Vail resorts have announced that their season pass, the Epic pass, which covers all of their resorts is on sale for next season.
You may think it's odd that we're talking about a full season pass, but if you are planning to ski in Colorado or California next winter, then this could be the lift pass for you. The resorts covered by the Epic pass are Vail, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, Keystone & Arapahoe Basin in Colorado, and Heavenly, Northstar-at-Tahoe & Kirkwood in California.
At $649 for the season — approximately £420 at the current exchange rate — this Epic pass is the most cost effective way of skiing any of these resorts if you are planning at least eight days on the slopes, and especially if you intend in skiing more than one of the resorts above. With the Epic pass you could take one trip to Colorado, skiing as many of the mentioned resorts as you wish, then head to Tahoe later in the year for another trip all on one lift pass.
Lift pass prices in the USA tend to be higher then Europe, with many resorts charging in excess of $90-a-day to hit the slopes. So if you are thinking of skiing in North America, it's definitely worth doing a longer break to make the trip worthwhile. If you manage 12 days of skiing, the Epic pass becomes comparable to two weeks in France.
The $649 price is only guaranteed until April 15th, and US resorts often increase their prices as the season approaches. To book the lift pass you only have to pay a $50 deposit, with the final payment due in September.
Kirsten Lynch, Chief Marketing Officer of Vail Resorts, said: "With the addition of Kirkwood, this year's season pass line-up offers our guests an epic value with access to the best resorts in Colorado and Lake Tahoe. "
As you can see, it's not just the holiday and flights that are better value to book early, lift passes are too.
Written by Stephen Adam
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