Vail Resorts launches Epic Pass for next season at $841
Epic Local Pass will be $626
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily archive
Vail Resorts is raising the price of its Epic Pass by about 7 percent for next season, but its signature pass product is still around $200 less than the Ikon Pass.
Vail Resorts unveiled the prices for its Epic Pass products for the 2022/23 season Monday. The full Epic Pass will cost $841, while the Epic Local Pass launches at $626.
In the announcement, the company touted its investments in its employees, its mountain resorts and its pass holders. The company earlier this month announced an incremental $175 million investment in its employees, which includes increasing the minimum wage for employees to $20 per hour from $15 an hour across each of its 37 North American resorts, and raising hourly wages an average of 30 percent.
In January, Vail Resorts discounted next season’s Stevens Pass ski pass to $385 for customers who purchased one this season.
In September, the company also announced it will be investing $300 million in the mountain experience next season, with 21 new lifts across 14 resorts to reduce lift line wait times. That includes the installation of a new high-speed four-person chair from the base of Chair 5 (High Noon Express) to the Wildwood restaurant on Vail Mountain.
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“We will not waiver in our commitment to continuously reinvest in the ski and ride experience with the goal of creating an Experience of a Lifetime for our Pass Holders,” said Ryan Bennett, chief marketing officer of Vail Resorts. “We are making bold investments to ensure we have a fully staffed team of passionate, engaged employees and adding 21 new lifts across 14 of our resorts to help skiers and riders get up and around the mountains faster and easier. We are committed to providing an amazing value and experience to our Pass Holders.”
Vail Resorts slashed the price of its Epic Pass products by 20 percent for the current 2021/22 season, leading to a record 2.1 million passes being pre-sold for the season. The price of an Epic Pass dropped from $979 to $783 for the current season.
In an earnings call on March 15, CEO Kirsten Lynch described the 2021/22 season pass price slash as a “reset,” and said the move was part of a disciplined approach Vail Resorts has taken to “strategic price management” with regard to its season pass sales.
“Any pricing decisions that we make going forward will take into consideration the current macro-inflation dynamics,” Lynch said.
The Ikon Pass, offered by Denver-based Alterra Mountain Company, is also going up in price next season, with an adult pass priced at $1,079 — $80 more than the pre-sale pass price for the current season. The cost of an adult Ikon Base Pass will be $769, an increase of $40.
The Ikon Pass will be good at 50 destinations in 10 countries, and in Colorado, is good for unlimited visits at Steamboat, Winter Park, Copper Mountain and Eldora, and for seven days at Arapahoe Basin and Aspen Snowmass.
