It is once again Spring, which means it’s time to consider purchasing a season pass for the 2022-2023 winter season before prices begin to inch up. In the past, purchasing a season pass was a fairly simply ordeal: if you planned on skiing at one particular resort, it made sense to buy that resort’s season pass. But today the situation is more complex: many ski areas are grouped under single mega passes. For some skiers, this simplifies the equation, allowing them to hit all their favorite resorts for one single fee. But wading through all the options can be a challenge. In this story, we take a look at available options for the 2022-2023 winter season, with a focus on what passes might make the most sense for Mid-Atlantic skiers and boarders.

Once again this year, there are two heavyweights in the ring: the Epic Pass and the Ikon Pass. These passes each come in various flavors, unlocking skiing at destinations across the country. But there are other options. The Indy and Mountain Collective passes are geared towards skiers who would like to “sample” a wide variety of ski resorts, spending up to two days skiing at each. And many resorts — particularly smaller, independent resorts — continue to offer their own season passes.

A common feature across most of these options is that prices begin to climb as the year proceeds: the earlier you buy, the more you save. In some cases, passes are no longer sold past a certain date. (Prices quoted in this article were valid as of April, 2022, and will rise as the year progresses.) In addition, discounted passes are often offered for children or special groups such as active duty military or Senior citizens.

Let’s take a deeper dive into available options, starting with dedicated season passes. If you primarily plan to ski at one local ski area next winter, you might be best served by purchasing a dedicated season pass for that resort. A variety of Mid-Atlantic resorts offer their own season passes. For example, Virginia’s Massanutten Resort is offering Full, Student, and Special Value Passes. Depending on when it is purchased, a Full Season Pass at Massanutten ranges in prices between $476 and $606. If you don’t mind having some blackout days during holiday periods, you can purchase a Special Value Pass for as low as $324.

In West Virginia, Canaan Valley Resort is selling adult season passes for $450 through April 30, 2022. After April 30, the price rises to $600 (or $540 for West Virginia residents). Nearby Timberline Resort is selling Gold Season Passes, valid on all days, for as low as $421, rising to $649 after November 1. Midweek Silver Season Passes at Timberline range in price from $324 to $499.

What if you plan to ski at more than one resort? This is where the Indy and Mountain Collective Passes may make sense.

In 2021, DCSki reader Woody Bousquet leveraged his Indy Pass on a road trip through the southeast. Photo by Woody Bousquet.

The Indy Pass is a fantastic option if you’d like to “taste test” a variety of smaller ski areas. For as low as $279 with some blackout days, you can ski 2 days each at 87 resorts across the country. (An Indy Pass with no blackout days runs $379.) Within the Mid-Atlantic region, participating resorts include North Carolina’s Cataloochee; Pennsylvania’s Blue Knob, Montage Mountain, Shawnee Mountain, and Ski Sawmill; Virginia’s Bryce and Massanutten Resorts; and West Virginia’s Canaan Valley and Winterplace Resorts. But the Indy Pass is also valid at ski areas scattered across the entire country. In early 2021, DCSki reader Woody Bousquet used his Indy Pass to piece together a road trip through the Southeast; he described his experience in this Firsthand Report.

The Indy Pass has also begun expanding into cross country. For the 2022-2023 season, all Indy Pass buyers will receive two daily trail passes each at six cross-country resorts, including West Virginia’s White Grass Touring Center. Or, cross country skiers can purchase a dedicated XC Indy Pass for $69, providing two days cross country skiing each at participating cross country ski areas.

If you plan on ditching the Mid-Atlantic next winter and focusing your skiing on distant resorts, you might consider the Mountain Collective Pass. The $539 pass provides 2 days skiing each at over 20 resorts. A bonus third day is available at one resort of the passholder’s choice, with 50% discounts on lift tickets beyond two days. Participating resorts include Alta, Arapahoe Basin, Aspen Snowmass, Big Sky, Jackson Hole, Snowbasin, Snowbird, Sugarloaf, Sun Valley, and Taos, among others. There are even participating resorts in France, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and Chile. However, there are no participating resorts from the Mid-Atlantic region, limiting the appeal for the Mountain Collective Resort.

That brings us to the mega passes: the Ikon and Epic Passes.

The Epic Pass is offered by Vail Resorts, which now owns dozens of ski areas across the country, including many Mid-Atlantic properties. The Epic Pass comes in a wide variety of flavors, including the $841 unlimited Epic Pass, the $626 Epic Local Pass, the $385 Northeast Midweek Pass, the $145 Epic Military Pass, as well as multi-day Epic Passes that are similar to multi-day lift tickets. There is no Epic Pass focused specifically on the Mid-Atlantic region, or for individual Vail-owned properties within the Mid-Atlantic; instead, Mid-Atlantic skiers will want to choose between the unlimited Epic Pass, the Epic Local Pass, or the Northeast Value Pass.

Vail Resorts now owns eight Pennsylvania ski areas, each covered by the Epic Pass.

