Ikon Pass

[old goat]

Not necessary at Alterra core areas--the ones with unlimited days. Necessary at some non core areas--the ones with a limited number of days on IKON pass.

[PNWbrit]

Not necessary at Alterra core areas--the ones with unlimited days.

This is incorrect.

[Danno]

Not necessary at Alterra core areas--the ones with unlimited days. Necessary at some non core areas--the ones with a limited number of days on IKON pass.

This is incorrect.

Yeah, OG is wrong. Around here, you need a reservation for Eldora and I think for Copper, and Winter Park just announced a reservation system. All 3 are unlimited/no blackouts on the Ikon Base.

[Benny Profane]

Copper is parking reservations, right? Like Killington?

[ChaseBrooklyn]

Tried looking on website today to make reservations for Big Sky and Jackson Hole and every single weekend day is fully booked for January and February. Given I paid for a pass without "blackout dates" I wonder how this can even be legal. Both resorts are selling day tickets on all those dates so clearly not about Covid.

I doubt they'll be very sympathetic if you just show up. Probably just be wasting your time.

Fucking Bullshit considering that they're still selling day passes.

Oh, and Ikon does not offer refunds. I already tried. They will allow you to defer your pass a year though.

[steadieflow]

So far no reservations at Steamboat....been here since opening day. Crowds haven’t been too bad and skiing has gotten really good since Sunday. More lifts and terrain opening. Will be interesting to see what it looks like next week but so far it has been good.

They are limiting day passes and I think you have to book lodging also. Being just far enough from the Front Range is helpful.

[EWG]

So far no reservations at Steamboat....been here since opening day. Crowds haven’t been too bad and skiing has gotten really good since Sunday. More lifts and terrain opening. Will be interesting to see what it looks like next week but so far it has been good.

They are limiting day passes and I think you have to book lodging also. Being just far enough from the Front Range is helpful.

I was supposed to be there this weekend but according to the website there is almost nothing open that's very interesting. Only thing off of storm peak is buddy's for example. Is the web page wrong?

I see some good snow totals so far this week with more to come, but I can't imagine they will snap their fingers saturday and open a bunch of black terrain...

[steadieflow]

I was supposed to be there this weekend but according to the website there is almost nothing open that's very interesting. Only thing off of storm peak is buddy's for example. Is the web page wrong?

I see some good snow totals so far this week with more to come, but I can't imagine they will snap their fingers saturday and open a bunch of black terrain...

Yeah it has been limited some more openings today below 4 points. If these next rounds of snow deliver I expect to see a good amount of terrain opening this weekend.

I doubt closets and shadows but could happen down to the service road and have to go back over to Storm Peak. If we get another foot could see it happening.

[Jax]

I was supposed to be there this weekend but according to the website there is almost nothing open that's very interesting. Only thing off of storm peak is buddy's for example. Is the web page wrong?

I see some good snow totals so far this week with more to come, but I can't imagine they will snap their fingers saturday and open a bunch of black terrain...

It's the same shit every year. They can have so much more terrain open now, but they are waiting until the peak of the holidays to open up more. They are in fact waiting for the tourists, as they know locals will ski the shit out of any new terrain they open. They are trying to offer pristine product for the Texans, I get it. But still...it's really starting to grate on me how stingy they are this time of year considering who owns them.

Don't get fooled by the open lifts. With storm, everything is roped off, only upper Buddy's to the 4 pts cutoff, that's it. I'm the opposite of steadieflow, I don't think it's worth it clocking in yet on my Ikon, looking more like deferral now since WP also went to reservations (I usually hit up WP and Copper several times a season with my ikon, plus Jackson, Soli, altabird). Since my outlook is different this year going into 2021, for me it makes sense to come out ahead by deferring. Still...it will sting on those big dumps here at home, however, I still have my uphill pass. And I'll be glad to not have to deal with the already clusterf**k gondy situation + covid.

