Ikon snags A-Basin starting 2019-20

So A-Basin left Epic last spring.  The announcement on Aug. 2 is that Ikon passholders will get 7/5 days at A-Basin when they shell out for Full/Base Ikon.

https://www.alterramtnco.com/news/2019/08/02/ikon-pass-adds-arapahoe-basin

I already went for Full Ikon.  May pay attention to Denver plane fares next May.

That's good news for me. ABasin and Mad River Glen are the only places I bought lift tickets last year.  

I'm hoping they add West Mountain next, just because it's so close.

mm  

Stoked A-Basin is on IKON. Love that place and with WP and Copper on it too makes for a nice Summit County ski trip (yes I know WP is not in summit county but close enough)

Copper will have a new lift this year back in the Tucker mountain bowl.

marznc wrote

So A-Basin left Epic last spring.  The announcement on Aug. 2 is that Ikon passholders will get 7/5 days at A-Basin when they shell out for Full/Base Ikon.

https://www.alterramtnco.com/news/2019/08/02/ikon-pass-adds-arapahoe-basin

I already went for Full Ikon.  May pay attention to Denver plane fares next May.

I would think of April, instead.

For the amount of trash talking I've heard from both of the multi-resort passes, I wonder if the locals will be any less upset with the ikon crowd over the epic crowd.

Well, less days on the Ikon, so crowds should be reduced at Abasin.

I think the crowds will still be bad.  Five days is a lot of use at one area on a multi-pass.  I bet the Epic buyers who mostly wanted unlimited ABasin days just switched to ABasin passes anyway. I think the crowds are more driven by Denver population growth then anything else.

Locals are gonna complain no matter what. If you don't believe that, just read my posts about Gore.  

mm

Milo Maltbie wrote

I think the crowds will still be bad.  Five days is a lot of use at one area on a multi-pass.  I bet the Epic buyers who mostly wanted unlimited ABasin days just switched to ABasin passes anyway. I think the crowds are more driven by Denver population growth then anything else.

Locals are gonna complain no matter what. If you don't believe that, just read my posts about Gore.  

mm

I would be very surprised if travelers with Ikon would use all 5/7 days at A-Basin.  Certainly not all during the same trip.   More likely a day or two as part of a trip of 4+ days.

Benny Profane wrote

marznc wrote

I already went for Full Ikon.  May pay attention to Denver plane fares next May.

I would think of April, instead.

Reason that May is what might work for me is that I have two weeks booked at Alta Lodge in April.  And may add a week doing a ski safari in Tahoe before that.

marznc wrote

Milo Maltbie wrote

I think the crowds will still be bad.  Five days is a lot of use at one area on a multi-pass.  I bet the Epic buyers who mostly wanted unlimited ABasin days just switched to ABasin passes anyway. I think the crowds are more driven by Denver population growth then anything else.

Locals are gonna complain no matter what. If you don't believe that, just read my posts about Gore.  

mm

I would be very surprised if travelers with Ikon would use all 5/7 days at A-Basin.  Certainly not all during the same trip.   More likely a day or two as part of a trip of 4+ days.

There are plenty of complainers who commented on Al's announcement on the A-Basin blog.  Most seemed to feel the news was deliberately delayed to sell A-Basin season passes.  Meaning the deal was cut months ago.  No way to know but that seems far fetched.  But there are also positive comments from locals.

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5579132508049132695&postID=2510407377417485218
This comment is from Aug. 4, 5:35pm:

Anonymous Danny said...
I would not expect most Ikon Pass users actually use their full 5 or 7 days. The Colorado locals, sure, they probably will with the spring skiing. But for the non-Coloradans, probably 1-2 days max would be typical. Having said that, I'm pretty sure the number of Colorado Ikon passes is way lower than Epic passes. There are a bunch of Ikon Pass group forums for travel questions and recommendations (I had an Ikon Pass last year and asked questions when exploring Tahoe and Utah for the first time). In these discussions, almost everyone who visits a new location spreads their days around multiple resorts. Most people who came to CO did something like 2 Aspen/Snowmass, 2 Copper, 2 Winter Park, and a day at Eldora to/from DIA for a week-long trip. I think you're much more likely to see people make that Eldora day into an A-Basin stop as opposed to coming to the Basin for their full 5 days and skipping Aspen/Snowmass or Steamboat. I personally will use my 5/7 days entirely after the last other Colorado Ikon resort closes to extend my season as long as possible, just like I did with a 4-pack and single day passes this year (so no extra visits from what this Ikon holder already did). I would think a lot of other Ikon pass holders will save a bunch of theirs for spring as well (especially the Colorado folks). So I think there will be fewer crowds compared to last year due to the combination of limited Ikon days, A-Basin not being the #1 CO destination for out of towners, and local Ikon holders saving tickets for spring skiing. Certainly, as others have said, it's a wait and see to find out, but I'm optimistic that this is step in the right direction.

It was pretty clear they said that they were exploring other options. If anyone assumes that meant creating relationships with other Indy opps instead of ikon that’s totally on them. A-Basin is a business and isn’t hell bent on screwing over their season pass holders.

raisingarizona wrote

It was pretty clear they said that they were exploring other options. If anyone assumes that meant creating relationships with other Indy opps instead of ikon that’s totally on them. A-Basin is a business and isn’t hell bent on screwing over their season pass holders.

Imagine that, a business looking for new customers.