We discussed the Mountain Collective with Aspen marketing director Jeff Hanle. Prior to 2011-12 Aspen marketed an "Escape Pass" for $249 which gave the holder unlimited half price tickets to Aspen's 4 mountains.jamesdeluxe":310a0050 said:
In 2012 Aspen reached out to a few other areas about the Mountain Collective concept, starting with Whistler. He said there are some IT issues about its administration, and Mammoth for example with its financial crisis in 2012 didn't want to take anything else on that year.
During the first year the main impact at Aspen was that the Escape passholders moved to the Collective. Nonetheless the concept was obviously attractive with the new additions including Mammoth and Whistler for 2013-14. Other areas are now interested in joining, but at Aspen they are inclined to keep the Mountain Collective among perceived "top tier" areas.
As some of you know in 2004 Larry Schick and I were hosted at Aspen by prior marketing director Susan Darch. She said then that Aspen had the most loyal repeat customers in the ski industry but she was concerned about aging of their customer base. Jeff said there are still negative perceptions from younger skiers/riders that Aspen has to overcome. But once people come to Aspen the first time they are likely to return, an impression certainly confirmed by Staley and Rfarren among our younger contingent here on FTO.
I note that Aspen had a slow starting season during the first year of the Mountain Collective. This year the shoe is on the other foot, with an awful start at Squaw and Mammoth, mediocre at Whistler and below average at Jackson and AltaBird. So perhaps this year Aspen will see some new visitors from those other areas. Tseeb would probably not have spent 4 days skiing Aspen/Snowmass if he had not bought the Mountain Collective, intending at purchase time to use it mainly for Squaw and Mammoth. Jeff noted that the highest number of Mountain Collective passholders are from the SF Bay area. I'm guessing a lot of those people like Tseeb will be quite pleased at the options they have outside the Sierra this season.