I bought a LL pass and so far, I'm super happy with that decision, feels good to support the little guys in some small way. Yeah I'll for sure be skiing less, but...with covid...quality over quantity this year. Skied Monarch today. Holy crap they have so much terrain open, basically most everything except for Mirk and a few runs off breezeway. The mountain skied great but it is sharky, but that's a risk I gladly take for being able to ski and not have anybody else around me. I love how they don't give a shit, rocks, stumps, trees, hey it's your risk, have at it.

They have half the base that Sbt does, yet 10X terrain to ski right now, probably more. What a difference it makes to have a tight knit company like that to really scale down operations but offer quality product for everyone- pass holders and day trippers. Just really hits home how much of a shit show the Ikon resorts have become and I feel, more so during covid.

Stopped by ski cooper on the way to salida and skied there for an hour or two yesterday. Really good coverage, just flat. But I may be back to check out the new terrain once the tbar gets running. But man, they also have their shit dialed regarding flow of traffic and covid protocol. It was impressive. Had some nice wind-buffed turns there, it was fun considering. And they have everything open except the backside.



tldr; I'm not down with how Ikon is handling things, my love affair with sbt is on the back burner and the smaller resorts have been awesome

[EWG]

It's the same shit every year. They can have so much more terrain open now, but they are waiting until the peak of the holidays to open up more. They are in fact waiting for the tourists, as they know locals will ski the shit out of any new terrain they open. They are trying to offer pristine product for the Texans, I get it. But still...it's really starting to grate on me how stingy they are this time of year considering who owns them.

I think I've been at the Boat just before xmas every year for the last 5 or so. This is the worst it's been in that period for open terrain. I'm bummed. You might be right - since the base is low they are saving it for that xmas week?

But regardless, it's Steamboat. If you can't ski the bumps on Priest or under 4 Points, and you can't generally ski the trees or chutes, then it's a different mountain. I'm a bit less interested.

Thanks for the beta. Let me know if you hear anything. I've got till tomorrow at 4 to pull the plug.

[Jax]

Flights started arriving in Hayden this week, so I expect they'll open more terrain 'just in the nick of time'. This weekend will be a big test for them all around and they need to look like they have it under control, less they risk pulling a WP and having to go to reservations due to crowding. You won't be able to ski chutes and certain fun zones for several more feet though, we are lagging for sure.

[cspringsposer]

It's the same shit every year. They can have so much more terrain open now, but they are waiting until the peak of the holidays to open up more. They are in fact waiting for the tourists, as they know locals will ski the shit out of any new terrain they open. They are trying to offer pristine product for the Texans, I get it. But still...it's really starting to grate on me how stingy they are this time of year considering who owns them.

Don't get fooled by the open lifts. With storm, everything is roped off, only upper Buddy's to the 4 pts cutoff, that's it. I'm the opposite of steadieflow, I don't think it's worth it clocking in yet on my Ikon, looking more like deferral now since WP also went to reservations (I usually hit up WP and Copper several times a season with my ikon, plus Jackson, Soli, altabird). Since my outlook is different this year going into 2021, for me it makes sense to come out ahead by deferring. Still...it will sting on those big dumps here at home, however, I still have my uphill pass. And I'll be glad to not have to deal with the already clusterf**k gondy situation + covid.

I bought a LL pass and so far, I'm super happy with that decision, feels good to support the little guys in some small way. Yeah I'll for sure be skiing less, but...with covid...quality over quantity this year. Skied Monarch today. Holy crap they have so much terrain open, basically most everything except for Mirk and a few runs off breezeway. The mountain skied great but it is sharky, but that's a risk I gladly take for being able to ski and not have anybody else around me. I love how they don't give a shit, rocks, stumps, trees, hey it's your risk, have at it.

They have half the base that Sbt does, yet 10X terrain to ski right now, probably more. What a difference it makes to have a tight knit company like that to really scale down operations but offer quality product for everyone- pass holders and day trippers. Just really hits home how much of a shit show the Ikon resorts have become and I feel, more so during covid.

