Procrastination now has a price tag. Vail Resorts bumps Epic Pass pricing on October 7, Alterra follows with Ikon the next day, and based on last year's jumps, that could mean an extra $90 to $135 per pass. Neither company announces the increase in advance, so the clock is officially ticking.
Right now the full Epic Pass sits at $1,145, with Epic Local at $849. The Ikon Pass runs $1,149 and the Ikon Base Pass $1,019. All of these come off sale in early December — no exact date published yet. Mountain Collective, the two-days-at-each-of-27-mountains pass with no blackout dates, raises prices around November 17 from its current $729 and goes off sale mid-December. The budget-friendly Indy Pass is already sold out for the season, though it cut its top-tier Indy+ price from $489 to $419 ($399 for renewals) and added Smugglers' Notch in Vermont to its lineup.
There are real changes behind the price hikes this season. Vail is rolling out upgrades focused on rentals and food — a new Butcher Burger appears at 15 resorts — with the biggest improvements landing at Park City, Vail Mountain and Beaver Creek before spreading elsewhere. New buyers aged 13 to 30 also get 20 percent off the adult Epic Pass, a notable discount for younger skiers.
Ikon's headline change is a first-ever refund policy: buy the insurance, and if you haven't skied by January 15 you can get your money back, or 50 percent back if you've been up the mountain once. The pass has also reshuffled its mountain access — Snowmass and Arapahoe Basin now sit on the Base Pass with five days each (the other three Aspen mountains stay exclusive to the full pass), and three Midwest additions join: Snowriver in Michigan, Lutsen in Minnesota and Granite Peak in Wisconsin, with seven days on the full pass and five on the Base.
Mountain Collective added Whiteface in upstate New York and launched a referral scheme that earns passholders a free bonus day at any affiliated resort. Meanwhile, Deer Valley keeps expanding: another 200 acres and seven new runs open this winter, taking it to 4,500 skiable acres and 32 lifts.
Who should care? Anyone planning a multi-day or multi-resort ski trip this winter. If you're set on a big megapass, buying before October 7 or 8 is the obvious move. If you're sampling a handful of destination resorts, Mountain Collective's later deadline makes it the flexible choice. Either way, waiting until December means paying more or missing out entirely.
