Ikon Pass Prices Go up Tomorrow. Here’s What You Need to Know If You’re on the Fence.

UPDATE: This article is now out of date.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

UPDATE 6/18/2020: Ikon Pass prices went up this morning, with the full adult pass rising to $1,049 and the base pass increasing to $749. Renewal discounts are now halved to $100 and $50, respectively. Despite the price increases, we still stand by our conclusion in this take.

With the deadline for Ikon’s lowest pass prices fast approaching, many are debating whether to pick up the pass for next season. Some are concerned the season may be cancelled, while others may want to know how the passes compare to similar Epic Pass products. In this piece, we’ll aim to shed light on both of these topics.

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, you might want to start looking at 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 both are similar. A full adult Epic Pass is currently $979, while a full adult Ikon Pass is $999. The lower-tier Epic Local Pass is $729, while the Ikon Base Pass is currently $699.

Those aged 5-22 will find a better upfront value from the Ikon Pass. Among this population, those looking for a full, no-blackout pass product or falling between the ages of 19 and 22 will save hundreds versus a comparable Epic purchase. Both Ikon tiers offer young adult discounts ($739 for the full pass, $539 for the base) for 13-to-22-year-olds. Only Epic’s Local pass offers a discounted $589 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 ($309 for the full pass, $269 for the base—with savings of up to $200 total ($100 each) on child passes with the purchase of an adult Ikon Base Pass) are also much stronger than Epic’s ($499 full, $379 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.

For those who can’t afford to pay in full now, both passes offer a payment plan. Ikon’s is $199 down for any pass, while Epic’s is $49 down.

Renewal Discounts

With the 2019-20 season cut unfortunately short due to COVID-19 pandemic, both Ikon and Epic have announced renewal discounts for last season’s passholders.

Regardless of the number of days skied, Ikon passholders who used their pass this season will be eligible for $200 (~20%) off the full pass product and $100 (~14%) off the base pass product. However, those who didn’t use their passes at all will receive a full credit for a 2020-21 pass.

Epic’s discounts are clearly stronger for season passholders who skied 1 to 5 days—passholders will be eligible for between 20-80% off renewal for next year’s Epic Pass, with the 80% discount going to those who didn’t use their passes at all.

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 currently has no proactive deferment or refund policies, meaning that if you buy one and resorts stay open with limited or altered operations (excluding those affected by stay-at-home orders), you won’t be able to request compensation.

Verdict

While their regional and unlimited pass offerings aren’t as strong as Epic’s, Ikon boasts much stronger assurance policies, especially when it comes to proactive pass deferment. Unless your local hill is Epic and you don’t live near any Ikon resorts, Ikon is probably the safer bet for next season. We recommend picking up a pass now if you can afford to, and you can always defer to 2021-22 if you change your mind.