Indy Pass

[ChrisC]

I received notification that the Indy Pass is back on sale and am off the Waitlist. I am not going to purchase this year (my code is below), but it is quite the deal for the Northwest resorts:

• Montana SnowBowl
• Big White
• Apex
• Castle Mt
• Mt Hood Meadows
• White Pass
• Mission Ridge
• 49 North
• Silver Mt
• Lost Trail
• Tamarack
• Brundage
• Red Lodge
• Powder Mt
• Sunlight

I bought their Spring Pass for << $200 in 2021 for a NW road trip and used it quite a bit. Seems like this would be a no-brainer for @snowave.
Not sure what are blackout dates are, but some resorts include every weekend.

And Greek Peak is on there too!

 

[Tony Crocker]

I’m getting a free Indy Pass from NASJA again this season. I also have Powder Alliance as part of my free age 70 Mt. High Pass. I doubt will get the use out of Indy that I did in 2021.

 

[ChrisC]

I’m getting a free Indy Pass from NASJA again this season. I also have Powder Alliance as part of my free age 70 Mt. High Pass. I doubt will get the use out of Indy that I did in 2021.

The Indy Pass is a bit regional. The best areas are either in:

• NorthWest
• Northeast
• Mid Atlantic

The Midwest looked OK.

The Northeast had:

• Saddleback
• Cannon
• Waterville
• Jay Peak
• Bolton Valley
• Magic Mt
• Berkshire East
• Catamount

The Powder Alliance is a nice arrangement.

 

[snowave]

@ ChrisC

I have a midweek pass to Brundage, and full pass at Tamarack this year. I didn't get the Indy Pass this year, as last season I barely "paid it off". I do plan to maybe do a road trip to hit 49 North this winter and also Whitewater (not on IP), but decided it wasn't worth the $200 add on at the time, and definitely not worth the $300 it is now. I did get one for my wife, however as she will use the 2 days at Tamarack and also 2 at 49 N. If buying at the time of the regular pass sale, it was only $200... so still worth it for her.

I may go back and get it again next year though, if I plan a trip to use it at more than 1 ski area.

I had surgery on my arm a bit over 2 weeks ago (torn labrum and bicep tendon from 2 yrs ago from ATV flip) . Recovery is going well, and Doc thinks I should have no problem being back on the mtn by Christmas, if not earlier.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Just received our Indy passes in the mail. Ready to start my Tour de Molehills!

 

[jamesdeluxe]

In addition to these new ones that were added in February:

• Les 7 Laux, FR
• Valmorel, FR
• Hohsaas, CH
• Pebble Creek, ID

They just announced:

• Les Contamines, FR: I could've sworn that ChrisC skied there recently but I couldn't find his report.
• Pizol, CH

 

[ChrisC]

Les Contamines, FR: I could've sworn that ChrisC skied there recently but I couldn't find his report.

I did. No write-up on anything yet.

AM - Les Contamines. PM - Megeve. The snow bases were very good down low in France this winter. So many sectors were open in this huge complex, I had to stop and try areas that I skipped previously due to time. Les Contamines to St. Gervais is about 15 minutes by car.

 

[snowave]

^ Damn, that place look insane.... the layout, even crazier.

I didn't use my Indy Pass this year, unfortunately. We had plans a couple times to do the Mt. Hood Meadows, along with Hoodoo, and conditions never really materialized. My wife got to use hers at Tamarack though.

We got add-on's again this next upcoming season, and hope to return to 49N, Big White & Apex next year... plus, I skipped Tamarack season pass this year, so I'll get to use my 2 days there for sure.

The Indy is still a good deal for the wife and I ... but it's starting to get into that price range ($300-add on) where it won't be worth it much longer for our regional trips, partly because many of the smaller areas have great mid-week rates/specials... which is primarily when we'll ski.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I didn't use my Indy Pass this year, unfortunately. We had plans a couple times to do the Mt. Hood Meadows, along with Hoodoo, and conditions never really materialized.

Ouch but not that big a financial hit as an add-on?

I only got 11 days out of my Indy Pass, was hoping to be in the high teens by heading up to northern VT (Jay Peak, Burke) and the Eastern Townships (Owls Head, Sutton), which unfortunately didn't happen. Hopefully next year.

