The Indy Pass

marznc wrote

Have you skied at Montage?  

Prior to moving to the PNW, I lived in NEPA for about 20 years.  During those decades I had passes at Doe, Little Gap, Montage and Elk.  Of the four on the list, I would rank Montage as the lowest and Elk the highest.

During my time as a pass holder at Montage it was poorly managed to say the least.  I don't think that has changed too much since I left (10 years ago now)  For the longest time it was run by the county of Lackawanna.  It was then bought by private investors.  A year or 2 before I moved out here they installed a new arsenal of Polecats which gave the mountain some new life.  I would imagine that can make some pretty good snow now.  Our biggest complaint was that the T2B lift (called "The Long Haul) that never ran.  In order to get a full thousand foot vertical, you had to ride 2 super-sluggish chairs.  

Does anyone know if they ever replaced the Long Haul chair?  

Montage has been much better managed by the latest owner. Snowmaking and grooming have improved and they run the Long Haul TTB lift on weekends and holidays. Nobody really skis top to bottom there. If it was a high speed lift more people likely would but it is a 12 minute ride and the top is flat anyway. It's not a big deal to take two lifts to the top if you really want to ski top to bottom.

trackbiker wrote

Montage has been much better managed by the latest owner. Snowmaking and grooming have improved and they run the Long Haul TTB lift on weekends and holidays. Nobody really skis top to bottom there. If it was a high speed lift more people likely would but it is a 12 minute ride and the top is flat anyway. It's not a big deal to take two lifts to the top if you really want to ski top to bottom.

My friends who live in Philly include a man who grew up skiing Montage.  He's certainly very happy with the current ownership.  Especially since they do a special deal for season passes for a few days.

What impressed me most about Montage in recent years was how quickly they recovered from losing over 100 big trees when a tornado hit in 2017.  Luckily no one was hurt when the storm blew through.

https://www.pahomepage.com/news/montage-mountain-ski-resort-expects-to-reopen-friday-after-storm-clean-up/amp/
https://wnep.com/2017/02/27/storm-cleanup-continues-after-tornado-touches-down/
https://wnep.com/2017/03/03/snow-making-returns-after-tornado-damage-at-montage/

My first and only visit was in mid-Dec a couple years ago meeting up with those friends.  There'd been enough cold nights for big piles of snow to be created all over White Lightning.  We got to watch the winch cat start spreading out the piles near the bottom.  No bumps anywhere yet but I got a good sense of the pitch based on what was open.  The grooming was quite good.  I assume having a section and lift where cautious intermediates and beginners never venture is a plus on busy weekends.

Since we were taking it easy that Saturday, I also got to eat in the sit-down restaurant.  Food was good, which was a bonus.

Much to my surprise I found an article that has dollar figures for how the Indy Pass works from a ski area's perspective for 2019-20.  Was also notable that two of the pictures in the article were from the southeast (Massanutten, Cataloochee).

https://www.the-ski-guru.com/2019/05/19/indy-pass-skiing-usd-199-north-americas-authentic-independent-resorts/
" . . .
The Indy Pass is administered entirely in the Cloud. When skiers and boarders present a photo ID at the ticket window, then the ticket agents will confirm the consumer’s identity and enter the redemption on the Indy Pass website. Then the user will get a ‘no charge’ day ticket coded to Indy Pass in the resort’s system. Once the consumer has redeemed the two tickets at the resort, they may purchase a third one for a discount off the rack rate. The Kids’ ticket can be also purchased with each redemption for a discount off the rack rate. Resorts may have different discounts.

The participant resorts pay between USD 1000 to USD 3000 to participate in this program. Consumers buy passes on the Indy Pass website with 85% of the pass revenue returning to participating resorts based on redemptions.

To promote the pass, 9% of the revenue is used for marketing and 6% covers the admin, credit card fees and software licensing.

The estimated yield is $44 per ticket redeemed with payouts to resorts monthly beginning in January."

Guys, in the same page we are giving 2 Indy ski passes for free- if you want to register! This will be done by mid November.

Ski Guru ... where did you get the information on pricing?

REI members can save $10 buying the Indy Pass.

https://www.rei.com/c/lift-tickets
"By purchasing from REI Co-op, you'll receive a voucher with a unique code that you'll redeem and register at indyskipass.com; code cannot be redeemed in person"

bumps wrote

Would be interesting to know why Laszlo at Plattekill decided it wouldn't be worth joining.

In a really good interview with Storm Skiing Journal in late October 2019, the reasons Plattekill is not part of the Indy Pass are covered.  In short, too much paperwork and there is up front money required from the ski areas that join up.  In contrast, the Freedom Pass is simpler and a no cost perk to Plattekill season passholders.

https://skiing.substack.com/p/podcast-2-danielle-and-laszlo-vajtay

The Indy Pass price goes up to $219 on 12/1, as expected.

