FRISCO — On Thursday morning, Alterra Mountain Company released pricing and access for its 2020-21 Ikon season passes, which will be available for purchase beginning March 5.
For Ikon Base passholders, Aspen Snowmass and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort now will require an add-on for access. This season’s base pass offered up to five days at each destination, but in 2020-21, passholders will have to cough up an extra $150 to keep that perk.
While payment for both the base pass and the Ikon Pass stays the same, base pass pricing with Jackson Hole and Aspen Snowmass access is listed as $849 for adults.
The pass is also adding two blackout dates. 2019-20 blackout dates were Dec. 26-31, Jan. 18-19, and Feb. 15-16. The new 2020-21 blackout dates are Dec. 26-Jan. 2, Jan. 16-17 and Feb. 13-14. Blackout dates only apply to the base pass.
Alterra spokeswoman Kristin Rust said that the reason for the additional blackout dates are due to calendar dates — Christmas Day and New Years Day both fall on a Friday. She explained that extending the blackout dates from New Year’s Eve to Jan. 2, the day after New Year’s Day, better covers the holiday period.
As for the change in access to Jackson Hole and Aspen Snowmass, Rust said this was due to feedback from partners at the resorts.
“It was really just listening to our partners and looking at different factors of it. It’s about keeping the value of the product while maintaining the guest experience,” Rust said.
Jackson Hole spokeswoman Anna Cole said that since Jackson Hole is not a large resort, there is limited base area capacity.
“We’re constantly monitoring our business modeling and we feel that moving forward with this (change in access) will help us achieve that high quality experience,” Cole said.
Aspen Snowmass spokesman Jeff Hanle said the resorts saw an increase in skiers and snowboarders on the mountain with the addition of Aspen Snowmass to the Ikon Pass. In particular the resorts saw a lot of weekend visitors from the front range.
“We’ve been extremely happy with the Ikon Pass but with the growth of the pass we need to look at the future,” Hanle said
Hanle added that while the crowds have not necessarily become unmanageable, the resort officials don’t see much more of an increase in skiers and snowboarders being sustainable for the mountain. He said the hope is that the additional $150 cost will spread visitors out over the week.
“We want to keep evolving and managing what we’re doing,” Hanle said.