{"id":2448340,"date":"2019-09-04T21:15:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-05T03:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=312330"},"modified":"2019-09-04T21:15:00","modified_gmt":"2019-09-05T03:15:00","slug":"skicos-kaplan-urges-aspen-to-embrace-ikon-pass-holders-quit-blaming-them-for-lift-lines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/skicos-kaplan-urges-aspen-to-embrace-ikon-pass-holders-quit-blaming-them-for-lift-lines\/","title":{"rendered":"Skico\u2019s Kaplan urges Aspen to embrace Ikon Pass holders, quit blaming them for lift lines"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.4785100286533\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-312330-88\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Skicoikon-atd-090519-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Skicoikon-atd-090519-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Aspen Skiing Co. President and CEO Mike Kaplan speaks to an audience Wednesday during the annual Skico Blend in the Sundeck Restaurant.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Aspen Skiing Co. President and CEO Mike Kaplan speaks to an audience Wednesday during the annual Skico Blend in the Sundeck Restaurant.<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Skicoikon-atd-090519-1.jpg\" alt=\"Aspen Skiing Co. President and CEO Mike Kaplan speaks to an audience Wednesday during the annual Skico Blend in the Sundeck Restaurant.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Skicoikon-atd-090519-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Skicoikon-atd-090519-1-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Attendees of the annual Skico Blend listen Wednesday to the speakers at the top of Aspen Mountain in the Sundeck Restaurant.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Attendees of the annual Skico Blend listen Wednesday to the speakers at the top of Aspen Mountain in the Sundeck Restaurant.<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Skicoikon-atd-090519-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"Attendees of the annual Skico Blend listen Wednesday to the speakers at the top of Aspen Mountain in the Sundeck Restaurant.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/skicos-kaplan-urges-aspen-to-embrace-ikon-pass-holders-quit-blaming-them-for-lift-lines\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/skicos-kaplan-urges-aspen-to-embrace-ikon-pass-holders-quit-blaming-them-for-lift-lines\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Aspen Skiing Co. officials used an annual gathering of the local business community to revel in last ski season and urge a friendly crowd of a few hundred people to embrace Ikon Pass holders in coming seasons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe are going to bask a little bit in the glow of last year. I don\u2019t know about you but I\u2019m still savoring it,\u201d Skico President and CEO Mike Kaplan said at the Afternoon Blend, a popular mixer hosted by Aspen Chamber Resort Association.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He said 2018-19 was the <a id=\"N0x29b7da0N0x28c1750:N0x29b7da0N0x2aafc10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/magazines\/aspen-times-weekly\/an-ikonic-winter-for-aspen\/\">longest ski season ever in Aspen<\/a> at 168 days. Two skiers logged 167 days on the slopes, he said. One unnamed skier, not on the Aspen Highlands Ski Patrol, logged a record 115 laps in Highland Bowl.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Skier visits at Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk also set a record. Visits were up about 20 percent from the prior season, but \u2014 as Kaplan pointed out \u2014 2018-19 was \u201cstinky\u201d because of lack of snow.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Skico and the community worked hard to bounce back from a bad snow year by offering discounts and by making the slopes available to purchasers of the Ikon Pass, which is offered by Skico\u2019s sister resort operator, Alterra Mountain Co. The Ikon Pass provided purchasers with five or seven days collectively on Aspen-Snowmass slopes, depending on the version. It also offered access to numerous other resorts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Kaplan said opening access to the Ikon Pass \u201cwas not a reaction to bad snow.\u201d He labeled it a \u201cresiliency strategy\u201d designed to attract the next generation of skiers and riders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He displayed a slide that showed 27 percent of Ikon Pass users were between ages 25 and 34 compared to 19 percent of Skico\u2019s overall customers. In addition, 13 percent of Ikoners were younger than 18 compared to 3 percent of customers overall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">About 70 percent of Ikon Pass users were new to Aspen and many were from the Front Range of Colorado, according to Skico\u2019s stats. The pass \u201cwas a success\u201d and helped Skico achieve its objective of drawing a more diverse customer base, according to Kaplan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Nevertheless, Ikon customers weren\u2019t welcomed by everyone and were vilified by a vocal minority, Kaplan said. A slide showed the \u201cStop Ikonizing Aspen\u201d sticker that appeared last season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI call this blatant snobbery,\u201d Kaplan said. \u201cThis is not who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He contended Ikoners were unfairly blamed for weekend crowding last season. To prove his point, he dove into the numbers on the fabulous powder Sunday of March 3, when the Deep Temerity chairlift was swamped once the Bowl and