As Indy expands, there's now an interesting (to me) Idaho road trip with a lot of locals' joints:

1. Fly into Jackson airport
2. Snow King
3. Kelly Canyon
4. Pebble Creek
5. Pomerelle
6. Magic
7. Soldier
8. Bogus Basin (not Indy)
9. Tamarack
10. Brundage
11. Fly out of Boise airport

The downside is 850 miles/17 hours of driving (at least it'd be broken up into bite-sized segments). Maybe draw on @Worldskitraveller's MO and visit three areas in one day?

 

[MarzNC]

• Soldier
• Bogus Basin (not Indy)
• Tamarack
• Brundage

My Idaho ski safari in March 2025 was based on starting in SLC and using Ikon and Indy. I often meet up with Bill in SLC. He will drive anywhere from Albuquerque for a ski trip out west if someone else does the travel planning. We were joined by an intermediate Ski Diva from the east in SLC, then another who flew to Boise. The first stop was Sun Valley after driving to Ketchum the afternoon Bill did a pickup at the SLC airport. It was the first time for the intermediate who stuck to Dollar Mountain and really liked it. We stopped by to look at the base of Soldier on the way to Boise. I'd like to ski there in the future for sure. Preferably when conditions are good for taking the snowcat. Happened to be the day Glenn Plakke was there. We didn't see him, but saw his red RV in the parking lot.

We stayed slopeside at Tamarack and did day trips to Brundage. Got in 5 days using Indy, with the third day at Tamarack discounted. The Tamarack lodging had an Indy discount.

After the intermediates flew out of Boise, Bill and I explored Bogus Basin for a day. Well worth paying for a senior lift ticket. We got powder turns there.

Overall it was a good trip. I would be happy to return to Idaho in the future.

EDIT TO ADD TRIP REPORT:

TR Idaho ski safari March 7-14, 2025: Tamarack, Brundage, Bogus Basin

Had a very good time doing an Idaho ski safari with a small crew. From a skiing standpoint, my trip started at Sun Valley and ended at Brian Head in southern Utah. This trip report covers Tamarack, Brundage, and Bogus Basin, March 8-14. Fair to say I liked all of them for different reasons and...

www.theskidiva.com

 

[lexi376]

I’ve actually looked at Indy Pass a few times and it always feels like one of those things that pays for itself if you even take one solid trip. The smaller mountains are usually less crowded too, which honestly makes the experience better than the big-name resorts. If you're already planning a road trip, it kind of makes sense.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Reportedly, Indy Pass is going to announce up to 30 new members over the next week including, one assumes, some additional Euro ski areas. Hopefully, this'll create a few more clusters like what they have in Tirol, Austria and the northeast.

• Innsbruck Region, Austria: Stubai Glacier, Axamer Lizum, Kühtai, Schlick 2000, Hochoetz, Patscherkofel, Glungezer and others.
• SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser, Austria
• Steinplatte, Austria
• Pitztal Glacier, Austria
• Kaunertal Glacier, Austria
• Hochzeiger, Austria
• Rauris, Austria
• Oberstdorf–Kleinwalsertal, Germany/Austria
• Portes du Soleil, France/Switzerland
• Pila, Italy
• Leukerbad, Switzerland
• Baqueira-Beret, Spain

New for 2026-27

• Valmorel, France
• Les 7 Laux, France
• Les Contamines, France
• Bergbahnen Hohsaas/Saas-Grund, Switzerland
• Pizol, Switzerland

 

[ChrisC]

The Indy Pass European current ski partners are mostly non-starters. Nice, but nothing to plan a trip entirely around - except maybe Austria? But most are low-altitude, and you are still limited to only 2 days.

I am not sure what the Indy Pass strategy is:

• Are they going to try to compete with a viable product for Europeans?
• Or just a collection of random Euro resorts that inflate counts and dreams, but really add nothing substantively overall?

I am guessing the latter, and the strategy is just a list of kitchen-sink ski areas/crap against the wall. What's the downside for the Euro resort? A few Americans show up, and they collect 2 days of revenue from Indy Pass and some press/social media mentions? Meh/Mid. Sloppy seconds to inflate Indy Pass counts.

