LIFE & CULTURE NO EARLY PASS? ALL IS NOT LOST
Miss out on early bird skipass deals? You still have options.
You meant to get the earlybird discounts for the Epic and Ikon passes last spring or summer, but waited. Don’t worry; you still have options to get on the slopes to ski or snowboard without breaking your budget.
Wouldn’t you know it, just as the Colorado high country was getting its first substantial snowfall of the season, fall discounts for Epic and Ikon passes were expiring. If you’re kicking yourself now for not locking in good prices back in the spring or summer, we’ve got some options for you to consider.
Epic Passes this week went up $20 to $709 for the Epic Local Pass and $949 for the full Epic Pass. Ikon prices went up $50, bringing the cost of the Ikon Pass to $1,049 and the Ikon Base Pass to $749.
The Epic Pass and Epic Local Pass cover Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Crested Butte, which are owned by Vail Resorts, and also offer access to Arapahoe Basin. Plus, this winter they will include seven days at Telluride. Ikon Passes include the four Aspen Mountains, Winter Park, Copper Mountain, Steamboat and Eldora. Both Epic and Ikon also offer skiing and riding at numerous resorts around the country, in Canada
and even overseas.
Here are some of the best deals out there now:
Copper Mountain fourpacks for REI members are going for $199. Nonmembers can get that price if they first purchase an REI membership for a onetime fee of $20. The Copper fourpacks can be purchased at Front Range Christy Sports locations, at the Larson’s Ski & Sport Shop on Nov. 17 and 18 or at the Colorado Ski & Snowsports Expo, Nov. 16 to 18 at the Colorado Convention Center. By comparison, fourpasses for Winter Park are priced at $369.
Loveland fourpacks will be priced at $169 through Nov. 18, but they will be going for $159 at a series of specials at Front Range ski shops and the Expo. Loveland also will continue its fall pricing on season passes until Dec. 1. Adult season passes are going for $419, but only $319 for weekdayonly passes. Season passes for ages 15 to 22 are $309 and younger children are $189. Senior pass prices (70 and over) are just $99. Loveland season passes include free days at Purgatory, Monarch, Powderhorn, Ski Cooper, Sunlight and seven resorts outside of Colorado. A season pass good at Key
stone and Araphaoe Basin is only $389, and a fourpack good at both mountains is only $219.
Eldora season passes are $499 but midweek passes are only $389, and midweek passes for college students are $279.
Ski Cooper will begin selling its XP Pass on Oct. 20 for a limited time. It’s a nontransferable fourpack with no blackout dates for $129. Transferable fourpacks will be going for $139 at the Ski & Snowboard Expo.
Monarch is selling fivepack tickets for $250 through Nov. 23, when the price will increase to $320. Season passes are $479, and that price will go up on Nov. 9.
Colorado Ski Country USA once again will be selling Gems cards for $25. It’s a discount card at the state’s Gems resorts, which include Arapahoe Basin, Ski Cooper, Echo Mountain, Eldora, Granby Ranch, Ski Hesperus, Kendall Mountain, Loveland, Monarch, Powderhorn and Sunlight. It entitles the holder skiing with a friend or family member to buy one lift ticket and get a second one free or get 30 percent off one ticket.