Latest news with #EpicPass
Cision Canada
12 hours ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
Vail Resorts Cuts Lift Ticket Prices in Half for Friends of Epic Pass Holders to Celebrate the Social Side of Skiing
2025/26 Pass Holders to get new "Epic Friend Tickets", including Epic Military Pass Holders Friends save this season and next: 50% off lift tickets this season AND the cost of one redeemed Epic Friend Ticket to apply toward an eligible 2026/27 Epic Pass 2025/26 Epic Pass prices go up after September 1 BROOMFIELD, Colo., Aug. 12, 2025 /CNW/ -- Vail Resorts wants to make it easier for its most loyal guests to bring their friends to the slopes, in celebration of the social side of skiing and snowboarding. Today, the company announced "Epic Friend Tickets," a new benefit for 2025/26 season-long Epic Pass Holders to share incredible savings with those they want to ski and ride with most. Passes are on sale now, and the lowest price of the Fall ends September 1. Pass Holders with an Epic Pass, Epic Local Pass, Epic Military Pass, Northeast Value Pass, and most of the company's other season-long passes will receive 6-10 Epic Friend Tickets, depending on when they purchased their Pass. Epic Friend Tickets provide 50% off lift tickets at the company's 37 North American resorts for the 2025/26 winter season. Plus, friends can also apply 100% of the cost of one redeemed Epic Friend Ticket toward an eligible 2026/27 Epic Pass – providing double the savings.* "Skiers and snowboarders know this sport is magic; a passion you can't help but pass on," said Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz. "If you ski or ride, chances are someone brought you into the sport, and we want to make it easier for you to pay it forward. Epic Friend Tickets are the next step on our nearly two-decade-long journey to find ways to make skiing more accessible to more people." "We will always give the best deal to our Pass Holders who commit to skiing with us ahead of the season," continued Katz. "That said, we know not everyone can plan ahead, so if you don't have an Epic Pass, the next best thing is knowing someone who does." With the introduction of Epic Friend Tickets, eligible Pass Holders who purchased before April 14, 2025, will receive 10 Epic Friend Tickets, and those who purchase after will receive six Epic Friend Tickets. Epic Friend Tickets replace and upgrade Buddy Tickets, a former Pass benefit, which generally offered much lower savings off lift ticket prices, and which varied by resort. Epic Friend Tickets can be used at all 37 of the company's North American resorts including big destinations like Vail Mountain and Whistler Blackcomb; regional destinations like Stowe, Heavenly, and Crested Butte; and local ski areas like Mount Sunapee and Afton Alps. Epic Friend Tickets can be redeemed through then activated in the My Epic app for direct-to-lift access. The accompanying Pass Holder must scan their Pass in a lift line before an Epic Friend Ticket becomes scannable. A gift that keeps on giving, Epic Friend Tickets provide significant savings this winter and next. Friends get 50% off lift tickets this season, and whatever they pay for that ticket can be used as a credit towards an eligible 2026/27 Epic Pass. Read more about Epic Friend Tickets here. "By making it easier for our Pass Holders to share the ski experience with friends – through savings across not one, but two winter seasons – we hope to help spark traditions that will inspire groups of friends to return to the mountains for years to come," added Katz. Last Chance for the Lowest Epic Pass Price of Fall Ends September 1 Epic Passes offer unmatched mountain access, big savings and incredible benefits – and purchasing a Pass early unlocks the best value. Epic Passes are on sale now for the lowest price of the Fall before prices increase after September 1, 2025. Whether hitting the mountain for one day or all season, there's an option for every skier and rider, from first timers to powder pros. The 2025/26 Epic Pass ($1075 adults; $548 children) offers unlimited, unrestricted access to Vail Resorts' 42 owned and operated mountain resorts including Whistler Blackcomb, Vail Mountain, Park City Mountain, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, and Stowe, plus access to iconic partner resorts and ski areas like Telluride, Colorado; Rusutsu and Hakuba Valley, Japan; Verbier 4 Vallées, Switzerland; Sölden, Saalbach and Zell am See-Kaprun, Austria; and more across Europe. The Epic Local Pass ($799 adults; $416 children) provides unlimited, unrestricted access to 29 resorts, plus access to more destination resorts with some restrictions. The Epic Military Pass with access to all of the company's 42 resorts is currently $190 for active and retired military and their dependents, and $614 for veterans and their dependents. More details on Pass options for the 2025/26 season are linked here. Epic 1-7 Day Passes provide up to 65% savings compared to lift ticket prices by purchasing ahead of the season, but do not include Epic Friend Tickets. All Passes come with Epic Mountain Rewards, which offer exclusive discounts including 20% off on-mountain food and beverage, lodging, group