Also, Indy Pass has a major exclusivity problem. Many significant 'indy resorts' in the western Alps belong to the Magic Pass network. Or a regional pass product: Aosta, etc. Assume they will accept anyone willing to join its network.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Valmorel and Les Contamines are significant additions. I now know that Baqueira-Beret is significant too. In all of these cases it's a worthwhile perk if you're in the region as with us at Portes du Soleil this past season, but as a mechanism to build an exclusive Euro trip around, that's a hard no.

I have not heard of most of the places on that Magic Pass list. Are there none of mom-and-pop but higher altitude places in the Upper Rhone included?

 

[Sbooker]

The Indy Pass European current ski partners are mostly non-starters. Nice, but nothing to plan a trip entirely around - except maybe Austria? But most are low-altitude, and you are still limited to only 2 days.

I am not sure what the Indy Pass strategy is:

• Are they going to try to compete with a viable product for Europeans?
• Or just a collection of random Euro resorts that inflate counts and dreams, but really add nothing substantively overall?

I am guessing the latter, and the strategy is just a list of kitchen-sink ski areas/crap against the wall. What's the downside for the Euro resort? A few Americans show up, and they collect 2 days of revenue from Indy Pass and some press/social media mentions? Meh/Mid. Sloppy seconds to inflate Indy Pass counts.

Also, Indy Pass has a major exclusivity problem. Many significant 'indy resorts' in the western Alps belong to the Magic Pass network. Or a regional pass product: Aosta, etc. Assume they will accept anyone willing to join its network.

If you really want to ski smaller, independent ski resorts for one or two weeks cheaply, the 419 CHF Magic Pass is the standout, but it's heavily Swiss-focused.

Vaud
Glacier 3000, Les Diablerets, Leysin, Les Mosses–La Lécherette, Les Pléiades, Les Rochers-de-Naye, Ste-Croix/Les Rasses, Vallée de Joux and Villars-Gryon.

Fribourg
Charmey, Jaun, La Berra, Les Paccots, Moléson and Schwarzsee.

Central Switzerland
Klewenalp-Stockhütte, Marbachegg, Melchsee-Frutt, Mörlialp, Sattel-Hochstuckli and Sörenberg.

Jura / Neuchâtel / Solothurn and smaller Swiss areas
Balmberg, Bugnenets-Savagnières, Crêt-du-Puy, Grenchenberg, Hohe Winde, Homberg, Prés-d'Orvin, Robella Val-de-Travers, Riffenmatt, Rüschegg, Selital, Schwanden, Tramelan, Valbirse and others.

France
Bernex, Hirmentaz, Les Habères, Jura-sur-Léman, Le Grand-Bornand, Massif des Brasses, Métabief, Monts Jura, Praz de Lys–Sommand and Thollon-les-Mémises.

It costs Indy nothing to have the extra resorts on their pass? They don't cough up for the privilege?
And the resort gets paid just a fraction of a regular day ticket when someone uses an Indy Pass? The resort gets a visitor they probably wouldn't have got so therefore gets to sell them some rental gear or expensive lunch? Is that how it works?

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Indy Pass has a major exclusivity problem. Many significant 'indy resorts' in the western Alps belong to the Magic Pass network. Or a regional pass product: Aosta, etc. Assume they will accept anyone willing to join its network.

How is that an exclusivity problem? They're exclusive only vis à vis U.S. pass products Ikon and Epic, not regional Euro products.

the strategy is just a list of kitchen-sink ski areas/crap against the wall.

Until they bring in additional Euro areas, that's certainly a way to view it. For now, Alps and Pyrenees areas are a nice-to-have add-on for Indy to its U.S. offerings (like Tony using it tactically for the Portes du Soleil because it made sense at the time), not its reason for being where an American can plan a trip around several clusters of areas. Its existing Austrian grouping was great for us -- maybe not for ChrisC who has stringent expectations regarding elevation and terrain -- in that it mixed three glacier areas with massive and smaller (by Euro standards) lower-elevation mountains: good variety. Given more time, we would've also skied at Kaunertal and Pitztal/Rifflsee, and driven to the extensive Kleinwalsertal region a couple hours away.

