For those who have been anxiously awaiting to hear about next years Epic Pass, today is the day. Even though many families, mine included, are still enjoying our ski weekends for this current winter, it is time to start thinking about next winter. Skiing is not cheap and the amount spent on lift tickets definitely adds up. Fortunately though, the Epic Pass will allow many families to ski for less next winter, especially with the many additional pass options.
Epic Pass Options for 2020-2021
Fortunately, there are many different pass options, depending on your desired ski resorts and dates:
Epic Pass
Unlimited and unrestricted skiing to 37 world-class resorts (such as Park City, Whistler, Vail, Stowe, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek and more), 7 days at Telluride, 7 days at Sun Valley and Snow Basin, 7 days at certain Canadian Rockies resorts, 5 days to Hakuba Valley and Rusutsu in Japan and access to 26 resorts throughout Europe.
Epic Local Pass
On the local pass, you’ll receive access to many of the same resorts on the Epic Pass, but with some date restrictions and more restricted days at select resorts. There are, however, 26 mountains that still include unlimited and restricted skiing.
On the Epic Local Pass, you’ll have unlimited access, but 11 blackout dates at Park City, Heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood, and Stowe. You are also limited to 10 days in total across Vail, Beaver Creek, and Whistler Blackcomb — again with blackout date restrictions. You’ll only have two days at Sun Valley and Snowbasin and 5 days to Hakuba Valley and Rusutsu in Japan.
Epic Day Pass
Similar to last year, you can purchase 1-7 day passes at 34 resorts. The more days you purchase, the lower the price per day. A one-day pass, for example will cost between $109 to $126 per adult and $57 to $67 per child, depending if you are skiing on a peak or non-peak day. A seven-day pass, on the other hand will bring your daily cost down to $92 to $109 per adult and $48 to $55 per child. Depending on where you are planning to ski, this can be a great deal.
Regional Passes
This year, there are many new regional pass options. If you are only looking to ski in a certain area, you can save money by purchasing a pass that only includes specific mountains. These regions include: Tahoe Local Pass, Tahoe Value Pass, Summit Value Pass, Keystone Plus Pass, Northeast Value Pass and Northeast Midweek Pass.
We are an east coast skiing family, which makes the Northeast Value Pass potentially a great option. With this pass, we could receive unlimited access to most Northeast resorts on the Epic Pass, holiday-restricted access to a few resorts and ten days maximum at Stowe. If we are solely looking to ski just in the Northeast and not looking to venture out west at all, this pass could make sense.
Related: Awesome trip to Beaver Creek and the Park Hyatt
New in 2020-2021
New this year is the Epic Mountain Rewards. This gives all pass holders 20% off food, lodging, lessons rentals and more. With my run-of-the-mill burger costing $20 at Park City, this can absolutely add up — especially if you are looking for lessons. Even the regional passes and Epic Day pass will include this 20% discount! There are also no blackout dates, which is huge.
Resorts participating in the 20% discount include:
- Rocky Mountains:Â Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Crested Butte, Park City
- West:Â Heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood, Stevens Pass
- Canada:Â Whistler Blackcomb
- Northeast:Â Stowe, Okemo, Mount Sunapee, Wildcat, Attitash, Crotched, Mount Snow, Hunter, Jack Frost, Big Boulder, Liberty, Whitetail, Roundtop
- Midwest:Â Afton Alps, Mt. Brighton, Wilmot, Mad River, Snow Creek, Hidden Valley, Paoli Peaks, Alpine Valley, Boston Mills, Brandywine
Overall…
While there is no rush to buy the pass right now, as you will not get any benefits out of the 2019-2020 season, the Epic Pass will continue to go up in price as we approach next year’s ski season. My husband purchased the Epic Pass for this year and quite honestly I am not 100% sure we will go the Epic route again for next year. We will have to weigh the costs as well as the mountains between the Epic Pass, the Ikon Pass and the Mountain Collective Pass to see which pass to get for next year – if any.
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Do we know if the epic pass will ever go down in price at certain times before the season, or always up? Also, is April 1st the initial price bump or do we not know yet?
@Jesse – It will never go down in price, unfortunately. I was told that the price own’t jump until end of summer, but the buddy passes will only be extended to those purchasing it now.
How do we get the credit for 2030-2021 for limited usd in 2019-2020?