Silver Mountain, ID: 03/01/21

[Brownski]

Something like that. They’re pretty tight lipped but I believe the hill gets a piece of it when I use the Indy Pass

 

[raisingarizona]

It looks like a cool place. I really like the idea of lift serviced mountain biking there. It seems like an ideal set up for big, long descents.

 

[MarzNC]

When I gave the ticket lady my season pass, she smiled and said how proud Silver Mountain was to be part of Powder Alliance and the Indy Pass.

I'm sure it was discussed elsewhere here -- what's the formula for reimbursement with these kind of passes? They divide the pass price by the skier's overall ski days, then give that fee to the mountain minus the pass's cut and the ski area hopes that the guest spends money on food, beverage, and/or lodging?

Indy works differently from the Powder Alliance. The short answer is that the ski area gets some money based on the number of visits. The initial idea was that 85% of the money paid by customers goes back. Now that Indy has a credit program for people who don't use it more than 4 days, could be that percentage has changed a bit.

My understanding is that with the Powder Alliance, no money changes hands. It's a perk to entice people to buy a 1-location season pass that includes days at other ski areas.

Doug Fish and Birth of the Indy Pass

The Indy Pass aims to widen the audience for independent mountains.

nyskiblog.com

" . . .
How does revenue sharing work?

Unlike affiliate pass programs, the Indy Pass is a revenue generator for our resorts. 85% of all revenue is paid back to them based on redemptions and another 9% is set aside for marketing. Our goal is to create a national brand for the Indy Pass and our partner resorts. We want to create awareness about the benefits and joys of skiing at these hidden gems. Many casual skiers are only aware of the big resorts.

Our pass holders generally don’t want day spas, night clubs and sushi bars with their alpine experience. They’re looking for a more authentic mountain experience and the opportunity to save money. And they won’t miss the lift lines one bit.
. . ."

 

[Harvey]

yeah baby!

Just bringing James stoke onto the next page. You can see his teeth, bro is smilin.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Thanks MarzNC. Wow, interesting to see that Indy and Powder Alliance have completely different back-end formats.

 

[MarzNC]

Thanks MarzNC. Wow, interesting to see that Indy and Powder Alliance have completely different back-end formats.

In one or more of the podcast interviews that Doug Fish has done, he makes it pretty clear that he doesn't think the Powder Alliance model is sustainable from a financial standpoint. I assume because it may not actually bring in any new revenue to a member ski area. Quite possible for someone to ski somewhere for using their 3 free days and never spend a dime at the ski area they are visiting.

The Powder Alliance is called a "reciprocal" program for season passholders and started in 2013. It requires a commitment of at least a few hundred dollars to one location. I seem to remember that when Mt. Bohemia had a $99 season pass sale, there were people who talked about getting one just for the Powder Alliance perk. They weren't actually ever planning on skiing Bohemia. Bohemia didn't stay in the Powder Alliance long. I didn't bother to track the Powder Alliance that carefully since MCP/Ikon are of more personal interest.

The MCP also led to a reciprocal season pass perk for some resorts. To keep locals from buying the MCP instead of a season pass, there are destination resorts like Mammoth and Snowbird that include the 50% discount for lift tickets at other MCP resorts as a perk for their premium season pass. One season Taos would include the MCP reciprocal perk for $100 over the cost of a Senior pass.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Yes, as mentioned at the top of the Schweitzer report, they bailed out of Powder Alliance before the beginning of this season due to too many people using it there. Schweitzer now has separate agreements with Loveland, Whitewater, Grand Targhee, and a few others, where passholders get three weekdays per season there, so that's what I used.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

You can see his teeth, bro is smilin.

Smilin' like a jackass!