The Indy Pass

[Emily]

With numerous blackout dates depending upon the ski area, and now the allied resorts, the Indy Pass is getting a bit too confusing. It's as if they want to grow their product, but will allow just about any stipulation a participating ski area wants.

 

[tirolski]

With numerous blackout dates depending upon the ski area, and now the allied resorts, the Indy Pass is getting a bit too confusing. It's as if they want to grow their product, but will allow just about any stipulation a participating ski area wants.

Stu made a color coded spreadsheet that should lower confusion.

Indy Pass Introduces “Allied Resorts” Program With Discounts at 6 New England Ski Areas, Including Burke

Program poises Indy Pass for massive expansion, allows local passholders to purchase discounted Indy Pass

www.stormskiing.com

 

[jamesdeluxe]

It's as if they want to grow their product, but will allow just about any stipulation a participating ski area wants.

Right. I wonder how many of ski areas in the original Indy Pass format will convert to the "allied resorts" 50% model.

 

[Emily]

Stu's spreadsheet certainly helps, but it's just odd that each ski area has its own blackout nuances. There is little consistency. For example, it looks like Cannon is the only Indy that blackouts the weekends. Then there are those that blackout X-mas, while yet others blackout all three major holidays.

I guess you can avoid the spreadsheet blackouts by simply purchasing the Indy Plus pass. Then there's the new Indy Switch pass. I don't know. To me, it confuses the consumer. Keep it simple.

Lastly, I too wonder if any existing Indy's will switch to the Allied program. They may have just opened a can of worms..

 

[MarzNC]

Lastly, I too wonder if any existing Indy's will switch to the Allied program. They may have just opened a can of worms..

The only reason for a ski area/resort to switch to being just an Allied program is if the "yield" for usage of Indy ended up less than what a ski area will get by giving a discount to Indy passholders. Presumably the setup for Indy would avoid that scenario.

What makes Indy good for less well known places is that they get money for every use, while benefitting from regional and national marketing that isn't costing any money. Doug Fish has a very successful marketing background going way back that led to him having his own company for quite a while. He retired to make Indy a reality in order to add something to the ski industry for people who ski less than 10 days a season because they have busy lives and skiing is on the expensive side, even when just doing day trips.

From a usage standpoint, there are two Indy passes: Indy Base and Indy+. Indy+ means no blackout dates at all for $100 more than Indy Base. Indy Add-on and Indy Switch are simply lower cost options for people who have a relevant 1-location season pass or Ikon/Epic/MCP.

 

[trackbiker]

I just bought mine. (Used the link, Harvey.)
I find it a great value for someone who doesn't have a season pass to one area. I used mine 13 times this past season which works out to $22.00/day. At $29.00 less than last year it should be a good value for me next year as well.
I don't find the blackouts that confusing. Most of the old multi-area ski cards had black out dates which were pretty standard as Christmas week, MLK, and Presidents weekends. I don't like to ski those crowded weekends anyway. I think Cannon only had Saturdays blacked out last season. Now it's Saturday and Sunday. I skied there on a Friday this season. If I'm going that far it's usually for a long weekend so it's no big deal to ski there Friday or Monday. While I wish Burke was a full member, 50% off doesn't suck. I'm looking forward to getting back there

 

[MarzNC]

Stu's spreadsheet certainly helps, but it's just odd that each ski area has its own blackout nuances. There is little consistency. For example, it looks like Cannon is the only Indy that blackouts the weekends. Then there are those that blackout X-mas, while yet others blackout all three major holidays.

The flip side to the fact that blackout dates are not consistent is that it's clearer that each management team of a ski area/resort is making their own decisions. They are not under any pressure to conform to some "standard" in order to make it easier from a marketing standpoint.

Most people who get Indy will focus on one or two regions for usage. I would guess that the people who plan to use Indy at more than 3-4 different locations in more than one region are a minority. Although that's not obvious from reading the posts on the Indy Passholders FB Group.

In short, Indy is a coalition of independent businesses willing to follow the lead of what Doug Fish has created. The goal of the Indy Pass is to benefit all the stakeholders: skiers/boarders who mostly do day trips, the independent ski areas/resorts that are Partners or Allied, and the other businesses near the Indy ski areas/resorts.

 

[MarzNC]

When I re-arranged the pricing options by type of pass, the discounts are more obvious. $20 off for someone who also has Epic, Ikon, or MCP. For someone with a season pass at a Partner or Allied resort, saves $90 to also get Indy.

Even though I only used Indy for 5 ski days last season (Catamount-1, Berkshire East-2, West-1, Montage-1) the per ticket cost was quite good since I paid the AddOn price based on having a Massanutten season pass. Three of the days were over Pres. Day weekend, when day ticket prices were at the highest price point. While snow conditions at Catamount and midday lift lines at West led to only skiing a long morning, I consider that it was well worth it for the fun I had exploring new ski areas. I scheduled the trip over Pres. Week to satisfy my curiosity about how busy the slopes in that area would be. The home base was a timeshare unit in the Berkshires for a week that I could share with a couple Ski Divas.

Indy Pass 22-23 Early Bird Prices through May 17th

Indy Base Pass - Adult $279, Kids (12-and-under) $119
Indy Base AddOn - Adult $189, Kids $89 (partner and allied resort season passholders only)
Indy Base Switch - Adult $259, Kids $109 (Mega Passholders only)

Indy+ Pass - Adult $379, Kids $169 (no blackouts)
Indy+ AddOn - Adult $289, Kids $139
Indy+ Switch - Adult+ $359, Kids+ $159

Indy Cross Country (XC) Pass - Adult $69, Kids $29 (no blackouts)

 

[saratogahalfday]

I just bought mine. (Used the link, Harvey.)
I find it a great value for someone who doesn't have a season pass to one area. I used mine 13 times this past season which works out to $22.00/day. At $29.00 less than last year it should be a good value for me next year as well.
I don't find the blackouts that confusing. Most of the old multi-area ski cards had black out dates which were pretty standard as Christmas week, MLK, and Presidents weekends. I don't like to ski those crowded weekends anyway. I think Cannon only had Saturdays blacked out last season. Now it's Saturday and Sunday. I skied there on a Friday this season. If I'm going that far it's usually for a long weekend so it's no big deal to ski there Friday or Monday. While I wish Burke was a full member, 50% off doesn't suck. I'm looking forward to getting back there

I LOVE that Burke and Middlebury are discounted now, those are my go-to spots if blacked out on Indy.

 

[Campgottagopee]

I just bought mine. (Used the link, Harvey.)
I find it a great value for someone who doesn't have a season pass to one area. I used mine 13 times this past season which works out to $22.00/day. At $29.00 less than last year it should be a good value for me next year as well.
I don't find the blackouts that confusing. Most of the old multi-area ski cards had black out dates which were pretty standard as Christmas week, MLK, and Presidents weekends. I don't like to ski those crowded weekends anyway. I think Cannon only had Saturdays blacked out last season. Now it's Saturday and Sunday. I skied there on a Friday this season. If I'm going that far it's usually for a long weekend so it's no big deal to ski there Friday or Monday. While I wish Burke was a full member, 50% off doesn't suck. I'm looking forward to getting back there

Agree
It doesn't seem all that complicated