($10 maybe?), but it's not free, and I've heard plenty of griping about it.

It's not free for Vail East employees either. I believe it's $10.

I take it by getting off Epic, (cold turkey!), the percentage of skiers at Abay who've at least heard of the Responsibility Code will increase?

 

[ErikCO]

I'm quite excited about this. Here's to hoping that early and late season won't be death traps any more! I don't mind a bit of a price increase if it means I might actually consider skiing on weekends!

 

[Karen_skier2.0]

Selfishly, for my own pocketbook, I'm not thrilled. Home base is Breckenridge and I cannot beat my housing deal there. I love when the ski season goes on and on away the Basin and I got to ski on my first summer solstice.

Isn't there some pass at AB where you can essentially ski the late season and extend it to the next year?

I'd actually like AB to do nothing for a year before partnering to see how the hill and parking is actually impacted-- but I doubt that will happen.

 

[Brian Likes Pow]

Lets get alta off the ikon pass while we're at it!

 

[nay]

Isn't there some pass at AB where you can essentially ski the late season and extend it to the next year?

You could buy next season pass any time starting April 1st and ski that current spring for free.

Not sure if they still do that.

 

[New2]

I agree with many posters that A-Basin is unlikely to get heavily into partnerships. But I disagree with those who are forecasting bargain pricing like the rest of the front range--seems like wishful thinking. I think their advantageous location for snow & terrain plus the new upgrades mean that they can charge a genuinely premium price (Aspen- or Telluride-type day & season pricing), limit ticket sales to something like 6k per day, and increase revenue while making customers a lot happier. Yes, there are going to be plenty of folks who will refuse to pay such steep prices. But that's what needs to happen if they're ever going to live within their current parking allowance. There are a lot of folks living in the front range who are willing to pay loads of money to travel & ski elsewhere; if they can get a similar experience without travelling, some of them will do so.

 

[Karen_skier2.0]

Right now it is $399 for an adult full season pass. Not sure if that went up during the season.

 

[Lorenzzo]

I agree with many posters that A-Basin is unlikely to get heavily into partnerships. But I disagree with those who are forecasting bargain pricing like the rest of the front range--seems like wishful thinking. I think their advantageous location for snow & terrain plus the new upgrades mean that they can charge a genuinely premium price (Aspen- or Telluride-type day & season pricing), limit ticket sales to something like 6k per day, and increase revenue while making customers a lot happier. Yes, there are going to be plenty of folks who will refuse to pay such steep prices. But that's what needs to happen if they're ever going to live within their current parking allowance. There are a lot of folks living in the front range who are willing to pay loads of money to travel & ski elsewhere; if they can get a similar experience without travelling, some of them will do so.

I'd bet there's internal discussion on whether to take it this way or stay the course in terms of vibe.

 

[Snowflake2420]

Late to the party, I was riding Breck when I saw the notification from Denver Post pop up. I am really in shock, I talked about it all day with my ski partner haha.

While I've enjoyed A Basin access through the Epic Local and where I log many days per season, I will gladly pay for a pass or tickets next season. I really don't care if they offer reciprocal days although it would be cool if they went a Loveland route.

Very excited to hopefully see the laid back vibe return and much more lapping of chairs. Oh and fewer stops on Lenawee haha. It's as if Al actually read my answers to their little survey.

 

[RachelV]

... I think their advantageous location for snow & terrain plus the new upgrades mean that they can charge a genuinely premium price (Aspen- or Telluride-type day & season pricing), limit ticket sales to something like 6k per day, and increase revenue while making customers a lot happier. ..,

I love A-Basin, but it’s no Aspen. I’ll happily pay more for a pass (charging more than Loveland’s pass, for example, seems like a no-brainer), but thinking they’ll end up close to 2k for a pass seems... hard to justify.

It will be super interesting to see how they price passes vs day tickets vs 4 packs etc and get a peek into what they’re trying to incentivize.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

Aspen/Vail lift ticket rates certainly would reduce crowding at A-Bay. I don't know why I'd pay more to ski there than at Loveland.

 

[skix]

I love A-Basin, but it’s no Aspen. I’ll happily pay more for a pass (charging more than Loveland’s pass, for example, seems like a no-brainer), but thinking they’ll end up close to 2k for a pass seems... hard to justify.

I love ABasin too but since I need to buy 3 passes I personally wouldn't continue buying if the price went up alot. In this case define "alot" as costing much more than a pass that would get me into one of the other front-range accessible ski areas.

 

[Mike King]

Supposedly parking was the pinch point. Might be a sticking point for Ikon as well...

https://coloradosun.com/2019/02/18/arapahoe-basin-epic-pass-vail-resorts-split/

 

[Noodler]

I'm wondering if A-Basin can actually return to the vibe it had before VR picked it up on the Epic pass. For those of us who've been around long enough to remember, A-Basin was truly special (some might call it "legendary") back around the turn of the century.

For me, after missing about 4 seasons, I was quite surprised by the changes at A-Basin; both the infrastructure (lifts, buildings, etc.), but also the crowds (slope traffic) and parking insanity. It was really obvious how "hard" the growth has been on this mountain. This was definitely the right decision. I'm going to hold off on buying any passes for next season until I see how things come together. If it costs me a few more bucks, so be it, but my "spidey sense" is telling me that there will be something more announced in the future.

 

[Coach13]

Clearly pass prices at AB will be going up. They are betting on less skier visits to pay for their recent expansion and capital expenditures so they have some revenue loss to make up from fewer skiers. It will be interesting to see if this model is successful given day skiers will be driving past Loveland to pay more to ski AB and breaking away from Vail also cuts way into the destination skiers skiing AB. I’ve got my money on 2-3 years max they will be back to a partnering pass situation, likely IKON.

 

[tball]

I think A-basin needs to announce they will NOT be on Ikon next year if they won't be. That's a key piece of info folks need for their early season pass buying decisions.

First, everyone who is tired of the Epic sh*t show at A-basin needs assurance it won't be replaced by an Ikonic one.

Second, for those of us accustomed to buying an A-basin Pass in addition to another pass, we need to know if A-basin will be included on Ikon to make our pass buying decision.

Personally, I'm happy as a clam with a Copper Pass and an A-basin Pass and using the free days at Taos and Monarch to get away. Or if my buddies plan a trip to Aspen, JH or UT I'll buy Ikon and A-basin Passes. I'd love it if A-basin stays off Ikon and happy to pay for two passes to keep A-basin the way it should be. Still sad about CB.