ski and ride lessons, equipment rentals and more – all winter long. *Friends who do not hold a 2025/26 Pass can apply the full cost of a single redeemed Epic Friend Ticket towards eligible 2026/27 Passes including Epic Pass, Epic Local Pass, and other regional passes for a limited time. The full list of eligible Passes will be available once 2026/27 Passes are on sale. 2025/26 Pass Holders are not eligible for this promotion. About Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) Vail Resorts is a network of the best destination and close-to-home ski resorts in the world including Vail Mountain, Breckenridge, Park City Mountain, Whistler Blackcomb, Stowe, and 32 additional resorts across North America; Andermatt-Sedrun and Crans-Montana Mountain Resort in Switzerland; and Perisher, Hotham, and Falls Creek in Australia – all available on the company's industry-changing Epic Pass. We are passionate about providing an Experience of a Lifetime to our team members and guests, and our EpicPromise is to reach a zero net operating footprint by 2030, support our employees and communities, and broaden engagement in our sport. Our company owns and/or manages a collection of elegant hotels under the RockResorts brand, a portfolio of vacation rentals, condominiums and branded hotels located in close proximity to our mountain destinations, as well as the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Vail Resorts Retail operates more than 250 retail and rental locations across North America. Learn more about our company at or discover our resorts and pass options at
Bloomberg
12 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Vail Resorts Is Introducing 50% Off Lift Tickets, CEO Says
Skiing is notoriously expensive without a season pass: A walk-up single-day lift ticket at any of Vail's 'destination resorts' cost an average of $261 during the 2024-25 season. On weekends or holidays you could easily push $300. To recalibrate pricing for non-diehards (meaning, season ticket holders), Vail Resorts Inc. is introducing new ticketing options that it hopes will turn lukewarm skiers into loyalists. On Tuesday it announced Epic Friend Tickets, which offers friends or family of Epic Pass holders up to 10 single-day passes at a 50% discounted rate, valid at all 37 of the company's North American resorts without blackout dates.
Telegraph
21-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Epic or Ikon Pass: Are multi-resort ski lift passes worth the cost?
A lot has been written about the Epic Pass and the Ikon Pass since they were first released to skiers and snowboarders, in 2008 and 2018 respectively. Depending on who you listen to, these multi-resort season ski passes, launched by US-based companies Vail Resorts (Epic), and the Alterra Mountain Company (Ikon), have either opened up affordable multi-resort skiing to the masses, or destroyed the sport completely. As always, the truth is a little more nuanced than much of the internet would have you believe. But as the passes and the conglomerates behind them continue to evolve, with significant expansion in Europe in recent years, most people's principal questions remain the same: is a multi-resort lift pass worth it? And if so, which one should I buy? Epic, Ikon, or something else entirely? In this guide: What is a multi-resort lift pass? How much does the Epic Pass or Ikon Pass cost? Should I buy a multi-resort lift pass this winter? What are the downsides? Are there any additional perks? What is a multi-resort lift pass? A multi-resort pass is a season pass that allows you to ride the lifts at a large number of ski resorts throughout the winter for a fixed price. The Epic Pass The first mass market multi-season pass was the Epic Pass, launched by Vail Resorts in 2008. At the time, the company owned five resorts: Breckenridge, Beaver Creek and Keystone in Colorado as well as Vail itself, and Heavenly, on the south shore of Lake Tahoe, in California. The original Epic Pass offered skiers unlimited days at all five for just US$569 (£419) – a ludicrously good deal compared to typical season-pass prices for individual resorts. Some commentators thought the company was crazy, but it proved to be a visionary move. Typically, season-pass sales spiked if there was early snowfall, and slumped if there wasn't. But because the Epic pass was only on sale in the summer months, with the cheapest prices reserved for earlier buyers, the company could guarantee its cash flow for the following winter long before the snow had started to fall. Today, Vail owns and operates 42 ski resorts around the world, including Whistler in Canada, Park City in Utah, and two recently-acquired resorts in Switzerland: Andermatt and Crans-Montana. Thanks to partnership agreements, the Epic Pass for the upcoming 2025/26 winter will allow holders to ski in over 80 resorts worldwide – including unlimited days to Vail-owned destinations. The Ikon Pass Having noted the success of the Epic Pass, the Alterra Mountain Company launched their own version, the Ikon Pass, in 2018. Alterra owns 17 ski resorts (and two heli-skiing operations) all of them in North America. Their Ikon Pass offers unlimited access to most of their