Ski season is almost here: Comparing Epic, Ikon, Mountain Collective and Indy Pass

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, updated with new information and offers.

Many mountain resorts plan to open within the next few weeks, though it will obviously depend on the weather. In fact, we’ve already seen some mountains open. Yes, you read that right — you might only have to wait a few more weeks to strap on ski boots and hit the slopes.

You may still be enjoying your leaf-peeping hikes and pumpkin spice lattes, but it’s time to seriously consider which ski pass to purchase if you haven’t done so already. Prices have already started to rise, and they often take another jump before pass sales end for the season.

While there are many region- and mountain-specific passes available, there are four main ski pass options for North American skiers and boarders: the Epic Pass, the Ikon Pass, the Mountain Collective and the Indy Pass.

If your family only takes one or two trips to the mountains in a season, you may reasonably think a season pass isn’t for you. Believe it or not, this often isn’t true.

Single-day lift tickets cost more than $200 at major mountains, and annual passes start just shy of $300 for skiing throughout the whole year. So, many snow-loving families will be better off selecting a pass rather than paying individual lift ticket prices, even if they only use it a few times. This is especially true now that several passes have options designed for those who just plan to ski for a few days.

Here’s a look at the four main ski passes to help you decide which one may be right for you this ski season.

Telluride is included with some Epic Passes. SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUY

Ikon Pass

The Ikon Pass allows you to ski at about 50 destinations worldwide. This includes popular ski resorts such as Winter Park Resort, Aspen Snowmass, Copper Mountain, Palisades Tahoe, Mammoth Mountain, Stratton Mountain, Sugarbush Resort and Mont Tremblant Ski Resort.

Related: Points-friendly hotels near Ikon Pass resorts

Since there are many types of skiers out there, Ikon offers four different pass options. This allows you to purchase the pass that works for you and your family — and allows you to save money along the way.

The full-access Ikon Pass gives you unlimited access to 14 resorts and up to seven days at 39 additional destinations throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia. The beauty of this pass is there are no date restrictions, so you could hypothetically ski every day this winter. This pass is currently $1,229 for adults (23 years and older), but you’ll find discounted pricing for children, college students, nurses and members of the military.

If you aren’t looking to ski as much — or during peak time periods — you can instead opt for the Ikon Base Pass.

With this option, there are blackout dates and you’re capped at five ski days at select resorts. Some resorts are excluded. The Ikon Base Pass is currently $919 for adults; similar to the full access pass, there’s cheaper pricing for children, college students, nurses and members of the military. 

If you want to ski Jackson Hole, Aspen Snowmass, Deer Valley, Sun Valley, Alta and Snowbasin, you can instead purchase the Ikon Base Plus Pass for an additional $200.

Related: Review of the St. Regis Deer Valley

Skiing at Snowmass. SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUY

If you think you’ll ski less than a handful of times this winter, you can instead purchase a two-day, three-day or four-day pass option. For an adult lift ticket, this means you can ski for as little as $130 per day. The dates do not need to be consecutive or at the same resort. For example, you can use it for two days at Steamboat and another two days at Mammoth Mountain.

Both the Ikon Pass and Ikon Base Pass offer friends-and-family discounts on lift tickets which provide 25% off the regular window-rate price for your buddies. You can use this at all Ikon Pass mountains during the season — except for some of the international resorts — and blackout dates apply. (Note: This benefit does not come with the Ikon Session Pass 4-day, any of the child passes or the passes for kids age 4 and younger). You’ll receive a slight discount on food, retail and more at select resort destinations.

If you end up purchasing an Ikon Pass for the 2022-2023 ski season then your plans change and you don’t expect to use it, you’ll have the option to defer the cost toward the purchase of a 2023-2024 Ikon Pass — no questions asked. You can make this decision up until Dec. 8, 2022, if the pass is wholly unused. You can also get a percentage of your pass purchase credited toward next year via the Adventure Assurance Program if resorts are closed for all or part of the 2022-2023 season.

Related: Riding the Colorado Ski Train to ski for the day at Winter Park 

Steamboat Springs. DAREKM101/GETTY IMAGES

Epic Pass

One of the biggest and most popular passes available is the Epic Pass because it offers options that cater to each individual skier or rider.

The Epic Pass is also less expensive than the competing Ikon Pass, with 37 destinations within the U.S. and many additional resorts throughout Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan. Some of the more well-known resorts include Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Park City, Northstar, Heavenly, Stowe, Okemo and Whistler Blackcomb.

