I have a Northeast Value Pass for the second year in a row. For me, it made sense from a cost perspective. I also have a Ski3 pass and a Ski Vermont 4-pack--I clearly hate paying retail!
I typically make it to Hunter 3-6 times a year anyway and combined with one weekend at Stowe it's a cheaper option ($525 last year/$475 this year) that daily lift tickets. A friend of mine and I are also planning an "Epic" day on the way up to Stowe. We are going to hit Hunter, Mount Snow and Okemo for a couple runs at each place on the way to break-up the trip, just because we can. At least last year, it provided access to the mountain as only passholders could ski prior to mid-December and had priority for reservations later in the season. Because I have the pass I am more likely to get out to the mountain on what may be a "marginal" day because it's a sunk cost (not counting gas--but let's not wade into those waters). There is also a discount on food, which is nice.
From a member mountain perspective, it's a mixed bag. People are likely going to hit the mountains on their pass with more frequency and spend money on food, beverages and maybe even parking. It may even get a passholder to check out a mountain they may otherwise not have gone to. If I ever make to NH, I will surely check out Wildcat over say Bretton Woods, because I have the pass. It also theoretically helps insulate them from bad years and can provide excess capital for improvements because they have a corporate backstop. So keeping a mountain from closing is a big benefit of corporate ownership. Theoretically anyway. On the downside however, is the corporate homogenization of the mountain and maybe even more crowded slopes. The former is definitely having an impact at Hunter, from their crappy website to the way employees are treated to seemingly less snowmaking. I am not convinced the crowds are really that much different (I remember skiing in the 80s).
Does the Epic (or Ikon) pass hurt the industry and/or independent mountains? I don't think so. If you are offering your customers a differentiated experience, like Plattekill, Magic, MRG, West, Jay, Smuggs, Elk, etc. they will come. I know if there is snow and terrain is open I am driving the extra half hour and shelling out actual cash to ski Plattekill and not Hunter or Belleayre (I don't consider Windham a credible option). If consolidation and the corporate environment save a mountain: great, if they turn people off, those people will seek out the alternative "soul" that independents can provide.
In summary, I think the "one size fits all" that Epic seems to be taking is not a net positive--there should be local expertise. Each mountain should have it's own feel and respond to local factors in its community. I also think the strawman argument some people make that Epic passholders only ski at their corporate mountains, want groomed crowded slopes and are sucking the soul of of skiing (
https://www.tetongravity.com/films/in-pursuit-of-soul) isn't accurate or that helpful.
At the end of the day, I am going to a mountain based on conditions, terrain, distance and who I am skiing with. It's not that different from deciding where to have dinner--a nice local restaurant, a corporate chain or fast food. I know skiing at Okemo is like eating at Applebees, but sometimes it's the right choice.
In closing, I think there is a real fear that Jay or Smuggs get bought by a corporate and it will sucking the soul from skiing. While that may be true to an extent, no corporation is going to take away that feeling you have when you are out in nature and about to send it.