For most skiers, the choice will be clear: the Epic Local Pass presents the most value for Mid-Atlantic skiers who plan to ski locally with the potential of adding trips to other regions. The Epic Local Pass provides unlimited skiing at all of Vail’s Mid-Atlantic properties, which has now expanded to include Pennsylvania’s Big Boulder, Hidden Valley, Jack Frost, Laurel Mountain, Liberty Mountain, Roundtop Mountain, Seven Springs, and Whitetail Resorts. But the Epic Local Pass doesn’t stop there; it provides unlimited skiing at properties across the country including Breckenridge, Keystone, Okemo, Crested Butte, and Mount Snow. It also includes non-holiday skiing at Stowe, Park City, and Heavenly, and up to 10 total non-holiday days spread across Beaver Creek, Vail, and Whistler Blackcomb. The Epic Local Pass is probably the best overall value in skiing today, but its popularity has led to some complaints of overcrowding on peak days.

Vail has also added the Northeast Value Pass as an option. At $514, it includes Vail’s Pennsylvania properties, and also includes non-holiday access to New England properties such as Okemo, Hunter Mountain, Mount Snow, and Stowe. If you don’t plan on skiing out west, you can save some money with the Northeast Value Pass.

Competing with the Epic Pass is the Ikon Pass. Ikon is a mega pass offered by the Alterra Mountain Company, another ski area operator that owns many resorts across the country. The Ikon Pass covers 50 ski areas, including Mammoth Mountain, Mt. Bachelor, Steamboat, Aspen Snowmass, Winter Park, Copper Mountain, Big Sky, Jackson Hole, Deer Valley, Alta, Stratton, Killington, Sunday River, Sugarloaf, and Tremblant. Within the Mid-Atlantic region, the Ikon Pass covers just one ski area: West Virginia’s Snowshoe Mountain Resort.

The $1,179 Ikon Pass provides unlimited access to 14 destinations, with up to 7 days each at 35 additional destinations. The $869 Ikon Base Pass provides unlimited access to 13 destinations, with up to 5 days each at 30 additional resorts. Ikon also offers a 2, 3, or 4-day Session Pass. If you only plan to ski at Snowshoe Mountain Resort, you can purchase a season pass valid at Snowshoe for $549.

That’s an overview of available pass options for Mid-Atlantic skiers, but the devil is in the details: most of these passes include a range of price points depending on when they are purchased, as well as a range of options such as children’s pricing, options with different blackout dates, etc. Once you narrow down the passes to those that might fit your needs, you’ll want to explore all of the details specific to that pass.

While no single pass is best for every Mid-Atlantic skier, there are considerations that might steer you in one direction or another.

For skiers who primarily ski at Pennsylvania areas, there is a clear winner: the Epic Local Pass provides unlimited skiing at Big Boulder, Hidden Valley, Jack Frost, Laurel Mountain, Liberty Mountain, Roundtop Mountain, Seven Springs, and Whitetail Resorts. Add in the option to ski at world-class properties across the country, including up to ten non-holiday days at the flagship properties of Vail, Beaver Creek, and Whistler Blackcomb, and the $626 Epic Local Pass starts to look like an absolute steal. Or, if you don’t plan to ski out west but might make some trips up to New England, the $514 Epic Northeast Value Pass is a great option.

The value proposition for the Ikon Pass for Mid-Atlantic skiers is less clear. If Snowshoe Mountain Resort is your “home hill,” and you also plan to take a trip or two out west or to New England, then the Ikon Pass might make sense. But only one Mid-Atlantic resort is covered by the Ikon Pass, and for most Mid-Atlantic skiers, Snowshoe ends up being a destination trip as it’s not located near any population centers. From the Washington Baltimore metro region, it can take longer to drive to Snowshoe than to fly to Colorado, and that long drive can get you most of the way to New England areas. Ikon also costs more than Epic.

On the other hand, Ikon has a better footprint in New England than the Epic Pass. So if you plan on taking many trips to New England, the Ikon could be a better fit. Or, if you want to ski at destination resorts such Steamboat, Mammoth Mountain, or Aspen Snowmass, Ikon will be the way to go.

If you shy away from the major resorts and would like to sample and support smaller, independently-owned areas, the Indy Pass provides a great value. And multiple Mid-Atlantic properties participate in the Indy Pass. You can downhill ski at several resorts and even sample cross country skiing at White Grass. However, if you primarily ski at one local hill, the two-day limitation of the Indy Pass will be restrictive and might reduce its appeal.

In 2018, DCSki’s Editor used the Mountain Collective Pass on a road trip to destinations like Wyoming’s Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Photo by M. Scott Smith.

The Mountain Collective Pass is perhaps the least compelling option for Mid-Atlantic skiers, as no Mid-Atlantic properties are included and the two-day limit at individual properties precludes its ability to be used for week-long destination trips at a single resort. However, for skiers wishing to take a road trip, hitting many resorts along the way, the Mountain Collective can be a good option. In fact, DCSki’s Editor did just that in 2018, using the Mountain Collective Pass to embark on an adventure that took him to resorts in Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah.

Finally, many Mid-Atlantic skiers will be happy to ski primarily at their local, independent ski hill. In those cases, buying an individual season pass — which, historically, used to be the only option (back in simpler times) could be the best and simplest choice.