Related: Best ski schools for kids in the U.S.

If you are looking to ski throughout the country most days of the week, you’ll want to look into the full Epic Pass.

At $899 for an adult pass or $457 for a child pass (ages 5 to 12), you’ll receive unlimited skiing at almost all locations with no blackout dates. (In the U.S., Telluride is the one location where you’ll be capped at just seven days.)

The Epic Local Pass, on the other hand, includes access to most (though not all) of the same resorts, but you’ll have some peak-date restrictions at select resorts. Pricing is less expensive — just $669 for an adult pass, $541 for teens ages 13-18 and $349 for children ages 5-12.

If you are in the military (current, active or dependent), have permanent disabilities or are in college, you can purchase some of the passes at a discount.

If you don’t plan to ski more than seven days in the season, you can personalize the Epic 1- to 7-day Passes with the exact number of lift-ticket days you need. Resorts will fall into one of the three-tier categories, so the less expensive resorts will come with slightly lower pricing. Rates will also depend on if you are traveling on a holiday.

With this option, you can ultimately ski for as little as $85 per day for adults or $44 per day for kids.

Related: Vail of the east: Everything you need to know about skiing at Stowe Mountain

In addition to the Epic Pass and Epic Local Pass, there are a variety of other regional pass options. This is great for those looking to stick to skiing in just a specific region.

All 2022-2023 Epic Pass purchases come with free coverage that protects you against job loss, resort closure, stay-at-home orders and more. Note that this built-in coverage comes with caveats, but it will provide actual refunds, not just future credit.

Ski at Stowe with the Epic Pass. JENNIFER YELLIN/THE POINTS GUY

Similar to the last few years, you’ll also receive access to Epic Mountain Rewards, which will get you discounted perks including 20% off ski lessons, lodging, food and rentals. This discount is available at all Vail-owned resorts (not partner resorts), and it extends to all passholders, even those who just purchase the Epic Day Pass.

Most Epic passes also come with Ski With a Friend Tickets and Buddy Tickets — discounted tickets for friends and families skiing with you. The Buddy Tickets, which offer fixed pricing at each resort, were only available if you purchased your pass by April 21. For those who have yet to pull the trigger, you’ll still receive Ski With a Friend Tickets, where the ticket price fluctuates based on the particular day you’re looking to ski.

Related: How to ski and stay in Park City with points and miles

See Forever run in Telluride. SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUY

Mountain Collective

Mountain Collective has a family of 24 resorts, including big names such as Aspen Snowmass, Taos, Banff, Jackson Hole, Sun Valley and Snowbasin.

With the pass, you get two included days of skiing/boarding at each resort with no blackout dates, then 50% off additional ski days. Notably, there are no holiday restrictions with this pass, which can be huge if you’re planning a ski trip during peak weeks.

Related: 6 tips for taking big family ski trips

Mountain Collective sells a limited number of passes at each cash rate before the pass typically increases. Right now, the pass costs $599 for adults, $499 for teens ages 13-18, and $199 for children 12 and younger.

For example, if you planned to ski two days at Aspen, two days at Snowbasin and two days at Snowbird this season, buying the Mountain Collective Pass would lead to you paying around $99 per lift ticket, per day for those six days of skiing.

Obviously, the more you ski at the different participating resorts, the lower your daily cost. Generally, the Mountain Collective Pass pays off after four or five days of skiing at the current rates.

Related: Look inside the new W Aspen

View from the Viewline Resort Snowmass. SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUY

Indy Pass

This pass came on the scene at the beginning of the 2019 ski season and has gained popularity in the past few years.

The pass works similarly to the Mountain Collective, where you are capped at a certain number of days per resort. However, with about 100 smaller, independently owned ski resorts eligible, there is no shortage of terrain. Those who enjoy cross-country skiing will even have access to many cross-country resorts.

With this pass, you’ll receive two days at each participating resort. If you want to ski a third day, you’ll receive 25% off the ticket window pricing. There are two pass options available: the Indy+ Pass and the Indy Base Pass.

The Indy+ Pass allows you to visit all of the resorts on any day the mountain is open for just $429 for adults and $199 for children 12 and younger.

