Mountain Collective 2019/2020

[sbooker]

https://www.nzski.com/footer/mountain-collective/
Am I reading this correctly? If you go to the second paragraph is talks about the 19/20 Mountain Collective pass. Does this mean it is locked in again? I certainly hope so. I plan on using it in NZ this August and then US in early 2020 if it is not discontinued because of the Ikon Pass.
Any word from industry 'insiders' or those in the know?

 

[Wasatchman]

https://www.nzski.com/footer/mountain-collective/
Am I reading this correctly? If you go to the second paragraph is talks about the 19/20 Mountain Collective pass. Does this mean it is locked in again? I certainly hope so. I plan on using it in NZ this August and then US in early 2020 if it is not discontinued because of the Ikon Pass.
Any word from industry 'insiders' or those in the know?

I read it the same way you do. There will be a 2019/2020 Mountain Collective Pass. I am speculating, but I would not be surprised if AltaBird are not on the IKON pass next season.

It makes sense for a mountain collective pass to still exist as I would think independent resorts wouldn't want to exclusively be part of Alterra's IKON pass.

 

[Jim McDonald]

I don't see any particular reason for Alta/Snowbird to drop the Ikon participation; seems to me they can benefit from being with both MCP & Ikon.

 

[Eleeski]

I hope Mountain Collective still works next year. It has been fantastic for our guests.

I hope Alta/Bird does both MC and Icon next year. The ridiculous walk up prices make pass affiliations critical. Or they could just lower the day rate and get us to visit that way.

Eric

 

[Tom K.]

Tough to pass these passes up (sorry)!

From a selfish point of view, I hope Jackson Hole drops out of all of them. This January's annual "boys' trip" was amongst the most crowded ever, and we've been doing this trip for about a billion years.

There are enough lifts now that the lines never got very long at all, but new snow was scarce, and the groomers were close to scraped clean by 1 PM.

I shudder to think what the crowd factor would have been if there had been fresh snow every couple of days.

 

[RJS]

Tough to pass these passes up (sorry)!

From a selfish point of view, I hope Jackson Hole drops out of all of them. This January's annual "boys' trip" was amongst the most crowded ever, and we've been doing this trip for about a billion years.

There are enough lifts now that the lines never got very long at all, but new snow was scarce, and the groomers were close to scraped clean by 1 PM.

I shudder to think what the crowd factor would have been if there had been fresh snow every couple of days.

It's tough because we complain both about the rising costs of skiing and the increasing crowds at particular resort, while one is clearly a function of the other. Taking Jackson Hole off of the Mountain Collective and Ikon would make it more expensive for many of us to visit Jackson Hole, but would thin crowds out a bit. Striking that balance is difficult. On one extreme, you could buy a property at the Yellowstone Club and never see a crowd again in your life. On the other extreme, you could visit Vail on a holiday weekend, keep returning to ski lifts out of the base, and be living in a nightmare.

I will be very curious to see which resorts stay and which go on the Mountain Collective (and Ikon) pass for 2019-2020!

 

[Tom K.]

It's tough because we complain both about the rising costs of skiing and the increasing crowds at particular resort, while one is clearly a function of the other. Taking Jackson Hole off of the Mountain Collective and Ikon would make it more expensive for many of us to visit Jackson Hole, but would thin crowds out a bit. Striking that balance is difficult. On one extreme, you could buy a property at the Yellowstone Club and never see a crowd again in your life. On the other extreme, you could visit Vail on a holiday weekend, keep returning to ski lifts out of the base, and be living in a nightmare.

I will be very curious to see which resorts stay and which go on the Mountain Collective (and Ikon) pass for 2019-2020!

All true. For me, the annual pilgrimage to JH is a big enough deal that I'd gladly trade lighter crowds for a couple more hundred bucks spread over 5 days. Percentage-wise, $300 more for a notably better ski experience would be kind of like stepping over dimes to pick up dollars. Easy call!

 

[Nathanvg]

It's tough because we complain both about the rising costs of skiing and the increasing crowds at particular resort, while one is clearly a function of the other.