Stopped by ski cooper on the way to salida and skied there for an hour or two yesterday. Really good coverage, just flat. But I may be back to check out the new terrain once the tbar gets running. But man, they also have their shit dialed regarding flow of traffic and covid protocol. It was impressive. Had some nice wind-buffed turns there, it was fun considering. And they have everything open except the backside.



tldr; I'm not down with how Ikon is handling things, my love affair with sbt is on the back burner and the smaller resorts have been awesome

I dropped in on Ski Cooper as well on my way south Monday. I think that is probably the best run little mountain in the state. Sure it's flat, but I don't know another mountain that does more with less. Imagine if Vail or Ikon put half the effort into their mountains as Cooper does.

[Danno]

It's really really flat though, except for that new terrain on the backside, those trees were ok.

[steadieflow]

It's the same shit every year. They can have so much more terrain open now, but they are waiting until the peak of the holidays to open up more. They are in fact waiting for the tourists, as they know locals will ski the shit out of any new terrain they open. They are trying to offer pristine product for the Texans, I get it. But still...it's really starting to grate on me how stingy they are this time of year considering who owns them.

Don't get fooled by the open lifts. With storm, everything is roped off, only upper Buddy's to the 4 pts cutoff, that's it. I'm the opposite of steadieflow, I don't think it's worth it clocking in yet on my Ikon, looking more like deferral now since WP also went to reservations (I usually hit up WP and Copper several times a season with my ikon, plus Jackson, Soli, altabird). Since my outlook is different this year going into 2021, for me it makes sense to come out ahead by deferring. Still...it will sting on those big dumps here at home, however, I still have my uphill pass. And I'll be glad to not have to deal with the already clusterf**k gondy situation + covid.

I bought a LL pass and so far, I'm super happy with that decision, feels good to support the little guys in some small way. Yeah I'll for sure be skiing less, but...with covid...quality over quantity this year. Skied Monarch today. Holy crap they have so much terrain open, basically most everything except for Mirk and a few runs off breezeway. The mountain skied great but it is sharky, but that's a risk I gladly take for being able to ski and not have anybody else around me. I love how they don't give a shit, rocks, stumps, trees, hey it's your risk, have at it.

They have half the base that Sbt does, yet 10X terrain to ski right now, probably more. What a difference it makes to have a tight knit company like that to really scale down operations but offer quality product for everyone- pass holders and day trippers. Just really hits home how much of a shit show the Ikon resorts have become and I feel, more so during covid.

Stopped by ski cooper on the way to salida and skied there for an hour or two yesterday. Really good coverage, just flat. But I may be back to check out the new terrain once the tbar gets running. But man, they also have their shit dialed regarding flow of traffic and covid protocol. It was impressive. Had some nice wind-buffed turns there, it was fun considering. And they have everything open except the backside.



tldr; I'm not down with how Ikon is handling things, my love affair with sbt is on the back burner and the smaller resorts have been awesome

I think Steamboat is doing a good job with everything related to Covid. Crowds really haven’t been bad so far. It is going to be slower no matter what when you can’t run full gondola or chairs. I have skied just about every day since opening and until this week there was not coverage. It is thin.....getting better but I don’t think they are holding back it has been a slow start. Last year was the opposite great start we were skiing most of the mountain by this time.

Storm opened Sunday and while limited terrain snow was surprisingly good. I skied 33k by 1:00. I figure take advantage while I can who knows what will happen as the season moves forward.

Looks like they are working to get Sundown open now. Making snow at the base of the lift.

[talbash]

Has anyone tried going to resorts without reservations? Tried looking on website today to make reservations for Big Sky and Jackson Hole and every single weekend day is fully booked for January and February. Given I paid for a pass without "blackout dates" I wonder how this can even be legal. Both resorts are selling day tickets on all those dates so clearly not about Covid. I am inclined to just show up without a reservation given I am literally unable to ski a single day otherwise... Has anyone brought this up?

Sounds like you failed at making reservations when they opened up. Did you really think weekends would be open anytime you wanted to go? That's the purpose of reservations - to control numbers. Yeah, not a fan of selling day passes when reservations aren't open for passholders, but at no point did they say that wouldn't happen.

