I question the verb "Control" in the title of this thread
Yes, not the correct word. However, Vail dominates Austrian destination skiing (perhaps for Americans) through partnerships.
Their European partners or resorts might allow them to sell a limited number of passes to the UK and European markets. My UK friends recognize that the US/BC has better quality and quantity of snow (at some resorts), and it rains less. However, they are unaware of the duopoly (Alterra and Vail) that colludes to push prices to $300+/day, incentivizing early pass sales, and miss deadlines. If there is enough coverage of European resorts, it makes sense to purchase a pass for the year they might travel to the US or Canada for skiing.
Note: There should likely be some legal action against both Vail and Alterra for collusion.
Remember, ASC had to divest of Eastern ski areas when it bought SKI Ltd in 1996. See 1996 Dept. of Justice vs. ASC and SKI Ltd. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/485951/dl
What is going on with day tickets is worse than what any airline does.
Most areas, even top tier ones like Val d'Isere and the Arlberg, have more like $75-85 window prices.
I rounded up for easy math. Yes, passes in Europe are almost all (99%) <$100. I think Zermatt is the only one approaching that barrier, and perhaps >$100 adding Cervinia.
Austria is more expensive than France or Italy for ski passes. (All my recent France/Italy skiing was 50-63 Euros). Solden published its Winter 25/26 rates (
link) at 78 Euros, or approximately $88.50 USD. I assume the dollar is not going to strengthen much, and could likely only weaken a bit further. (Note: Vail has pushed Andermatt to almost the same price point as Zermatt.)
Who does Vail think will be buying incremental Epic passes? In North America the marginal buyer (like ChrisC) who is induced to buy because of Telluride will also do some skiing at Vail-owned properties (Whistler, Heavenly, Kirkwood). Will German and Austrian skiers who buy Epic for those Austrian partners patronize Andermatt and Crans-Montana much? I suspect Vail mainly wants to induce more sales in North America and Australia. But unlike many of us here on FTO, we know the vast majority of North American skiers don't consider skiing in Europe.
I would agree - the Epic Pass is a US-centric product and, to a minor extent, Canadian or Australian. Since Alterra/Epic does not have monopolistic control over the European market, it cannot incentivize pass sales through exorbitant day passes.
However, there is a certain European skier who would buy a mega pass who prefers the organized lift lines, wider trails, less skier density, and better grooming typically found in North America. Doubt they venture much off-piste. I have met a few on chairlifts.
I think the ski areas in Japan and Europe are more aspirational resorts that are important for marketing, but are only used irregularly. However, it was interesting that in January 2020, I was on a tour of the Imperial Palace, where they allowed you inside the palace (a unique time period). However, more than >50% of the tourists were American ski bums clad in American Gore-Tex brands. They were all on mostly Epic/MC/IKON passes skiing in Japan. (Felt bad for the skiers that year who booked Hakuba/Honshu resorts).
Then there is the closely held secret of how much do Vail and Alterra pay the partner resorts for using their passes.
Chris Steiner of ZRankings thinks Vail pays Telluride $125 per day of Epic pass use.
Does ChrisC know anything about this?
I don't know. I have not asked or been interested until now, but I finally own a pass. I will ask around. However, $125 seems very high. Most skiers and visitors will likely be coming to Telluride for at least three days to a week, which almost undermines the business case for an Epic Pass if a passholder chooses to go to Telluride.
I know more Telski employees in marketing and operations vs. finance, but I am sure a ballpark figure is known.
However, the partnership was negotiated by Bill Jensen and resulted in Telluride leaving Mountain Collective (likely IKON), and he knew what he was doing. The deal was not replicated extensively.
If Sun Valley/Snowbasin received something like this, I'm not sure if they would have left Epic.
(
Bill Jensen, a well-known figure in the ski industry, served as CEO of both Telluride Ski and Golf Resort and Whistler Blackcomb. He joined Telluride as CEO and partner in 2015. Before Telluride, he had been CEO of Intrawest, which owned Whistler Blackcomb. Bill Jensen left Telluride in 2020.
No one has led more major resorts in more markets than Bill Jensen, who held top posts at Vail Resorts and Intrawest and in a 45-year-career has applied his velvet touch to an A-list of mountains, including Sunday River, Northstar, Breckenridge, Vail, Whistler and Telluride.)
Steiner loves Telluride; it's his second favorite resort after Jackson. So I have more questions for ChrisC.
1) Does he agree Telluride drives a significant number of Epic Pass sales?
2) What are the major markets that send skiers to Telluride? It's one of the toughest access destinations, which is why it's never crowded. On my first visit in 1992 we ran into many people from Arizona. It's the closest Tier 1 ski resort to Phoenix at 485 miles, a slightly longer drive than San Diego to Mammoth.
Unless someone was focused on a trip to Telluride, I'm not sure it drives sales. However, skiers are aware of the passes, and if you ski for four days, the Epic Pass pays for itself. I will ask my brother because he deals with vacationing skiers and would know whether they are buying lift tickets or have a pass.
I have often seen Eastern skiers go to Telluride, as they have an Epic pass for East Coast day trips or Stowe, Okemo, etc. Some are looking for a less urban ski town experience than Park City, Vail, or Summit County.
Major markets: Texas (They load everyone up in a giant SUV and drive. Their cars cannot fit in many garages.) Arizona - similar, they drive (closest major CO mountain). Colorado locals visiting a remote part of the state. Then there are the typical cities: Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Washington, etc. Telluide surprisingly attracts a lot of Southerners, too - more than one would think, both among tourists and ski town locals.
