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10 Key Ski Resort Pass Facts
Faced with the overwhelming decision to choose a ski pass, but can’t decide? These informative ski resort pass facts provided by SnowPak will help make your choice easier to find the resort pass that is the perfect fit for you. The season passes compared are the Epic Pass, Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus, Mountain Collective and the M.A.X. Pass.
Ski Resort Pass Prices
Mountain Collective is the most inexpensive pass this season at $489 for adults and $99 for children. The Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus price isn’t much greater at $619 for adults, $30 for up to five years old, $349 for children 6 – 12 years old and $489 for 13 -17 years old. Next, the M.A.X. pass is $729 for adults, $39 for children up to five years old, $379 for 6-12 years old, and $479 for 13-17 years old. The highest in price is the Epic season pass at $879 for adults and $459 for children.
The average price of a day pass of all the resorts covered by the ski pass is $84 for the M.A.X pass, $87 for the Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus, $111 for the Mountain Collective, and $112 for the Epic pass.
Resorts Covered
There are multiple resorts covered by each individual pass, and here we have included some of the most popular resorts in North America. The Mountain Collective pass covers resorts like Sun Valley, Jackson Hole, Mammoth Mountain, Aspen, Revelstoke and Lake Louise. The Epic pass covers resorts such as Heavenly, Kirkwood, Park City, Keystone, Stowe, and Whistler Blackcomb. Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus covers resorts like Alyeska, Mt. Bachelor, Copper Mountain, Steamboat and Eldora. The M.A.X. pass includes resorts like Big Sky, Sugarloaf, Snoqualmie, Kicking Horse, Tremblant and Alyeska. For a detailed color-coded visual of all the resorts covered by each pass, click here.
Number of Ski Lifts
There are other interesting features to take note of such as the number of ski lifts included for each pass. The M.A.X. pass excels with 549 lifts, trailing behind comes the Epic pass with 361 lifts. The Mountain Collective comes with 283 lifts and lastly, the Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus provides 167 lifts.
Ski Days
The Epic pass offers an unlimited amount of ski days with restricted access to bonus resorts, similarly, the Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus provides unlimited ski days with restricted access to four specific resorts. The M.A.X. pass which gives you 5 days in each mountain, with a total of 44 mountains included. Not far behind is the Mountain Collective pass which gives you two days at each resort covered, for a total of 32 ski days.
Resort Elevations
The Telluride Ski resort is the resort with the highest elevation at 13150 feet, and is covered through the Mountain Collective pass. Not far behind is the Arapahoe Basin resort at an elevation of 13050 feet, covered by the epic pass. Finally, the third highest elevation is the Copper Mountain resort at 12313 feet, covered by Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus and the M.A.X pass.
In contrast, the resort with the lowest elevation Blue Mountain at 720 feet, covered by M.A.X. pass. In between is Wimot Mountain resort at 1027 feet provided by the epic pass and the Hlioarfjall resort at 3133 feet by the Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus. While the lowest elevation included in the Mountain Collective pass is the Sugarbush Resort at 4083 feet.
Resort with the Longest Run
The resort with the longest run is Revelstoke Mt. Resort at 9.5 miles covered through the Mountain Collective pass, and next is the Kicking Horse Killington resort with 6.2 miles through the M.A.X. pass. At Whistler Blackcomb resort, the run is 7 miles with the Epic pass, and finally, the Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus covers the Winter Park resort with 4.9 miles of a run.
Resort with Highest Vertical Distance
Revelstoke Mt. Resort takes the lead with 5620 feet of vertical distance, which is covered by the Mountain Collective pass, and right below that is Whistler Blackcomb with 5280 feet, offered by the Epic pass. Big sky resort is at 4350 feet, included with the M.A.X. pass, and lastly, the Steamboat resort is at 3668 feet, provided by the Rocky Mountain Super Plus Pass.
Greatest Skiable Area
If you’re searching for the pass that offers the largest skiable area, then the M.A.X. pass leads with a total of 50935 acres. Next is the Mountain Collective pass with 44780 acres, and not far behind is the Epic Pass with 43928 acres. Finally, with a total of 21388 acres is the Rocky Mountain Super Pass which is less than half of what the M.A.X. pass offers.
Latest Closing Resorts
Based on an estimate of last year’s closing dates, Mammoth Mountain, covered by Mountain Collective pass, closed latest on August 6th. Mt. Bachelor resort closed on July 4th which is offered by both the M.A.X. pass and the Rocky Mountain Super Plus Pass. With only one month of difference, the Arapahoe Basin resort, closed on June 11th, provided by the Epic pass.
Average Annual Snowfall Across Resorts
Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus resorts are king of the snowpack with an average of 337 inches of fluffy white goodness. Mountain Collective resorts aren’t far behind with 305 inches of snowfall. From there, Epic resorts fall to 267 inches of snow. The bottom of the pack (no pun intended) is M.A.X Pass resorts with 214 inches, a full 10 feet less than Rocky Mountain Superpass hills.
