Pacific NW/AK/BC Crystal Mountain to discontinue weekend walk up lift tickets

[Pat AKA mustski]

This is the question that we would all like to hear the answer to from ALL the areas that are now affiliated in one way or another with IKON or Epic. Why would you renew your yearly pass at (fill in the blank) if you can get one that is substantially cheaper and offers more opportunity? If you have places like Deer Valley or Jackson Hole that are either 5 or 7 days on the IKON how many people used to have only a DV or JH pass but didn't really ski that much or figured out even if they had to pay a reduced rate after that 5 or 7 days it would still satisfy their skiing needs and still be less than a resort specific pass?

Some resorts sell season passes after the Ikon is no longer available - Decemberish? At that point, they can charge an arm and a leg because it's the only option other than day passes.

 

[HardDaysNight]

Well the one thing you can be sure of, whether the new crowds are at Deer Valley, Alta, Snowbird, Jackson Hole or, now, Crystal, it’s NOT IKON’S FAULT. It’s because of GOOD SNOW! Good snow that none of these places has ever experienced before.

 

[David Chaus]

We are blaming it on the locals, this time.
No one other than them folks living in the north left corner of the country have ever heard of Crystal Mountain. Most people think it's the one in MI.

When I told people I skied Crystal Mountain, WA in 1990. They all told me I must have fell of the edge of the earth and bonged my head. Now I know I wasn't abducted by aliens.

Oh, you two have skied Crystal a bit since 1990, I remember having fun skiing with you guys on Northway and you didn’t even want to bother with Chair 6 since it Northway was so good.

 

[Christy]

We are blaming it on the locals, this time.
No one other than them folks living in the north left corner of the country have ever heard of Crystal Mountain. Most people think it's the one in MI.

When I told people I skied Crystal Mountain, WA in 1990. They all told me I must have fell of the edge of the earth and bonged my head. Now I know I wasn't abducted by aliens.

A lot of "locals" moved here about 5 minutes ago, so really it's just another way to complain about the enormous population growth here.

 

[Snowflake2420]

I'm happy to pay more for a pass, however, the game changed with Epic and then Ikon trying to build a brand. One point I didn't previously consider in terms of price point is Ikon only has 2 offerings meaning you pay the same if your home mountain is Tremblant or Copper. Those on the East are likely more price sensitive if their real season pass option is Ikon/Ikon Base.

Makes me wonder if Ikon attempts to offer more regional options to deal with this issue.

 

[David Chaus]

Well the one thing you can be sure of, whether the new crowds are at Deer Valley, Alta, Snowbird, Jackson Hole or, now, Crystal, it’s NOT IKON’S FAULT. It’s because of GOOD SNOW! Good snow that none of these places has ever experienced before.

It’s in part due to having a lot of new snow, after not having any in November and December.

 

[PNWRod]

Interesting. I'm fairly sure that was not there when I bought my Ikon pass back in the spring, but I do see it on the website now. I wonder if they added option that once you could no longer buy an Ikon pass, perhaps? Either way, I stand corrected.

You know that could be it. Now that I think back it may not have been on the website last spring. I remember the pricing being hammered out and with the ski resort sale going through it took a while to get all the pricing finalized. I'm getting old and can't remember exactly how that all went down.

I can tell you it's cheaper now as the Crystal Gold pass from 2012-2013 was $1499 but day tickets were only $74.00

 

[Brian Finch]

 

[KingGrump]

Oh, you two have skied Crystal a bit since 1990, I remember having fun skiing with you guys on Northway and you didn’t even want to bother with Chair 6 since it Northway was so good.

Still one of my favorite mountains.

 

[Tom K.]

I wonder how this kind of thing plays with their Forest Service Permit, if at all?

The talk about crowding not being the fault of IKON or Epic passes cracks me up. Of course that's not it. Directly, at least.

