As of late September, resorts across the country were reporting season pass sales were up, or at least even, with last season’s record pass sales. Some skiers never picked up their passes last winter, but that has not stopped them from buying again this year. Pent-up demand, wooly caterpillars, and increasingly enticing value-adds and alliances have helped wipe the memory of last winter’s horrible ski season from the minds of skiers and snowboarders everywhere.

It all started last spring. In Vail Resorts’ quarterly financial report, CEO Rob Katz said that pass sales through May 31, adjusted as if Kirkwood were owned in both 2011 and 2012, were up 17 percent in units and 22 percent in revenue over 2011’s record spring pass sale.

At Mt. Hood Meadows, with new RFID technology this season, early pass sales are running between 25 and 30 percent ahead of last winter.

Monarch’s “one planet” pass, which has averaged 4 to 5 percent annual growth, was up 9 percent. At Boyne Mountain and Boyne Highlands, early pass sales were also up by nearly double digits.

Even in the Northeast, where an early warmup last spring brought an abrupt end to an already disappointing season, enthusiasm was running high. “A good snow year can lead to super sales, but it seems like a lot of resorts are ahead this year without that advantage,” says Molly Mahar, marketing manager at Loon, N.H. The resort’s pass sales through August were 20 percent ahead of last year. “It seems to be pent-up demand. People didn’t get enough skiing last year.”

“People are very excited, way more than I expected,” agrees Jane Eshbaugh, marketing manager at Holiday Valley, N.Y. “At this point, we’re not seeing any negative hangover effects from last winter.”

“We have so many loyal passholders who are aware the forecast for this winter is for a much better snow season,” says Dave Dekema, director of marketing at Snowshoe, W.V., where pass sales were running slightly ahead of last year.


Partnerships And Perks
Forget the wooly bears. Out west, caterpillars do not move the market, price and partnerships do.

Monarch, which kicked off the season pass alliance trend eight years ago with its “one planet” pass ($329), is up to 32 partner resorts in the U.S., Canada, Austria and Germany. Each partner resort has its own offer—for some, including partner resorts in Austria, it’s unlimited free skiing; for others, it’s reduced ticket price or lodging.

And it’s not just window dressing. “We had one passholder fly to Austria and ski free for a month,” says Eric Ramsey, Monarch marketing and events coordinator. “We definitely started a trend.”

Other resorts have, indeed, picked up on the value trend. Vail, for example, this year expanded its Epic pass ($679) from its seven U.S. sister resorts (Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood) plus Arapahoe Basin to include Verbier, Switzerland. Epic passholders get three free days at Verbier, and vice versa.

“It’s an effort to add more value for our Epic passholders and hopefully increase and attract new guests from overseas,” says Jen Brown, communications director at Vail.

Also new this year is the Mountain Collective pass ($349), which offers two free days at each of Aspen, Alta, Squaw, and Jackson Hole, plus 50 percent off on subsequent days.

“It’s aimed at the destination skier, probably from a major metropolitan area, who takes a couple of ski trips a season and aspires to visit some of the best ski resorts in the country,” says Christian Knapp, Aspen’s VP of marketing. But it has also appealed to some locals at the four resorts who have a hankering to visit another of the iconic resorts.

Knapp says the response has been “strong. It’s part of the trend to add value to top tier products,” he says. “Discounts on food and beverage, retail, all kinds of benefits that add value to passholders.” The Mountain Collective was available only by calling one of the member resorts or online through Liftopia. Money is distributed to the resorts based on usage.

Powderhorn, Colo., was boosting value through “add-ons.” Powderhorn passholders ($439) can purchase 3 to 5 low-priced day tickets to Aspen, Steamboat and Telluride, or three half-priced days at Ski Cooper, Crested Butte, Durango and Monarch, plus other perks around the nearby Grand Junction valley.

“We’re trying to add more value to our pass by partnering with other resorts,” says Gabrielle Michna, director of sales and marketing. Through September, however, most weekend warriors in Grand Junction had not yet started thinking about winter. Michna says an unusually hot summer had hurt pass sales.

Western resorts were not the only ones partnering up. Conglomerates like Boyne extend skiing privileges at sister resorts to passholders throughout the Boyne system. “Big Sky is a very popular resort for our passholders,” says Mahar at Loon.

Others partner up because of proximity. Cranmore and Bretton Woods, N.H., only 30 miles apart, offered a $499 joint pass. Nearby Attitash and Wildcat, both Peak Resorts areas, teamed up in September to sell $30 midweek, nonholiday lift tickets, good at either resort.

In one of the more unusual offers, A-Basin was trying to lock skiers in earlier than ever with a two-year pass for $499, good for both the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Now, that’s optimism!


And Elsewhere …
At Mt. Hood Meadows, new RFID technology enabled the resort to add three new “pay as you go” pass products designed to boost the casual skier to a more frequent participant. “They’re really catching on,” says Dave Tragethon, executive director of communication.

In Utah, where last winter’s poor snow resulted in a 10 to 15 percent decline in statewide visits, the Canyons cut its season pass rate by $300, to $879 ($699 for teachers, fire fighters, police, military, and their spouses). “We’re trending very positive,” says Mike Goar, managing director, though he declined to give out numbers or percentages.

At Lake Tahoe, where snowfall totals and visitor numbers last year were even worse than in Utah, Mt. Rose responded with a “never again” September pass sale ($299, down from last year’s $377 best price), with no blackout days and lots of perks. “We’re still adding perks,” says Kayla Anderson, PR manager. “We want to get people excited about winter and skiing.” Sales jumped when the offer came out. Overall, Anderson says pass sales were “on track” with previous years.

At Crystal Mountain, Mich., the spring warmup that caused the resort to close early did not affect early spring advance-purchase pass sales for the coming season. Through September, Tom Kramer, PR manager, says sales were pacing even with last season.

The warm spring did hurt sales at Bolton Valley, Vt. But a concerted marketing push in September helped lift sales back to more normal levels, says Josh Arneson, sales and marketing manager.

Thanks to racers and their families, spring pass sales were “surprisingly” strong at Shawnee Peak, Maine. Since then, sales have tailed off, but marketing manager Rachel Wilkinson expects another pop as college and night passes (both about $200) go on sale. “They’re very popular,” Wilkinson says. Overall, she says sales are down slightly YTD.

Early pass sales at Okemo, Vt., helped by the resort’s new Millennial pass aimed at 20-somethings ($499), were up, but only slightly. “I think there’s a lot of pent-up demand,” says Bonnie MacPherson, PR manager.

At Loon, Mahar says sales have slipped slightly during the early fall, but were still running 16 to 17 percent ahead of last year. “I think it’s all the improvements and snowmaking (600 new guns) we’ve added,” she says. Early pass sales were also up at Sunday River, Maine (10 percent), and Gunstock, N.H. (15 percent).

All things considered, season pass sales have teed up resorts for a strong winter. Now we just need snow!