Today my son said that he can "smell" skiing as he left the house for the bus stop, which reminded me that I need to plan for this ski season.

As a family, we ski about 10-12 days a year mostly at Snowshoe, Timberline, 7Springs and Elk. This year, I am planning to do more skiing with the kids and expand our horizon a little for bigger mountains since the kids can now ski all of the trails that the forementioned mountains have to offer.   Being new to the ski pass options as we are used to just pick up and go whenever there was a good snow storm at a drivable ski area, I would like to ask the forum members on what ski pass offers the most bang for the bucks for folks around the DC area that tend to drive to their ski destination rather than fly.  I am looking at the Indy Pass and the Epic Northeast Pass, but can't decide on which pass is more usable since there are so many restrictions and blackout dates on both passes.

Any insights would be appreciated.

Thanks

indy epic ikon could all work.  kind of depends where and when you ski. 

you didn't mention liberty/roundtop/whitetail.  if you want to do a lot of skiing at those three then epic could be no brainer and also gives you wildcat w/o restrictions i think.  gives you non-holiday access to stowe and others

indy pass seems cheaper and has a decent mix of local areas.  jay and bolton combo could be worth a trip to vt, gives you cannon and waterville with restrictions.

looks like ikon is only good for snowshoe in local region, but lots in New England if you expect to go up there a couple times for multiday visit.

You have to work backwards.  When you say drive, do you mean drive to VT or NH?  Or just PA and NY?  When do you want to ski?  Occasional Saturday's or are you going to be on the mountain at MLK and Prez weekend?  Etc etc.

Lot's of good threads in this forum on Ikon/Epic/Indy.  We are family of four and bought Indy plus.  For the one or two times we hit Liberty we'll likely just ski the afternoon ticket.  My only piece of advice is beware of using Epic at Hunter/Okemo/Mt Snow on weekends.  Think Disney World at spring break.

How busy you think Okemo will be on Christmas Eve and Day?

First time up there and we're staying at the Killington Mountain Lodge. Killington seemed expensive and quite honestly, the mountain layout was a bit intimidating for someone who hasn't been there before.  I was able to get 2 Days in the Epic Day Pass for $150.

Or would you suggest a day at Oke and a day at Mount Snow?

Probably going to hit Sunday River midweek.

Any tips would be appreciated!

superguy wrote:

How busy you think Okemo will be on Christmas Eve and Day?

First time up there and we're staying at the Killington Mountain Lodge. Killington seemed expensive and quite honestly, the mountain layout was a bit intimidating for someone who hasn't been there before.  I was able to get 2 Days in the Epic Day Pass for $150.

Or would you suggest a day at Oke and a day at Mount Snow?

Probably going to hit Sunday River midweek.

Any tips would be appreciated!

 I would go to Stowe instead of Okemo or Mt Snow. It’s a bit colder and more snow sure than Okemo or Mt Snow. A friend of mine has travelled to Okemo numerous times in late December and almost always seems to catch rain. When it rains at Okemo, it can be snow at Stowe—hence worth the extra drive IMHO, especially if you opt to purchase the Epic Pass, which is good at both places.