Press Release: IKON Announces Partnership with Valle Nevado

[Tricia]

IKON PASS, THE NEW STANDARD IN SEASON PASSES, ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH CHILE’S PREMIER SKI DESTINATION, VALLE NEVADO​

Ikon Pass Valid for 2019 Winter Season at Valle Nevado


DENVER, CO, November 5, 2018 – Ikon Pass, the new standard in season passes, announces Valle Nevado in Chile as its newest partner, now offering access to nearly 77,000 acres at 37 premier mountain destinations across the planet. The Ikon Pass is available for purchase at www.ikonpass.com and through select travel partners.


In addition to access to winter 2018/2019 at 35 destinations in North America and Japan, Valle Nevado joins Australia’s Thredbo to offer Ikon Pass holders skiing and riding during the Southern Hemisphere’s 2019 winter season. Ikon Pass holders will have seven-day access to Valle Nevado on the Ikon Pass with no blackout dates, and five-day access on the Ikon Base Pass, also with no blackout dates. Valle Nevado’s 2019 winter season will run from June to September.


Valle Nevado in Chile, located just 90 minutes from the Santiago International Airport, sits at 10,000 feet in the spectacular Andes Mountains, the second highest peaks in the world. It is South America's foremost mountain destination, offering access to the largest amount of terrain and the most modern lift system on the continent.


“Valle Nevado is an ideal addition to the Ikon Pass community. Now Ikon Pass holders can extend their 2019 season by booking a trip to Chile for the legendary above-treeline terrain in the Andes that Valle Nevado serves up,” said Erik Forsell, Chief Marketing Officer of Alterra Mountain Company. “South America is full of passionate skiers and riders who can also now take advantage of an endless winter with the Ikon Pass as they hit the slopes of North America during the 2018/2019 winter season.”


Valle Nevado joins a group of industry leaders that make up the Ikon Pass – Alterra Mountain Company, Aspen Skiing Company, Boyne Resorts, POWDR, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Alta Ski Area, Snowbird, SkiBig3, Revelstoke Mountain Resort, Sugarbush Resort, Taos Ski Valley, Thredbo, and Niseko United. Each demonstrates integrity, character and independence that is reflected in their mountains and guests.


"Valle Nevado is thrilled to be the newest member of the Ikon Pass and to give all Ikon Pass holders the unique opportunity to ski and ride the Andes Mountains during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter," said Ricardo Margulis, Chief Executive Officer, Valle Nevado. "As South America's premier mountain destination, we are very excited to not only show off our superb terrain and stunning alpine views, but also our culture, our outstanding wine and cuisine, and our warm Chilean hospitality."


From a weeklong vacation to unlimited days, the Ikon Pass was built with the guest in mind, to provide the best experience possible. With 37 destinations in 12 states, four Canadian provinces, on four continents, the Ikon Pass is the gateway to a like-minded community, enduring memories, and the most iconic destinations on the planet.


The Ikon Pass is on sale through December 13, 2018.



Ikon Pass Destinations

California: Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, Mammoth Mountain, June Mountain, Big Bear Mountain Resort

Colorado: Aspen Snowmass, Steamboat, Winter Park Resort, Copper Mountain Resort, Eldora Mountain Resort

Maine: Sugarloaf, Sunday River

Michigan: Boyne Highlands, Boyne Mountain

Montana: Big Sky Mountain Resort

New Hampshire: Loon Mountain

New Mexico: Taos Ski Valley

Utah: Deer Valley Resort, Solitude Mountain Resort, Alta Ski Area, Snowbird, Brighton Resort

Vermont: Stratton, Killington Resort, Sugarbush Resort

Washington: Crystal Mountain Resort, The Summit at Snoqualmie

West Virginia: Snowshoe

Wyoming: Jackson Hole Mountain Resort

Alberta, Canada: SkiBig3

British Columbia, Canada: Revelstoke Mountain Resort, Cypress Mountain, CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures

Ontario, Canada: Blue Mountain

Quebec, Canada: Tremblant

New South Wales, Australia: Thredbo

Hokkaido, Japan: Niseko United

Central Andes, Chile: Valle Nevado



Ikon Pass by the Numbers

Destinations: 37

Continents: 4

States: 12

Canadian Provinces: 4

Total Acres: 76,772*

*Does not include CMH stats

For more information, please visit www.ikonpass.com.