other expert terrain opened. People complained about 40-minute lift lines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Kaplan said there were 3,420 skiers and riders at Highlands that day. Skico knows the mix of local passholders, Ikon Pass holders and skiers who purchased lift tickets, including those who showed up for a specific competition that day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">A 40-minute lift line equates to about 800 skiers at the Deep Temerity lift. Extrapolating the mix of customers that day, more than half were local passholders, Kaplan said, and 129 were Ikon Pass holders. The balance was buyers of lift tickets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The lift line would have been 36 minutes without Ikon Pass holders, Kaplan said. Ikoners added four minutes to the wait on a day that anger spilled over against them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe\u2019re all the problem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Kaplan urged the audience to \u201cembrace\u201d Ikon holders \u201cso we become their place of choice for evermore.\u201d He <a id=\"N0x29b7da0N0x28c17b0:N0x29b7da0N0x2ab03f0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/aspen-skiing-co-to-adjust-for-ikon-crowds-in-19-20-season\/\">made the same plea last month<\/a> in a presentation to the Aspen City Council.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Following are other tidbits offered by Kaplan and other Skico executives during about 45 minutes of a presentation:<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText ListBullet\">\u2022 Kaplan said he couldn\u2019t talk specifically about Skico\u2019s plan to expand Aspen Mountain into the Pandora\u2019s terrain because a quorum of Pitkin County Commissioners was present. They are reviewing the plan. The <a id=\"N0x29b7da0N0x28c18d0:N0x29b7da0N0x2ab05a0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-mountain-expansion-plan-does-not-get-pitkin-county-support-skico-will-re-examine-proposal\/\">commissioners were deadlocked 2-2<\/a> last week on granting the zoning needed for that expansion. A formal vote was delayed until next week to let Skico assess its path. While Kaplan didn\u2019t get into specifics, he hinted company isn\u2019t giving up on the expansion goal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe can\u2019t be moving backwards and shrinking our boundary on our four mountains,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText ListBullet\">\u2022 Kaplan also expressed hope that the Lift One Plan with lodges and relocated chairlift further down the mountain will come to fruition. \u201cIt is the best plan we have ever seen for that area,\u201d he said. A <a id=\"N0x29b7da0N0x28c1ab0:N0x29b7da0N0x2ab0750\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/lift-one-project-on-aspen-mountain-in-peril\/\">key party in the plan has withdrawn<\/a> from participation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText ListBullet\">\u2022 Katie Ertl, senior vice president for mountain operations, said Skico would try several \u201cease of access opportunities\u201d at its ski areas to resolve crowding. Tools include working with Roaring Fork Transportation Authority on direct buses to Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk from the Brush Creek\/Highway 82 lot; a parking app for smart phones that shows when parking at ski area bases is full and available; and installing more way-finding signs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText ListBullet\">\u2022 Skico is looking at adding chairs to increase the uphill capacity of the High Alpine Lift at Snowmass and Cloud 9 Lift at Aspen Highlands, according to Ertl. Each lift\u2019s capacity would increase from 1,200 to 1,800 skiers per hour. \u201cIt\u2019s really exciting with High Alpine. We\u2019ve got so much terrain up there,\u201d Ertl said. The lift provides access to the Hanging Valley Wall area, which requires a short hike.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText ListBullet\">\u2022 Snowmaking was added further up the slope at Buttermilk and pipe was replaced at Aspen Mountain, Snowmass and Aspen Highlands. However, it looks doubtful that Skico will be able this summer to expand snowmaking at Aspen Mountain to cover the upper mountain, even if county approval is granted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText ListBullet\">\u2022 Wifi will be available at every on-mountain restaurant except Up For Pizza at Snowmass.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:scondon@aspentimes.com\">scondon@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/skicos-kaplan-urges-aspen-to-embrace-ikon-pass-holders-quit-blaming-them-for-lift-lines\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aspen Skiing Co. President and CEO Mike Kaplan speaks to an audience Wednesday during the annual Skico Blend in the Sundeck Restaurant.Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times Attendees of the annual Skico Blend listen Wednesday to the speakers at the top of Aspen Mountain in the Sundeck Restaurant.Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times Show CaptionsHide Captions Aspen Skiing Co. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2448340","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-26 05:08:59","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2448340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2448340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2448340\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2448340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2448340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2448340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}