"Have you bought your season pass yet?"

No, I haven't.

And, quite honestly, I kind of don't even know what that means.

It's the not-so "inside joke" that all Coloradans seem to be in on... and I'm not going to lie, I feel a little left out.

I have a confession to make - I've never been skiing.

That feels like a sin to admit now that I'm living in Colorado; our country is home to some of the best ski resorts in the world, and several of them are right here in this very state.

I've been living in Colorado for a little over a year now, and I refuse to let another ski season go by without me "shredding some gnar".

It's time to hit the slopes.

But First...

There's all this talk around which of the two available ski passes is "better".

Based on the minimal research I've done and the few conversations I've had with friends, I am aware of both the Epic & Ikon ski passes.

My question is, what's the difference? And is there actually one pass that's better than the other? And, if so, what makes said pass better than its competitor?

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Well, Here's The Difference

Ski.com offers a great breakdown of each of these popular ski passes; here's the short of it:

Epic Pass: 

  • Price: $819 for an adult season pass for the 2021-22 season (ages 13+)
  • Deals (if any): Yes - current pass holders have the opportunity to take advantage of 20% off their season passes
  • Access:
    • Epic Pass holders earn access to 79 resorts across 100,000+ skiable acres worldwide
    • Unlimited Access: 37 resorts across the U.S., Canada, Australia - including Colorado ski areas/resorts in
      • Vail
      • Breckenridge
      • Beaver Creek
      • Keystone
      • Crested Butte
    • Limited Access: Limited Access to Colorado's Telluride ski area and several more across the country + worldwide

Ikon Pass:

  • Price: $1,149 for an adult season pass for the 2021-22 season (ages 23+)
  • Deals (if any): Not really - Ikon doesn't seem to be offering current pass holders any discounts like Epic is this season, but "Young Adult" passes (for those ages 13-22) go for $869 - priced a little more comparable to Epic's adult season pass, but still more expensive
  • Access:
    • Ikon Pass holders earn access to 45 resorts across nearly 89,000 skiable acres worldwide
    • Unlimited Access: 15 resorts across the U.S. and Canada - including Colorado ski areas/resorts in
      • Steamboat
      • Winter Park
      • Copper Mountain
      • Eldora
    • Limited Access: Limited Access to Colorado's Aspen/Snowmass ski area, A-Basin, and several more across the country + worldwide

The Verdict: MY Verdict

Initially, after breaking it down above, it seemed to me like, financially, I should totally go with an Epic ski pass.

But it makes me wonder, why is the Epic pass cheaper than the Ikon pass - especially since the Epic pass (seemingly, because again, what do I know) offers more of a "bang for your buck"?

Both Epic and Ikon do offer day passes at a different rate than the ones previously mentioned, but honestly, those are almost just as expensive as buying a season pass.

Truth be told, even after this, I'm still conflicted.

So my question to you, Colorado, is are you team Epic or Ikon? And which one should I be? Let me know your pass preference (and why) using the 'Message Us' feature on the app!

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