 

[Started at 53]

That is the first destination that makes me think.... Hmmm maybe I might buy an Ikon Pass.

 

[coskigirl]

That doesn't surprise me given the relationship with Mountain Collective that has existed but still makes me happy. It'll be a few years until I go back but I will be back.

 

[Ron]

YES! I was hoping to make the jump down this summer. @Eric Lipton

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Sweet! I guess that this means my Epic Pass will be good in Portillo next summer.

 

[headybrew]

All of these changes, especially the late season ones, are frustrating. They've made it impossible to make an informed decision on which pass to buy because the product is constantly changing. Consumers in my category don't care what something costs instead I want to understand what I bought and feel like I received good value for my money but they're not after me they're after the bigger is always better, we have an app for that, sit back and let big brother decide for you type of consumer.

This fits in with their overall strategy of building a skiing as a service type of subscription. First step will be yearly auto renewals (I am guessing these already exist somewhere) then it'll be a flat $100/month or a one time purchase of $1800, then it will be only subscription based and you'll ski where and when they tell you to damn it!

After that they'll enter into the insights economy, the price will go up again, they'll pack the mountain with sensors, hit it with some off the shelf AI, and you'll get a daily email telling you how much fun skiing would be if you actually gave a damn anymore and a link to an immersive 3D interactive experience.

I try every day to see what good can come of the skiing industry consolidation and keep coming up empty. Hopefully my thoughts and every study ever written on duopolies is wrong...

 

[KingGrump]

All of these changes, especially the late season ones, are frustrating. They've made it impossible to make an informed decision on which pass to buy because the product is constantly changing.

If you thought the cake was a good value when you bought it. Great. I am happy the cake was a good buy for you.
Now they are coming around with the icing. You can always say no to the icing and just eat the cake. No one is forcing the icing down your throat.
Now, if they take back some of the cake you bought without compensation then I would bitch too.

I try every day to see what good can come of the skiing industry consolidation and keep coming up empty. Hopefully my thoughts and every study ever written on duopolies is wrong...

Wow, that is deep. However, that is not a skier talking. You sounded more along the line of an industry analyst. Thinking, yes. Skiing, no.
I would love to join you in your noble endeavors but my lance is currently out for repairs and I have an Ikonic road trip to plan.

 

[RJS]

All of these changes, especially the late season ones, are frustrating. They've made it impossible to make an informed decision on which pass to buy because the product is constantly changing. Consumers in my category don't care what something costs instead I want to understand what I bought and feel like I received good value for my money but they're not after me they're after the bigger is always better, we have an app for that, sit back and let big brother decide for you type of consumer.

Not sure I agree about this. Changing, yes, but as far as I know the changes have all been additions, not subtractions. Like @KingGrump says, make your decision based on what the state of the pass is now. If that works for you, great. I see late additions as added bonuses. I bought the Ikon pretty soon after it went on sale. To me, it was an awesome pass before Solitude, Brighton, Crystal and Taos were added and before Sugarloaf/Sunday River/Loon were split into 5 days at each. It's an even better pass now !

 

[Jim McDonald]

Hmmm, have been talking with a ski bud about Chile in 2020, which could cement an already-likely Ikon base pass purchase for the '19-20 northern season

 

[dbostedo]

Not sure I agree about this. Changing, yes, but as far as I know the changes have all been additions, not subtractions. Like @KingGrump says, make your decision based on what the state of the pass is now.

The problem is if you opted to NOT buy the Ikon, and then the late additions change the equation, but now it's too late. (Because, you might have... for instance... already purchased a Mountain Collective Pass, and it doesn't make sense to have both. Not that I'd know that from experience or anything... )

 

[BoofHead]

Hmmm, have been talking with a ski bud about Chile in 2020, which could cement an already-likely Ikon base pass purchase for the '19-20 northern season

Ditto.

