Season Pass pricing explained

[Captain Hafski]

Thanx Mike - I think you did the right thing.

My personal opinion re: ex-blackout passholders not liking this: As you said, the floater days really didn't do much on the very busy days. Also, I know of many blackout pass holders that would just show up on the blackout days and could usually get by without getting scanned. If they got scanned, so what; it used one of their floaters.

Bottom line from me: You have to go RFID. Way too many folks skiing for free.

A couple of years ago, with a purchased full season pass, I tried a game of seeing how many days I could of skied free. It was almost 50%. And, I wasn't just trying to get by once and then hide in the canyon. I was skiing my normal routine at every lift.

Respectfully, CH

[hillbangin]

It's rare when I say this, but Mike, you're wrong. The fact that there were lots of loyal Killington skiers complaining about the lack of a Blackout pass proves it. There was plenty of room in the pricing of the Midweek and full pass to fit a Blackout in. For local Colorado skiers, Vail Resorts has FOUR options- Keystone/A-Basin ($329), Summit Value ($529), Epic Local ($639), and Epic ($859), the first three with different resort and date blackouts. I can't believe there is much cost in offering a Blackout pass.

At this point it looks like Sugarbush and Stowe are offering better pass options than Killington is. For less money than the adult Unlimited Killington pass, the Epic pass gives you Stowe plus free skiing at all the other Vail resorts for your western vacation. The Premium Sugarbush pass is $100 less than Killington's Unlimited and gives you 50% off at all the Mountain Collective resorts. We get 20% off at Copper and Mt. Bachelor. And the Sugarbush senior midweek pass is $129. Killington has no senior version so you have to buy the adult at $479. I think a number of skiers from the Boston area will be choosing Sugarbush or Stowe over Killington next year. Want the long spring season at Killington? Just buy a spring pass.

I suspect this is only the beginning. If Vail Resorts picks up a resort to the south of Killington like Okemo or Stratton, then skiers from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will be looking at the Epic pass seriously. Killington is going to have to do something different that what I see this year if they want to retain market share.

Uhhh- I think Mike said you are exactly the customer that is on the fringe that they made the decision to raise your price to keep mine lower because I have chosen K as my home mountain.

The 'younger' crowd that owns property here and has 4 or 5 passes under one roof seems to be more in the majority according to the season pass data than the blackout pass folks.

If you can afford 2 or 3 trips out west - you can probably afford another $ 200 bucks a year on your pass........

[Kpdemello]

Mike seems right on some key points. As blackout pass holders, my housemates and I would typically buy a few k-tickets each year to supplement the floater days. The blackout pass also did nothing to decrease crowds on busy days. Most people I know with blackout passes were up during the busy holidays using their floater days. The big unspoken that Mike left out of his post was that most if not all of those blackout pass holders would try to skate by without getting scanned on those blackout days.

I don't really understand the outrage regarding the elimination of the blackout pass. For just $100 more than last season, you get an unlimited pass. I spend more than that on dinner most weekends up here. An unlimited pass for $900 seems like a great deal, unless of course you're one of the people trying to skate by without getting scanned.

I was actually hoping that K wouldn't offer a cheaper blackout pass, because the last thing I wanted was more people crowding the slopes on weekends. I'm pretty happy with this decision. I will gladly pay $900 for the full pass. Let the disgruntled people find another mountain and leave the snow at K a little less tracked for me.

[skilab]

Anyone complaining about spending another $100 for a pass shouldn't be skiing in the first place.

[Mister Moose]

I don't really understand the outrage regarding the elimination of the blackout pass. For just $100 more than last season, you get an unlimited pass. I spend more than that on dinner most weekends up here.

Anyone complaining about spending another $100 for a pass shouldn't be skiing in the first place.

There are many mom and dads out there eating peanut butter sandwiches just to be able to take their kids skiing. A hundred bucks is a big deal. Personally I'd rather have the peanut butter eating family on the hill that saved for their dream than fill it with people with this attitude.

[freeski]

I don't really understand the outrage regarding the elimination of the blackout pass. For just $100 more than last season, you get an unlimited pass. I spend more than that on dinner most weekends up here.

Anyone complaining about spending another $100 for a pass shouldn't be skiing in the first place.

There are many mom and dads out there eating peanut butter sandwiches just to be able to take their kids skiing. A hundred bucks is a big deal. Personally I'd rather have the peanut butter eating family on the hill that saved for their dream than fill it with people with this attitude.

Hear, Hear

[Kpdemello]

There are many mom and dads out there eating peanut butter sandwiches just to be able to take their kids skiing. A hundred bucks is a big deal. Personally I'd rather have the peanut butter eating family on the hill that saved for their dream than fill it with people with this attitude.

I feel for people who are just scraping by and want to give their kids the experience of skiing on a big mountain. However, I'm not sure that really describes any of the angry kzone posters declaring their intent to find a new mountain over the elimination of the blackout pass.

[skimom]

My $ .02 ..... If K doesnt turn a profit its bad for all of us. They are trying to run a profitable business in an absolute brutal industry. For myself, I'm glad to pay $900 for a season pass. I know everyone thinks they make millions each year, (dont forget 2016 ) but if they can't stay in the black, it hurts all of us. This goes for the business community of Killington as well.

[cpjohnson]

There are plenty of options for all. In fact, Mike hooked up many of us "peanut butter and jelly" skiers by lowering the unlimited. Everyone has a price point, if the unlimited is too much, then there is always a Pico pass. If not that then k tickets, or a local pass... lots of options for all.
Thanks Mike for the hard decisions, can't be easy. Now how bout that south ridge or Snowden lift; that's something to complain about...

