Epic or Ikon: Which Should You Choose?

UPDATE: This article is now out of date. See here for our most up-to-date analysis on Epic vs. Ikon.

Today is the last day to buy an Epic Pass before prices go up for the third, and likely final, time tomorrow. In this piece, we’ll aim to shed light on the differences between Ikon and Epic—and whether either is worth getting during these uncertain times.

Resort Offerings

Both Ikon and Epic offer a substantial portfolio of resorts, and we haven’t covered them all (we hope to pen a comprehensive guide on each pass by the quality of the individual mountains they offer at a later date). Both passes contain access to multiple resorts across major U.S. destination regions such as Colorado, Lake Tahoe, and Vermont. Both passes offer options in Canada as well, although for Epic, all but Whistler (which—full disclosure—is currently our highest-rated resort) are on the full pass only. Some resorts, such as Jackson Hole and Aspen for Ikon and Telluride for Epic, are not included on the cheapest pass products.

A major Epic advantage is unlimited access to a significantly higher number of resorts. Epic offers unlimited access to all mountains owned by Vail Resorts, with a grand total of 36 (33 in North America). Ikon’s unlimited access resorts, mostly owned by Alterra, only come out to 15 (14 for the base pass).

Thanks to its acquisition of Peak Resorts last season, Vail Resorts was able to expand Epic’s coverage to more local mountains in addition to existing destination resorts. Ikon, which is a desination-heavy pass, was consequently at a disadvantage this season. The pass’s addition of 5-7 days at Windham for next season, which is only a few hours north of New York City, now gives passholders in the area a decent day-trip choice. However, those looking for unlimited access resorts in most major metropolitan areas will find Epic a better value (although at that point, it might be worth considering regional pass products).

Ikon does hold an advantage over Epic in a few regions. Places such as Oregon, Montana, and Southern California contain Ikon-affiliated resorts but no Epic ones.

Pricing

Both Ikon and Epic offer two season pass tiers, with the higher-tier for each featuring no blackout dates and access to a few extra resorts. For those over the age of 23, prices for Epic are significantly lower. A full adult Epic Pass is currently $999, while a full adult Ikon Pass is $1,149. The lower-tier Epic Local Pass is $749, while the Ikon Base Pass is currently $849.

Those aged 19-22 will find a better upfront value from the Ikon Pass. Among this population, those looking for a full, no-blackout pass product will save money versus a comparable Epic purchase. Both Ikon tiers offer young adult discounts ($899 for the full pass, $679 for the base) for 13-to-22-year-olds. Only Epic’s Local pass offers a discounted $599 teen rate—the full pass doesn’t offer one—and it only covers ages 13 to 18. Ikon’s 5-to-12-year-old child discounts ($479 for the full pass, $449 for the base) are relatively comparable to Epic’s ($509 full, $389 Local).

For those age 4 and under, Epic has the upper hand thanks to free passes for these youngsters. For ages 0-4, Ikon charges $209 for the full pass and $169 for the base. For families with children of different ages, the value-adds from these differing price policies could effectively cancel each other out.

Both passes offered payment plans in the past, but they’re no longer available. It also looks like Ikon’s child-adult bundle discount is now gone.

Renewal Discounts

Epic and Ikon both offered discounts for renewing passholders, but they expired several weeks ago.

Reservations

Visitors will be required to make reservations before going to all Vail-owned Epic resorts next season. This policy can be found here and affects all but 9 North American resorts on the pass. Essentially, with the exception of 7 early-booking priority days, visitors won’t be able to reserve access to their mountain until the week of.

On the other hand, many Ikon resorts won’t require any reservations at this time, including the overwhelming majority of unlimited resorts. A few Ikon resorts will require only parking reservations, and a few do plan to require lift reservations (policies for a few resorts haven’t been finalized).

It is quite clear that Epic products will not function as normal passes for next season. The week-of reservation system for non-priority days will be outrageously impractical for anyone needing to travel to reach the resorts. Weekends and holidays will likely be very difficult to book, and we wouldn’t be surprised if spots for these days at some popular resorts are entirely filled during the priority booking period.

The decision not to require reservations at the overwhelming majority of resorts puts Ikon in a considerably stronger position than Epic. The pass’s one key caveat, however, is the “at this time” clause in the reservation language. This leaves Ikon the opportunity to reverse their policies at each mountain. One partner resort—Snowbird—has already announced new parking reservations following Ikon’s initial operational announcement.

COVID-19 Insurance Policy

In the wake of continuing COVID-19 concerns, both Epic and Ikon have introduced policies meant to assure passholders of their purchase. In the event of eligible closures, Epic will refund your money while Ikon will credit the value to the purchase of a pass for the 2021-22 season. Both passes provide two different compensation options for COVID-19 resort closures, one of which covers all resorts and the other covers a specific resort of your choosing, but the fine print shows that Epic’s are much harder to collect on.

For both passes, the “specific resorts” option provides a refund based on the number of days the chosen resort is forced to close due to COVID-19 during the season. However’s Epic’s coverage here has a huge catch—the resort you choose must be closed for 7 or more consecutive days for the pass coverage to kick in. Ikon’s coverage kicks in after one day. Epic also allows passholders to choose insurance that covers a “specific week” rather than the entire season, but the coverage still doesn’t take effect unless your resort closes for 3 or more days during the specified time period.

Epic’s “all resorts” option is substantially worse than Ikon’s, too. It requires all of Vail’s Colorado, Utah, Lake Tahoe, and British Columbia resorts to be closed for 7 or more consecutive days for passholders to be eligible for a refund, while Ikon just provides a proportional credit based on the average percentage of days closed among all North American non-heli destinations during the peak season.

But in our view, Ikon’s biggest advantage over Epic in this category is its proactive deferment program. If you buy an Ikon Pass product this season and decide you don’t want to use it for any reason, you can push the value to a 2021-22 pass product. The deadline to request a deferral is April 11, 2021—way past peak season. Given the possibilities of limited resort operations and continued social distancing next winter, we think consumers should view this as a desirable safety net.

Epic now offers a refund if you “are unable to book [your] preferred Priority Reservation Days during the initial booking window (Nov. 6-Dec. 7)” and if you haven’t used your pass yet. But otherwise (excluding cancellations forced by stay-at-home orders), you won’t be able to request compensation.

Verdict

In some cases, Ikon’s pricing and pass offerings aren’t quite as strong as Epic’s. But Ikon boasts much stronger assurance policies than Epic, especially when it comes to proactive pass deferment, and a much less restrictive set of access policies for now. Unless your local hill is Epic and you don’t live near any Ikon resorts, Ikon is probably the safer, more useful investment for next season.

However, prices for both pass products have gone up to the point where neither may be worth it, especially with the uncertain season ahead. Those skiing seven or fewer days will probably get better value out of just buying lift tickets—which in many cases, will just automatically be refunded if the resort closes.