properties (with a few exceptions, like Deer Valley and the heli-skiing operations) and up to seven days skiing in over 60 partner resorts worldwide, including iconic destinations in Europe like Zermatt Chamonix, and the Dolomiti Superski Area. Other passes There are other multi-resort passes on offer too. As a response to the dominance of Vail and Alterra, various independently-owned ski areas banded together to launch the Indy Pass in 2019. The 2025/26 version will offer up to two-days access in over 250 resorts worldwide. In Europe, there's the Magic Pass, which offers unlimited access to just over 100 resorts – the bulk of which are in Switzerland, with a handful in France and Italy. Elsewhere, passes like the Austrian Snow Card Tirol, or the Italian SuperSkirama, Dolomiti SuperSki, and Aosta Valley passes cover collections of resorts clustered around particular locations. How much do multi-resort passes cost? A full Epic Pass for 2025/26 winter season costs US$1,075 (£794), for an adult, or US$548 (£400) for a children aged five to 12. You can also buy local versions of the pass for less. An adult Ikon Pass costs US$1,429 (£1,055), but young adults aged 13 to 22 only pay US$1,089 (£804), and kids aged five to 12 pay $439 (£324). You can buy an Ikon base pass, with unlimited access to slightly fewer resorts, for less. Indy Passes typically cost far less, but they're sold out for the forthcoming season. The Magic Pass costs CHF419 (£327) for the 2025/26 season. And are they worth the expense? If you live in the United States If you're a keen skier living in the US, then almost certainly yes. Standard lift-pass prices are astronomical in the United States (last winter, a single day at the high-end resort of Deer Valley would set you back US$279 (£206)) and if you're going on more than one ski trip a season, it's likely that a multi-resort pass will save you money. The multi-resort pass model works particularly well for people based in big, well-connected cities, who are taking multiple trips (often weekends) a winter to different ski areas. It also works well for East Coasters who might do regular day trips to a local mountain but want to do one big, week-long trip out west per winter. If you're a US-based skier whose likely to head to the same resort each weekend, or you're only going to take one week-long holiday each winter, it's worth checking out single ski area prices before you buy a multi-resort pass. If you live in Europe or beyond For most skiers based in Europe or the UK, Epic and Ikon passes probably aren't worth it. You could do a week in Chamonix and a week in Zermatt (both included on the Ikon pass) and you'd pay less for a six-day ski pass in each than you would an Ikon season pass. The exception to this rule is if you're planning on heading to the US or Canada multiple times in a single season – or if you're planning to go to the US once, and a European resort covered by one of the passes. Although most of the largest Swiss resorts are not included, the Magic Pass is a great option if you live in Switzerland, or near the Swiss border. For Australians who ski regularly at Hotham, Falls Creek or Perisher, and fancy a week-long jaunt to Whistler or somewhere in the States, the Epic pass is a great option. What are the downsides? Before you splash out on an Epic or Ikon Pass, it's worth looking at the 'blackout days'. Some resorts restrict multi-resort pass holders access during peak periods in order to prioritise those who've bought single passes. Both the Epic and Ikon passes have come in for criticism from certain corners of the ski industry, in part because of their success. Their sheer scale now means it can be hard for independent resorts to compete. The companies have also been accused of squashing the individual quirks of the resorts they buy up. Are there any additional perks? Ikon Pass holders can offer a partner service, run by a third party, but branded as Ikon Pass Travel. Kristin Rust, vice president of communications for Alterra Mountain Company explains: 'It's a travel agency in the States that are ski specialists – their claim to fame is that every single person on their staff has been to the resorts that they sell. So if you want to go to Chamonix, they can help you book your hotel, your flight and so on.' Ikon Pass holders also get discounts on gear from The North Face, Db luggage and a range of other brands, and complimentary bike park tickets in certain destinations for the summer. The Epic Pass also offers a range of ancillary benefits, including 20 per cent off food, lodging, equipment rentals, group lessons and even heli-skiing at select resorts. Epic Pass holders also get unlimited summer access to many Vail-owned resorts, including Crans-Montana in Switzerland, which is particularly well-known for its mountain bike trails. 'While winter is at the heart of what we do, summer in Switzerland offers its own kind of magic, with a full calendar of exciting events and activities,' explained Mike Goar, Vail Resorts chief operating officer for Switzerland.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Vail Resorts Replaces CEO Lynch With Former Boss Rob Katz