 

[Muleski]

Just to keep in mind, In January we'll mark the one year anniversary of the announcement of the launch of Alterra Mountain Company.
At the time, a couple of us made the comment that "This is only the beginning....." and that Alterra would be making many changes over the coming YEARS. Acquisitions, sales, and as we have seen since the launch of the Ikon pass, "pass partners" , a concept that Epic immediately followed suit with....first with Telluride. This stuff is all new, and a work in progress. 10 months into it.

I'd keep that in mind. This is going to be very fluid for quite some time. I would pretty much guarantee that as others have noted, there will be no takeaways in terms of changes during the season that a pass is valid, and only upside changes. And....before NEXT season, the entire deck could be reshuffled. I would bet on some changes.

Those of you who still feel that Alterra's plan to deliver the kinds of investment returns that KSL's investors expect is based on selling Ikon passes may still feel that the entire operation was fully "baked" when the Ikon pass partners for this season were introduced. Not close to the case. I have that on pretty good authority, along with every other thing that I've posted on this KSL acquired Intrawest. Still I realize that many, many of us feel that Alterra is VR 2.0, that Ikon and Epic are the same, and that Ikon is what Alterra is all about. I'm not changing any opinions, or trying.

This is a good partner to bring on the Ikon pass. I would not be shocked to see an eventual acquisition by Alterra in Chile. South America is a much easier flight in our summer than NZ, or OZ. Same time zone in some cases. I think there is a business case to be made.

Surprises me that this news is perceived as bad thing by anybody. Then again, a lot of what is discussed here these days surprises me. And it's not like Alterra could announce that they were working on this before they hatched a deal.... Had to wait until it was in place.

Perhaps if you buy an Ikon pass for 2019-2020 early it will include the Southern Hemisphere destinations for this coming 2019 summer. Just a guess.

At any rate, this stuff will be fluid subject to changes, etc., IMO, for quite some time. A number of seasons. I would not be assuming that next year's passes are going to be the same as this years. I would assume that both Alterra and VR are working on a number of deals as we type!

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

If I had purchased a different pass before all the latest acquisitions/partnerships, I might find myself a bit upset so I understand how someone could feel that way. As it is, I am really stoked and am now rethinking my plan to spend the summer in Hawaii. I have an offer of a house on the Kona Coast for the whole summer, gratis. However, I have wanted to hit Chile for quite a few years now so the temptation is strong. Perhaps the summer of 2020?

 

[Jully]

I would not be shocked to see an eventual acquisition by Alterra in Chile. South America is a much easier flight in our summer than NZ, or OZ. Same time zone in some cases. I think there is a business case to be made.

I've always thought it made good sense to do that. The infrastructure differences are substantial though. I imagine it would take a good bit of investment for Vail or Alterra to feel comfortable marketing vacations at a lot of the resorts since many of their mainstream clientele are used to vastly different resort experiences. Maybe I'm over thinking it though.

 

[Tony]

....First step will be yearly auto renewals (I am guessing these already exist somewhere) then it'll be a flat $100/month or a one time purchase of $1800, then it will be only subscription based and you'll ski where and when they tell you to damn it!...

Auto renewals has been offered on Vail passes for at least a couple of years, maybe longer. I would only do it if they gave me a discount for doing it and then I'd still have to think about it as I have bounced between Tahoe Value, Tahoe Local and Epic Local Passes over the last five years. I also have a Ikon base pass, but am thinking about trying Sierra Tahoe pass with Powder Alliance benefits for following season, especially if Vail closes Kirkwood early for third year in a row.

Mammoth already started a subscription service last January. For $99/month you can get a full Ikon pass and access to Mammoth's FORT co-working space. It's actually a good deal if you need the place to work for most of the 12 months as otherwise it would cost almost 3 times as much. When first announced it also included summer mountain biking pass. See https://www.powder.com/stories/news/mammoth-mountain-introduces-new-monthly-membership-ski-pass/ and https://www.mammothmountain.com/winter/plan-a-vacation/season-passes/ikon-pass#Fort_Ikon

 

[Tricia]

Which pass? Why choose?