There is a third option: reduce costs. For example, I wish Jackson hadn't built the new gondola. Heck, I would have been fine with cheaper replacements for the tram and other gondola. Fancy lifts seem to excite some people but I'd rather have cheap lifts with less crowds

 

[TonyPlush]

I got the annual email survey a few weeks ago about the MCP. It included the always interesting question "Which mountain would you like to see added next year?"

Since then I've assumed the MCP is still a go. I hope so, it fits my skiing needs far better than any other pass.

 

[SpikeDog]

My MCP survey answer to "Which mountain to add" was Steamboat.

 

[TonyPlush]

My MCP survey answer to "Which mountain to add" was Steamboat.

Same. Last year my answer was Big Sky, and that was successful. So, hoping this one is too.

Seems interesting though that many of the contenders were Alterra owned mountains. Possible MCP/Alterra collaboration next year?

Here's the list from the survey, btw:

 

[givethepigeye]

Tough to pass these passes up (sorry)!

From a selfish point of view, I hope Jackson Hole drops out of all of them. This January's annual "boys' trip" was amongst the most crowded ever, and we've been doing this trip for about a billion years.

There are enough lifts now that the lines never got very long at all, but new snow was scarce, and the groomers were close to scraped clean by 1 PM.

I shudder to think what the crowd factor would have been if there had been fresh snow every couple of days.

The “pass” is definitely contributory, but there are many factors at play. Social media marketing, better access via increased flights and origins, built out accommodations at village, more dining options, and perhaps most important - more terrain for intermediates (think all that stuff around Casper). Marketing is geared to Momma bear, momma bear likes these things. <- sorry, that is a broad generalization and doesn’t reflect views of all “momma bears”, but still true.

Back in the day, with old tram, the village was the hill and the hill was the village. Sure there was a Four Seasons, but back then it was reasonablely priced for what it is/wasand not 100% full all the time.

I agree with what you would like to see, 100%, but don’t think that is going to happen.

 

[tball]

Here's the list from the survey, btw: View attachment 65003

Wow, that's fascinating there are so many Ikon resorts on the list.

Who owns the Mountain Collective?

I wonder if there is a possibility of Alterra acquiring it as an alternative pass to Ikon. Or, they could just add an "Ikon Collective" product that is substantially similar.

Anything to commit skiers to their resorts, yes? There is clearly demand for the product and they have most of the resorts lined up already.

 

[TonyPlush]

The “pass” is definitely contributory, but there are many factors at play. Social media marketing, better access via increased flights and origins, built out accommodations at village, more dining options, and perhaps most important - more terrain for intermediates (think all that stuff around Casper). Marketing is geared to Momma bear, momma bear likes these things. <- sorry, that is a broad generalization and doesn’t reflect views of all “momma bears”, but still true.

Interesting point, and probably true. My group of intermediate/advanced friends wasn't super excited about Jackson Hole, then JHMR added the Teton Quad and suddenly the map looked more appealing to them. This year we made our first trip.

 

[givethepigeye]

I believe MC = Liftopia.

 

[Marcel]

disappointing to see sun valley leaving MC pass and joining Epic, they are getting a lot of heat in the social media comments, not that matter much but at least I'm not the only one unhappy!

 

[Kneale Brownson]

Interesting point, and probably true. My group of intermediate/advanced friends wasn't super excited about Jackson Hole, then JHMR added the Teton Quad and suddenly the map looked more appealing to them. This year we made our first trip.

How did it go?

 

[TonyPlush]

How did it go?

Had a blast. Probably in my top 3 mountains. I posted a mini-TR here.

 

[sbooker]

I thought the Mountain Collective was an initiative of Aspen Ski Co?

 

[Uncle Louie]

I believe MC = Liftopia.

I thought the Mountain Collective was an initiative of Aspen Ski Co?

The info is in the first paragraph here;

https://snowboarding.transworld.net/news/big-resort-merger-one-new-mountain-collective-pass/