Kirsten Lynch was ousted as CEO of Vail Resorts and has been replaced by former CEO Rob Katz, the resort announced Tuesday after the stock market closed. Katz was CEO for 16 years before Lynch was appointed in 2021 and built Vail into a ski resort giant that now includes 42 mountains. Lynch's tenure has been marked by bad press, earnings misses and investor discontent. The stock peaked at $372.51 the week she took over in November 2021, but it is off nearly 60% since then. 'Ms. Lynch's departure will be treated as a termination without cause,' according to an SEC filing about the treatment of her outstanding equity awards. More from Joining the Billionaires at Davos: Lindsey Vonn and Picabo Street Park City Ski Patrol Ends Strike, Reaches Deal With Vail Resorts Park City Ski Patrol Strike Latest PR Problem for Vail Resorts Vail shares popped 11% in after-hours trading on the news of the CEO change. Lynch's first winter as CEO was marred by long lift lines and employee shortages driven by COVID-19. Vail's struggles gave birth to the 'epicliftlines' Instagram account, which attracted 50,000 followers. The 2023-24 winter was hampered by warm weather that forced Vail to cut revenue and earnings targets. Snowfall at the company's western resorts was 28% lower than the prior year. This past winter was marred by a December ski patrol strike at Vail-owned Park City Mountain in Utah. Lack of snow and patrollers during the holiday week meant only 50 of 350 trails at the mountain were open during what is typically the busiest time of the year at ski resorts. The window price for a one-day lift ticket at Park City was $328 this winter. Revenue for the 12-month period ending Jan. 31 was $2.95 billion, with net income of $276 million. Katz has been involved with Vail since the early 1990s when he worked at Apollo Global Management, which bought the ski resort and then took it public in 1997. Katz was appointed to the board in 1996 and served as CEO from 2006 through 2021. He was widely hailed for his role in transforming the company, including the introduction of its Epic Pass product in 2008. It allowed skiers and boarders to use the passes at resorts across North America and stabilized the company's financial results, as a huge portion of revenue was locked in ahead of the season start. Katz has been executive chair of the board since he stepped down as CEO. 'My most important goal in returning as CEO is ensuring we align with all our stakeholders to deliver an Experience of a Lifetime for our employees and guests while driving financial success for our company,' Katz wrote in an email to Vail employees Tuesday. 'It is important to remember that aligning our stakeholders does not mean everyone will always agree with everything we do, or that our stakeholders will agree with each other. And while that is not always comfortable, it is part of the responsibility of being a leader in an industry with such passionate people.' Best of Most Expensive Sports Memorabilia and Collectibles in History The 100 Most Valuable Sports Teams in the World NFL Private Equity Ownership Rules: PE Can Now Own Stakes in Teams
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Public Comment Window Opens for Vail's Proposed Lift Upgrades
The White River National Forest Service has opened a public comment period over a proposal for Vail Mountain to replace and upgrade several resort has proposed a replacement of the existing Chair 21 (Orient Express), which is a high-speed quad with a 2,400 person per hour capacity. The lift would be replaced by a 6-seater lift with a capacity of 3,600 people per hour in order to improve access to the Back Bowls, and decrease lift-line wait times. Additionally, Vail wants to replace Chair 15, which is currently a three-seater, with a quad chair to increase capacity from 1,400 to 2,400 people per hour. The replacement of Chair 15 would also allow for upgraded snowmaking infrastructure that would extend the chair's length. Vail's proposal also includes grading six acres of terrain along the Two Elk ridgeline between the top of the new Chair 21 and Two Elk Lodge to improve the flow of skier traffic in the area. This grading would eliminate several flat pitches of mountain and allow for Lift 24, which is currently a platter lift, to be removed. Want to keep up with the best stories and photos in skiing? Subscribe to the new Powder To The People newsletter for weekly updates. All pieces of the proposal are a part of Vail's 2023 Master Development Plan and will take place within the existing boundaries of Vail Mountain Resort. Vail is one of 11 ski areas within the White River National Forest. The Forest Service is seeking public comment on the proposal by June 6, 2025. A decision is predicted to be made by September of 2025 for an estimated project start in June of 2026. Vail Resorts made headlines earlier this week with the announcement that CEO Kristen Lynch would be replaced by former Vail CEO Rob Katz. The resort ownership conglomerate also recently added six new European ski areas to the Epic Pass for 2025/26 including Sölden, Silvretta Montafon, Mayrhofen, Hintertux, Saalbach, and Comment Window Opens for Vail's Proposed Lift Upgrades first appeared on Powder on May 28, 2025
