Finally, I might buy an Epic Pass since Vail just added all of Austria

[ChrisC]

Vail just added the following resorts to its Epic Pass in the last few days:

• Saalbach
• Zell am See
• Kaprun - Kitzsteinhorn
• Mayrhofen
• Hintertux
• Silvretta Montafon
• Sölden

This is on top of the entire Arlberg:

• St. Anton
• Rendl
• Stuben
• Zurs
• Lech
• Warth

Ikon essentially ceded the entire nation of Austria to Vail to an extent! Yes, they have Ischgl and Kitzbuhel, which is in talks to combine with SkiWelt (they practically are already connected), but there is no comparison in ski portfolios now, at least in Austria.

The only major ski region in Europe that I have yet to visit is Austria, outside of Arlberg and Ischgl. I abandoned plans this year since Austria had perhaps its worst snow year in a decade?

And most of the recent Epic additions are on my list for a one-week trip. Obviously, I can only prioritize certain areas in these massive complexes, and I do not think there will be much freeride/off-piste skiing besides Solden, Obergurgl, and parts of the glacier areas/Saalbach:

• SkiWelt (arrival day) - PM
• Kitzbuhel
• Saalbach
• Zell am See - AM, Kaprun- PM
• Mayrhofen - AM, Hintertux - PM
• Solden - 2 days
• Obergurgl
• Garmisch Classic - AM, Zugspitze - PM

The value of the above Epic partners is about $500 (Note: you cannot ski Mayrhofen and Hintertux - despite 10-15 minutes by bus - unless you have a multi-day pass).

I can always use days in Telluride. And I have not skied Heavenly and Kirkwood in many years.

So, I think I can get a 2x+ return on the pass or at least break even.


I previously had Mountain Collective for a couple of years when Telluride, Whistler, Squaw, Valle Nevado, and Niseko were on it. I also did an Indy Pass (Spring Version) during a COVID trip to the Northwest - when Indy was desperate to sell passes.

 

[ChrisC]

There are increasingly few unaligned Class A mountains left in Europe (especially those recognized by an American), and now some might be forced to make some decisions:

• Val d'Isere - Tignes - likely best known unaligned brand name
• Les Arcs - La Plagne
• Alpe d'Huez - Les 2 Alpes
• Davos
• Lesser extent (Engelberg, Flims-Laax, Lenzerheide, Cervinia, Courmayeur, Serre Che, etc)

Anyways, Vail said it was going to focus on Europe, and they certainly did with this strong list of Austrian partnerships.