Fact is cheap tickets bring more crowds, whether it's IKON, Epic or my home area selling midweek passes for $400. Those cheap tickets and the never-ending growth of Portland have exploded crowds here.

 

[markojp]

What percentage of Ikon Passholders will actually ski at Crystal? Probably a tiny percentage.

They sold many many thousands in the greater Seattle region. Most of the passes I see on jackets are Ikon and still largely local. So what happened? Simple. A rapidly growing population employed in high paying professional fields. Previously, a CM season pass was near $1200. Ikon is cheaper and gives access to Snoqualmie. There has been very little to no ski area development or expansion in the region in a generation. IMHO, the Ikon pass is having a very significant impact. Combined with folks new to the region driving cars that are ill prepared for winter travel on two lane roadways, one bit of pilot error can being it all to a grinding halt. I think this is the new reality. The only solution is to arrive earlier until the next economic downturn.

 

[Green08]

Long term solution seems to be:

Move Crystal from the base pass to the full Ikon pass. That will limit some pass sales and bring in extra revenue.

Make all of Lot A for 4 person+ carpooling.

Build the masterplan parking structure, using the extra pass sale income, and then charge the typical fee to park in the structure vs a further out shuttle lot.

 

[CalG]

Hmm...

Get turned away 2 miles from the parking lot, or get turned away on the internet?

It saves gas, and so saves the world from deathly global burning in the latter case. Oh So Annoying!

Sounds OK to me.

 

[fatbob]

So have the crowds in WA redistributed and somewhere else ,(Stevens?) is significantly down? Otherwise given we've established none of the ski hills are material destination areas you're basically talking about the skier base of the area having increased. It's a local population problem not an Ikon problem and is the reason the biggest whines about megapasses come from places like A Basin and Deer Valley and not places like Big Sky and Sun Valley.

 

[David Chaus]

Hmm...

Get turned away 2 miles from the parking lot, or get turned away on the internet?

It saves gas, and so saves the world from deathly global burning in the latter case. Oh So Annoying!

Sounds OK to me.

Actually it’s 6 miles on Crystal Mt Blvd from Hwy 410.

 

[crgildart]

Anybody got any data that shows traffic shifting from failed ski resorts to the remaining bigger players as a factor for increased crowd carnage? Hundreds (and hundreds?) of ski resorts have failed and gone abandoned in the past 30 years. Folks who skied there aren't all NOT skiing. Many are skiing at the larger surviving places. Fewer choices definitely results in higher demand for remaining options.

 

[crgildart]

I suspect they can't as easily legally refuse to serve pass holders except during pre agreed blackout dates. That essentially leaves them little choice except to refuse to sell day tickets when something drastic needs to be done to reduce overall volume.

 

[Nancy Hummel]

It seems that the non epic resorts needed a way to compete with epic passes. They found it and are now dealing with the success of it.

Less expensive passes, growing population and good snow are adding up to crowds.

The fact that you can buy an Ikon pass for your one big ski trip a year plus local skiing is a great deal. You can be assured of local skiing and have access to other mountains.

This may take time to sort out but it seems like the Alterra resorts are trying to figure out solutions.

 

[markojp]

Hmm...

Get turned away 2 miles from the parking lot, or get turned away on the internet?

It saves gas, and so saves the world from deathly global burning in the latter case. Oh So Annoying!

Sounds OK to me.

The bottom of CM blvd is 6 miles from the resort. You'll know there are issues well before then... in a "this sucks" way.

 

[markojp]

Anybody got any data that shows traffic shifting from failed ski resorts to the remaining bigger players as a factor for increased crowd carnage? Hundreds (and hundreds?) of ski resorts have failed and gone abandoned in the past 30 years. Folks who skied there aren't all NOT skiing. Many are skiing at the larger surviving places. Fewer choices definitely results in higher demand for remaining options.

There are zero failed ski resorts near Seattle. Only one near Mt. Baker (Mt. Pilchuck). Baker is independent.