East Coast season passes WTF! - Snowboarding Forum

tekniq33 · 03-31-2010, 10:16 AM

Why the hell are season passes on the east coast so friggin expensive!?! How can it be that the "Epic Pass" in Colorado (Unlimited access to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly (Lake Tahoe) and Arapahoe Basin. No blackout dates.) cost $599 but a pass to Killington is $1,000 and even a pass to Windham is $989. Mount Snow passes go over $1,000 during the season. Sure places like Squaw and Snowbird do have pass options that get up above $1,000 but at least the product is worth that money.

As someone who lives in NYC and goes riding 15-20 days a year I would definitely consider a pass to Windham or even Mount Snow, but to know I had to spend almost all my days at that one spot to make it worthwhile is ridiculous. It seems like all the CO, CA, UT, etc resorts charge much less for a far superior product. I think it is even crazy that they can charge similar daily prices but to justify season pass prices that are that much higher is just ridiculous.

Anyone else agree?

NYCboarder · 03-31-2010, 10:19 AM

i concur... mountain creek (which is a hill) is 300 a year.. i get that as my everyday place then take trips to other mtns

tekniq33 · 03-31-2010, 10:27 AM

yeah MC is the only place that prices appropriately. I just cannot stand going there, it is way to crowded and I end up barely enjoying myself. I think some place like Windham should be $499 or so. At least you can do things like the triple play cards and buy discounted tickets early season.

otherwise I just go through liftopia to save some money.

Hoons · 03-31-2010, 10:28 AM

yea it really sucks... I think it's because the east coast resorts have to make a lot of their own snow which drives up the cost. I need to move out west

cifex · 03-31-2010, 10:29 AM

Supply and demand. In this case the supply is small (limited acreage, vertical, etc). Demand is high....your located dead center of the highest concentration of people in the country. East coast resorts have distance from civilization factored into the cost. A season pass at Jay Peak is not so expensive, despite being the best mountain for 2 thousand miles.

Adrii · 03-31-2010, 10:30 AM

too bad i only have the poconos near me, and bears creek which is only about an hour tops...but i'd much rather be able to go to diff mtns all the time!

tekniq33 · 03-31-2010, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cifex

Supply and demand. In this case the supply is small (limited acreage, vertical, etc). Demand is high....your located dead center of the highest concentration of people in the country. East coast resorts have distance from civilization factored into the cost. A season pass at Jay Peak is not so expensive, despite being the best mountain for 2 thousand miles.

I agree demand is high, but supply is quite high as well. Windham, Hunter, Belleayre, Mountain Creek, the Poconos resorts, the Berkshires, and Southern VT all add up to about 15+ resorts within 3 hours of NYC. I guess to your point though you then start bringing in Boston, Philly, etc.

I am more speaking of the local places. Why would I spend $1k on a Windham pass when I can drive an extra 1-1.5hrs and be at mount snow for the same price? To me there is a clear difference in the product (terrain, size, snow, amenities, etc) that far outweighs the extra time in the car.

I guess I really wish I was just out of this area. Next year will probably be like this year. 18 days on snow at 9 different mountains (Hunter, Windham, Mountain Creek, Belleayre, Mt. Snow, Killington, Breckenridge, Blue Mountain, and Wildcat.)

legallyillegal · 03-31-2010, 10:53 AM

you should move to colorado then

cifex · 03-31-2010, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tekniq33

I agree demand is high, but supply is quite high as well. Windham, Hunter, Belleayre, Mountain Creek, the Poconos resorts, the Berkshires, and Southern VT all add up to about 15+ resorts within 3 hours of NYC. I guess to your point though you then start bringing in Boston, Philly, etc.

I am more speaking of the local places. Why would I spend $1k on a Windham pass when I can drive an extra 1-1.5hrs and be at mount snow for the same price? To me there is a clear difference in the product (terrain, size, snow, amenities, etc) that far outweighs the extra time in the car.

I guess I really wish I was just out of this area. Next year will probably be like this year. 18 days on snow at 9 different mountains (Hunter, Windham, Mountain Creek, Belleayre, Mt. Snow, Killington, Breckenridge, Blue Mountain, and Wildcat.)

We have a lot of tiny mountains by West Coast standards. Denver has about 15 mountains within 2 hours that are all about 10 times the acreage of your average EC mountain. Also, you said you'd drive 1.5 hours further. Would you do it every weekend? Enough to make the pass worth it? What about 1 hour further than that? Would you give up riding at different mountains? What if your friends don't? All factored into the cost.

Adrii · 03-31-2010, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cifex

We have a lot of tiny mountains by West Coast standards. Also, you said you'd drive 1.5 hours further. Would you do it every weekend? Enough to make the pass worth it? What about 1 hour further than that? All factored into the cost.

living in NJ sucks! i want to move where i can snowboard everyday! where do guys snowboard up in NY?

03-31-2010, 10:16 AM	#1 (permalink)
tekniq33 Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 723	East Coast season passes WTF! Why the hell are season passes on the east coast so friggin expensive!?! How can it be that the "Epic Pass" in Colorado (Unlimited access to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly (Lake Tahoe) and Arapahoe Basin. No blackout dates.) cost $599 but a pass to Killington is $1,000 and even a pass to Windham is $989. Mount Snow passes go over $1,000 during the season. Sure places like Squaw and Snowbird do have pass options that get up above $1,000 but at least the product is worth that money. As someone who lives in NYC and goes riding 15-20 days a year I would definitely consider a pass to Windham or even Mount Snow, but to know I had to spend almost all my days at that one spot to make it worthwhile is ridiculous. It seems like all the CO, CA, UT, etc resorts charge much less for a far superior product. I think it is even crazy that they can charge similar daily prices but to justify season pass prices that are that much higher is just ridiculous. Anyone else agree?

03-31-2010, 10:29 AM	#5 (permalink)
cifex -LIFETIME MEMBER- Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: New York Posts: 2,933	Supply and demand. In this case the supply is small (limited acreage, vertical, etc). Demand is high....your located dead center of the highest concentration of people in the country. East coast resorts have distance from civilization factored into the cost. A season pass at Jay Peak is not so expensive, despite being the best mountain for 2 thousand miles. __________________

03-31-2010, 10:53 AM	#8 (permalink)
legallyillegal -LIFETIME MEMBER- Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: fuck Snowboarding Posts: 4,446	you should move to colorado then __________________ THERE ARE SPECIFIC REASONS AS TO WHY I AM MORE LOCAL THAN YOU GOD IS DONUT

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03-31-2010, 10:19 AM	#2 (permalink)
NYCboarder Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Staten island, NY Posts: 673	i concur... mountain creek (which is a hill) is 300 a year.. i get that as my everyday place then take trips to other mtns

03-31-2010, 10:27 AM	#3 (permalink)
tekniq33 Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 723	yeah MC is the only place that prices appropriately. I just cannot stand going there, it is way to crowded and I end up barely enjoying myself. I think some place like Windham should be $499 or so. At least you can do things like the triple play cards and buy discounted tickets early season. otherwise I just go through liftopia to save some money.

03-31-2010, 10:28 AM	#4 (permalink)
Hoons Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 80	yea it really sucks... I think it's because the east coast resorts have to make a lot of their own snow which drives up the cost. I need to move out west

03-31-2010, 10:30 AM	#6 (permalink)
Adrii Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Jersey Shore Posts: 205	too bad i only have the poconos near me, and bears creek which is only about an hour tops...but i'd much rather be able to go to diff mtns all the time!