Showing up without a reservation seems like a good reason for them to suspend your pass.

[old goat]

Yeah, OG is wrong. Around here, you need a reservation for Eldora and I think for Copper, and Winter Park just announced a reservation system. All 3 are unlimited/no blackouts on the Ikon Base.

I'm going by the web site. Eldora still says reservations not required, Winter Park pending, Copper--parking only. I guess the web site lags.

Locals: "They save the good stuff for the tourists on weekends and holidays"
Tourists: "They save the good stuff for the locals midweek"

I think they've been saying that since the Vikings saved the little prince on skis.

[Danno]

Parking reservations are the same as reservations (Eldora requires a parking reservation and it is on the website). If you don't have one, you aren't skiing. Just a slightly different way of doing the same thing.

[Benny Profane]

Car pooling?

[Danno]

Nobody is going to stop you, I guess. So maybe it's slightly more relaxed than a per person reservation system.

[MakersTeleMark]

What about the Cannibus?

[Shredhead]

Aspens skiing great. No lines on the chairs.

Get a test, a condo and some carry out.
Don’t forget to tip.

[Danno]

What about the Cannibus?

Not sure what that is, but if you're talking the RTD bus to the resort, it's still possible, but they have drastically cut back on service this year and each bus has also drastically limited capacity.

[EWG]

Well that was a fun scramble this morning to fight through the WP rezie system. Good god.

[Smoova]

^ Wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, although most Saturdays in Jan/Feb were already sold out by the time I got on (~9:05) so there will certainly be some pissed frangers.

[Percy Rideout]

It's the same shit every year. They can have so much more terrain open now, but they are waiting until the peak of the holidays to open up more. They are in fact waiting for the tourists, as they know locals will ski the shit out of any new terrain they open. They are trying to offer pristine product for the Texans, I get it. But still...it's really starting to grate on me how stingy they are this time of year considering who owns them.

Don't get fooled by the open lifts. With storm, everything is roped off, only upper Buddy's to the 4 pts cutoff, that's it. I'm the opposite of steadieflow, I don't think it's worth it clocking in yet on my Ikon, looking more like deferral now since WP also went to reservations (I usually hit up WP and Copper several times a season with my ikon, plus Jackson, Soli, altabird). Since my outlook is different this year going into 2021, for me it makes sense to come out ahead by deferring. Still...it will sting on those big dumps here at home, however, I still have my uphill pass. And I'll be glad to not have to deal with the already clusterf**k gondy situation + covid.

I bought a LL pass and so far, I'm super happy with that decision, feels good to support the little guys in some small way. Yeah I'll for sure be skiing less, but...with covid...quality over quantity this year. Skied Monarch today. Holy crap they have so much terrain open, basically most everything except for Mirk and a few runs off breezeway. The mountain skied great but it is sharky, but that's a risk I gladly take for being able to ski and not have anybody else around me. I love how they don't give a shit, rocks, stumps, trees, hey it's your risk, have at it.

They have half the base that Sbt does, yet 10X terrain to ski right now, probably more. What a difference it makes to have a tight knit company like that to really scale down operations but offer quality product for everyone- pass holders and day trippers. Just really hits home how much of a shit show the Ikon resorts have become and I feel, more so during covid.

Stopped by ski cooper on the way to salida and skied there for an hour or two yesterday. Really good coverage, just flat. But I may be back to check out the new terrain once the tbar gets running. But man, they also have their shit dialed regarding flow of traffic and covid protocol. It was impressive. Had some nice wind-buffed turns there, it was fun considering. And they have everything open except the backside.



tldr; I'm not down with how Ikon is handling things, my love affair with sbt is on the back burner and the smaller resorts have been awesome

I am on team skier compaction. That untouched and unskied colorado early season sugar is harder to ski. Look at how they do the highland bowl. Compaction and breaking up layers is what its all about. Steamboat leaving the untouched for christmas week is short sighted at best.