Skiier Deep PowderWinter Park Resort’s parent company, Alterra Mountain Company, announced it’s new ski pass product last week.  The new pass is called the IKON Pass and is the competitive counterpart to Vail Resorts Epic Pass.

Starting next winter, the Ikon Pass will be accepted at 23 resorts in 12 states and three Canadian provinces.  Alterra Mountain Company is the resort conglomerate that burst onto the scene last year with its collective of purchases including Winter Park, Steamboat and 10 other ski resorts throughout North America. The new pass has a initial offering sure to catch the attention of serious skiers and riders accross the country.

“The Ikon Pass is a collaboration of like-minded mountain destinations where incredible terrain, unique character and local traditions are celebrated,” Alterra Chief Marketing Officer Erik Forsell said last week.

The new pass product will connect Alterra’s 12 ski destinations, along with another 11 premier partners.  Forsell said the Ikon Pass will go on sale this spring, when additional details will address prices and specifics by destination. Information will be available at www.ikonpass.com.

Resorts included in the Ikon Pass offer 48,840 acres of skiable terrain, with a vertical drop of 70,192 feet, on 2,790 trails served by 434 lifts.

Alterra also announced that U.S. Olympic Alpine ski racer Mikaela Shiffrin has joined the company as an investor and will serve as an ambassador for the new ski pass.

“Mikaela has spent her entire life on the slopes, and shares a love of the mountains that mirrors the passion behind the Ikon Pass,” Forsell said, noting that the Colorado native had grown up skiing at several resorts linked by the pass.

“She represents the best of skiing today and continues to set the tone for the ski racers of the future,” he added. “She defines the spirit of the community of destinations we have brought together.”

Besides Alterra’s dozen, this new pass will give purchasers lift privileges at resorts owned by Park City-based Powdr, Aspen Skiing Co., Boyne Resorts (but not Brighton) and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

The pass includes access to the entire Alterra collection including Winter Park Resort, Steamboat, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, Mammoth Mountain, June Mountain, Big Bear Mountain Resort, Stratton, Snowshoe, Tremblant, Blue Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures.

The Ikon Pass also includes partner destinations like Aspen Snowmass, Copper Mountain, Eldora, Jackson Hole, Big Sky Resort, Killington Resort, Sunday River, Sugarloaf, Loon Mountain Resort, Alta Ski area and Snowbird.

According to Steve Hurlbert, PR Director for Winter Park Resort, details about pricing and the conditions that will apply at individual resorts are still being sorted out .  “We are excited to see it coming together.  We are now part of a destination group that is changing the landscape of the mountain resort industry.”

 



IKON Pass will be accepted at:Ikon Pass

• Colorado — Aspen Snowmass, Steamboat, Winter Park, Copper Mountain, Eldora Mountain
• Utah — Alta, Snowbird and Deer Valley
• Wyoming — Jackson Hole
• Montana — Big Sky
• California — Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Mammoth Mountain, June Mountain, Big Bear Mountain
• Vermont — Stratton, Killington
• Maine — Sugarloaf, Sunday River
• New Hampshire — Loon Mountain
• West Virginia — Snowshoe
• Canada — Blue Mountain and Tremblant