It would be great for someone like me if Indy could replicate the Tirol cluster amongst the hundreds of indie joints over there -- the Pyrenees seem like a perfect setting for that -- but who knows if that's part of their plans and if yes, how quickly they can execute on it. I suspect that courting and bringing on a ski area as a partner is not a wave-a-magic-wand process.

 

[Tony Crocker]

They're exclusive only vis à vis U.S. pass products Ikon and Epic

Pila is on both Ikon and Indy. With Ikon you get 5/7 days collectively at Courmayeur, Cervina, Monterosa, Pila and La Thuile/La Rosiere.

I suspect that courting and bringing on a ski area as a partner is not a wave-a-magic-wand process.

Yes it seems really random. Indy scored the arguably best area in the Pyrenees, Baquiera-Beret. But Grandvalira does way more skier visits and that's the one on Ikon.

Indy retains 15% of pass revenue and distributes the other 85% to the ski areas in proportion to skier visit usage. I do not see a financial incentive for either Indy or the participating ski areas to restrict Indy Pass sales. In terms of protecting ski areas' pass revenue from locals, Indy has stated (in Stuart interview last year) that the two day maximum per area will absolutely never be increased.

I think the on/off sales are a psychology tool to stimulate demand/FOMO.

FYI Mammoth MVPs were restricted for many years to control weekend/holiday overcrowding. Google AI:

Mammoth Mountain first capped sales of the Mammoth Value Pass (MVP) and limited them strictly to renewals in 2005. From 2005 through 2008, the pass was unavailable to the general public and could only be purchased by individuals who held the pass during the prior season. [1, 2]

Due to the economic recession, Mammoth briefly lifted this restriction and opened a limited quantity of MVP sales to the public in April 2009, which sold out rapidly. Following that brief opening, Mammoth reinstated the restriction in 2010, closing public sales and limiting the MVP back to renewals only. [1, 2]

Not stated in the above is that I'm 99% sure that the restriction to renewals only was lifted starting in spring 2012, the season resulting in layoffs and bank covenants forcing a one season closure of June. 2013-14 and 2014-15 were even worse for snow than 2011-12, and I recall that when renewing in spring of those years for the ensuing seasons, we were offered $100-$200 in free passcash if we renewed by a mid-April deadline. I do not think MVPs were ever restricted to renewals after 2012 but it is likely they were capped at some number like 40,000 through the final MVP season of 2017-18. After that it has been Alterra and Ikon.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I moved the Magic Pass detour to the existing thread.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Indy retains 15% of pass revenue and distributes the other 85% to the ski areas in proportion to skier visit usage.

I should know this by now but to confirm -- individual ski area revenues are based on how many Indy Pass areas are skied by a given subscriber? Thus, if someone skis ten areas, it's $400 minus Indy Pass's end (15%) and then the remaining $340 is divided by ten so each place gets $34 per day for that particular skier at the end of the season? Or is that $34 sliced and diced further based on how much a given day ticket at a specific ski area is?

 

[MarzNC]

I should know this by now but to confirm -- individual ski area revenues are based on how many Indy Pass areas are skied by a given subscriber? Thus, if someone skis ten areas, it's $400 minus Indy Pass's end (15%) and then the remaining $340 is divided by ten so each place gets $34 per day for that particular skier at the end of the season? Or is that $34 sliced and diced further based on how much a given day ticket at a specific ski area is?

I don't think of it that way.

The 85% is divided up and distributed to the partner resorts after the season is over based on the number of uses. Has nothing to do what a day ticket would've cost the passholder had they not been using Indy. So if there were 10 locations and the top location got 40% of the usage, that resort would get 40% of the revenue.

Doug Fish, the founder of Indy, and others talk about "yield" when it comes to how much a resort gets from someone using Indy for a day of skiing. That seems to be the percentage of the "rack rate." My impression is that having a yield over 50% is fine since what the resort is getting is free advertising that has the potential to pull in people who may never have heard of the place or considered it not worth paying for a lift ticket.