The less expensive Indy Base Pass is just $329 for adults and $149 for children 12 and younger, but it comes with blackout dates. There’s no set blackout date time frame; instead, each individual resort has its own list. Additionally, there’s an entire list of allied resorts where, as a passholder, you’ll receive discounts on daily lift tickets (50% off midweek and non-peak weekend prices and 25% off posted holidays and peak weekends).

Or, if you already have a season pass at an Indy partner, you can purchase the Indy Base Pass or Indy Pass+ at a slight discount — around $110 off an adult base pass and $30 off a child’s pass.

This is a significantly more affordable alternative to the Epic, Ikon and Mountain Collective options. Indy is also constantly adding more resorts to the pass, so there could easily be even more resorts added before the season starts.

The Indy Pass is an unbelievable deal for those looking to try out new resorts. Since these resorts are not part of the bigger passes, you’ll typically see fewer crowds and more reasonable pricing for lessons, too. Those with the Indy Pass can also receive lodging deals at specific mountains. If I wasn’t getting the Epic Pass this year, I’d most definitely purchase the Indy Pass.

Since it offers access to six mountains within a two-hour drive of my house in Boston, this pass allows for both day trips and weekend getaways. Assuming I ski for eight days using the pass, each day of skiing costs less than $50 per day. Of course, the more resorts you visit, the less each day ends up costing.

The current pricing is in effect until Jan. 16, 2023. In past years, the Indy Pass has always been available for purchase throughout the entire winter season. Plus, traditionally, in March they’ve offered a Spring pass for those looking to ski at the end of the season. You can preview all of the Indy Pass mountains by region: West, Rockies, Midwest, East, Mid-Atlantic and Japan.

Related: Where kids can ski free

Skiing at Waterville Valley with the Indy Pass. JENNIFER YELLIN/THE POINTS GUY

Which ski pass is best?

The million-dollar (or $300 to $1,000-plus) question: Which annual ski pass is best?

If you want an affordable ski pass that gives you access to the largest amount of resorts possible, then the Indy Pass is the way to go. It’s about a third of the price of the other passes (though you are capped at two days per resort).

For access to a large number of upscale ski resorts, it’s hard to beat the Epic Pass. The local version of the pass is also great if you aren’t visiting on most peak days.

The Ikon Pass can also give you unlimited skiing at many other desirable resorts. Which pass is best depends on where you prefer to ski during winter.

If you still want to visit some of the bigger name mountains but are looking at a few shorter ski trips to different mountains, then the Mountain Collective will give you access to popular mountains at a lower price point — you just need to be willing to switch up your resorts of choice.

The more restrictive tiers of passes in the Ikon and Epic families are also good considerations for saving money if you don’t want to ski during Christmas, Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend or Presidents Day weekend.

With so many pass options, it’s best to truly map out your desired resorts before figuring out which pass works best. Of course, the price may play a big part in your decision as well.

Related: Plan your ski trip using miles and points

Skiing in Breckenridge. SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUY

Bottom line

Choosing an annual ski pass is not an easy decision. Ski passes are usually on sale until at least the fall, so you do have time to decide. However, we are already past early pricing discounts, so you don’t want the next-tier pricing to melt away.

When making a pass decision, be sure to think about where you want to ski, when you want to ski, if you need to spread out payments, how frequently you want to hit the slopes and what the protections are if the season throws us some curveballs.

I also like to consider which resort areas have point-friendly hotels, so we can stay near the mountain without spending a chunk of change on lodging. To make the decision tougher, some mountains are on more than one pass — so grab a cup of hot cocoa and map out all the details for your winter ski trips while comparing the specifics of each program.

In the past, there have admittedly been many unhappy passholders due to long lift lines and staffing issues, we personally never really faced those same problems. This is why we happily purchased an Epic Local Pass once again.

Since there is a Vail resort just an hour and 20 minutes from my house and my kids are enrolled in its development program, this pass is the best option for my family. If my kids weren’t in a weekly program, I think we’d likely opt for the Indy Pass and then a few Epic day passes.

There are some great mountains included in the Indy Pass without many of the issues that Vail Resorts faced this past year. Since we are a ski-loving family that skis just about every winter weekend, there’s even a decent chance that we’ll ultimately purchase the Indy Pass as well just to have more options.

Even though I’m still soaking up the last bits of sunshine and am not quite ready to brave the cold weather, I am truly looking forward to the upcoming ski season. Luckily, we have our ski pass purchased and ready to go.

Additional reporting by Summer Hull.