[Bubba]

I don't really understand the outrage regarding the elimination of the blackout pass. For just $100 more than last season, you get an unlimited pass. I spend more than that on dinner most weekends up here.

Anyone complaining about spending another $100 for a pass shouldn't be skiing in the first place.

There are many mom and dads out there eating peanut butter sandwiches just to be able to take their kids skiing. A hundred bucks is a big deal. Personally I'd rather have the peanut butter eating family on the hill that saved for their dream than fill it with people with this attitude.

Gotta question this point. If you're scraping by on peanut butter and jelly so you can ski and give your kids the experience of skiing, maybe you need to reorder your priorities. Putting food on the table and providing a quality education comes before skiing and if all you can afford for dinner is peanut butter and jelly (or equivalent) then skiing may not be for you. And, even if it is, there are less expensive options than Killington, i.e. Pico. So, while I sympathize with the blackout pass buyers, the line of reasoning you put forth doesn't cut it at all for me.

[daytripper]

There are plenty of options for all. In fact, Mike hooked up many of us "peanut butter and jelly" skiers by lowering the unlimited. Everyone has a price point, if the unlimited is too much, then there is always a Pico pass. If not that then k tickets, or a local pass... lots of options for all.
Thanks Mike for the hard decisions, can't be easy. Now how bout that south ridge or Snowden lift; that's something to complain about...

Thats what I am talking about. Am I happy about paying more for a pass? no, not at all, but its not the end of the world. Now lets see something for it, we need some money spent at Killington. Copper is getting new lifts, but when do we?

[Mister Moose]

I don't really understand the outrage regarding the elimination of the blackout pass. For just $100 more than last season, you get an unlimited pass. I spend more than that on dinner most weekends up here.

Anyone complaining about spending another $100 for a pass shouldn't be skiing in the first place.

There are many mom and dads out there eating peanut butter sandwiches just to be able to take their kids skiing. A hundred bucks is a big deal. Personally I'd rather have the peanut butter eating family on the hill that saved for their dream than fill it with people with this attitude.

Gotta question this point. If you're scraping by on peanut butter and jelly so you can ski and give your kids the experience of skiing, maybe you need to reorder your priorities. Putting food on the table and providing a quality education comes before skiing and if all you can afford for dinner is peanut butter and jelly (or equivalent) then skiing may not be for you. And, even if it is, there are less expensive options than Killington, i.e. Pico. So, while I sympathize with the blackout pass buyers, the line of reasoning you put forth doesn't cut it at all for me.

First, peanut butter (I never said jelly, and never said for dinner, Fake News) is more of an example than a strict diet regimen. That said, in my youth I consumed lots of peanut butter on a Ritz, peanut butter on a banana, peanut butter on bread, peanut butter on chocolate, peanut butter bacon sandwiches (yum) and peanut butter on Ring Ding, and seem to be no worse for the wear. I did fine in public school in spite of this abuse, and tip the scales several pounds under you.

Second, are you saying it's ok for $100 to be important if you ski Pico, but not if you ski Killington?

[icedtea]

There are plenty of options for all. In fact, Mike hooked up many of us "peanut butter and jelly" skiers by lowering the unlimited. Everyone has a price point, if the unlimited is too much, then there is always a Pico pass. If not that then k tickets, or a local pass... lots of options for all.
Thanks Mike for the hard decisions, can't be easy. Now how bout that south ridge or Snowden lift; that's something to complain about...

Thats what I am talking about. Am I happy about paying more for a pass? no, not at all, but its not the end of the world. Now lets see something for it, we need some money spent at Killington. Copper is getting new lifts, but when do we?

Exactly. Time for an upgrade here.

[RENO]

You dropped the full pass 21%. You could've dropped the blackout 21% also and it would've fit perfectly in the price list at around $640. I think the blackout was around $800? Also, didn't last seasons full pass also include a mountain bike pass?

Full $899
Blackout $640
29-below $599
Senior $539
Youth $539
Midweek $479

[SnoBrdr]

It's rare when I say this, but Mike, you're wrong. The fact that there were lots of loyal Killington skiers complaining about the lack of a Blackout pass proves it. There was plenty of room in the pricing of the Midweek and full pass to fit a Blackout in. For local Colorado skiers, Vail Resorts has FOUR options- Keystone/A-Basin ($329), Summit Value ($529), Epic Local ($639), and Epic ($859), the first three with different resort and date blackouts. I can't believe there is much cost in offering a Blackout pass.

At this point it looks like Sugarbush and Stowe are offering better pass options than Killington is. For less money than the adult Unlimited Killington pass, the Epic pass gives you Stowe plus free skiing at all the other Vail resorts for your western vacation. The Premium Sugarbush pass is $100 less than Killington's Unlimited and gives you 50% off at all the Mountain Collective resorts. We get 20% off at Copper and Mt. Bachelor. And the Sugarbush senior midweek pass is $129. Killington has no senior version so you have to buy the adult at $479. I think a number of skiers from the Boston area will be choosing Sugarbush or Stowe over Killington next year. Want the long spring season at Killington? Just buy a spring pass.

I suspect this is only the beginning. If Vail Resorts picks up a resort to the south of Killington like Okemo or Stratton, then skiers from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will be looking at the Epic pass seriously. Killington is going to have to do something different that what I see this year if they want to retain market share.

Uhhh- I think Mike said you are exactly the customer that is on the fringe that they made the decision to raise your price to keep mine lower because I have chosen K as my home mountain.

The 'younger' crowd that owns property here and has 4 or 5 passes under one roof seems to be more in the majority according to the season pass data than the blackout pass folks.

If you can afford 2 or 3 trips out west - you can probably afford another $ 200 bucks a year on your pass........

Truer words were never spoken.