What's new is the plan for the rest of the 2019-20 season.  There will be another $20 increase to $239 on 1/1/2020.  Will continue to sell the Indy Pass until 3/1/2020.  So in theory could be used as a spring season pass for a region that is looking good for skiing into early April.

I missed that Harvey published his interview with Doug Fish, the creator of the Indy Pass.  Nice to know he's going to visit the northeast this winter.

https://nyskiblog.com/doug-fish-and-the-indy-pass/

Black Mountain NH added to the roster

Brownski wrote

Black Mountain NH added to the roster

Detroit Mountain in MN too.  Makes the total 46 ski areas.

The drawing for a trip to Eaglecrest sounds like a pretty nice ski vacation for someone who lives near an airport served by Alaska Airlines.  Anyone heard of Snowledge?

https://www.snowledge.co/indy-pass-contest/

"Download Snowledge before 12/15 for a chance to win a four-day, three-night Ski & Stay Getaway to Eaglecrest Ski Area in Alaska. You and a friend will enjoy free airfare, two free Indy Passes, and gear from Spyder Active Sports, Hestra Gloves, and Atomic Skis."

I've been to Eaglecrest...In the summer..cool little place

If Elk joined the Indy Pass I'd buy one today.

trackbiker wrote

If Elk joined the Indy Pass I'd buy one today.

What about Montage?  That seems like a good fit too in eastern PA.

In the southeast, while it's nice to have Cataloochee and Ober on Indy, adding Beech and/or Sugar would really make a difference.  They are more like Elk and Montage, while Cat and Ober are more like Shawnee in the Poconos.  But Cat is within day trip distance for some ski nuts in Atlanta, so certainly should be of interest for those looking to take budget trips out west every so often.

marznc wrote

What about Montage?  That seems like a good fit too in eastern PA.

In the southeast, while it's nice to have Cataloochee and Ober on Indy, adding Beech and/or Sugar would really make a difference.  They are more like Elk and Montage, while Cat and Ober are more like Shawnee in the Poconos.  But Cat is within day trip distance for some ski nuts in Atlanta, so certainly should be of interest for those looking to take budget trips out west every so often.

I would probably buy it if it included Montage but I would definitely  buy it if it included Elk. It's almost impossible to find deals for Elk. Shawnee doesn't do anything for me. I'll likely ski there two nights this year just because I have two tickets there included on other cards.

Junior wants to road trip to Ober cause we checked it out off season while visiting Dollywood. Hard to imagine me doing that to be honest.

trackbiker wrote

marznc wrote

What about Montage?  That seems like a good fit too in eastern PA.

In the southeast, while it's nice to have Cataloochee and Ober on Indy, adding Beech and/or Sugar would really make a difference.  They are more like Elk and Montage, while Cat and Ober are more like Shawnee in the Poconos.  But Cat is within day trip distance for some ski nuts in Atlanta, so certainly should be of interest for those looking to take budget trips out west every so often.

I would probably buy it if it included Montage but I would definitely  buy it if it included Elk. It's almost impossible to find deals for Elk. Shawnee doesn't do anything for me. I'll likely ski there two nights this year just because I have two tickets there included on other cards.

That makes sense.  Sugar is the high priced ski resort in NC with few discount options.  I've never been to Cataloochee because there wasn't much point to drive 2 hours farther from Raleigh for a smaller hill than Beech or Sugar.  Between Indy and the fact that my daughter is in college near Cat, that means I can satisfy my curiosity.

I wandered around the base of Shawnee one evening when I was staying at Shawnee on Delaware on the way north a couple years ago.  Looked like a well organized hill geared to families with young kids.  Says something when the first sign from the parking lot points to the Ski School.

I think Tenney Mountain in NH would be a great addition to Indy.

Brownski wrote

Junior wants to road trip to Ober cause we checked it out off season while visiting Dollywood. Hard to imagine me doing that to be honest.

LOL!

I'm not likely to bother to make the drive to Ober this winter.  But might in the future if the Indy Pass keeps going for a while.  Only because I can stay in a timeshare resort in that area for a few nights and do other stuff in the National Park.

How about Massanutten?  Has an indoor waterpark and good snow tubing.  Lots of historical sites for the educational aspect.  Monticello is worth a day.  Several caves too.  ;-)

Not sure exactly where, but apparently can get an Indy Pass for $198 at Costco somewhere in the northeast.  Current price directly from the Indy Pass website is $219.  The display listed the 44 mountains before the 12/4 additions.  Bet most people who saw it for the first time hadn't heard of more then 3-4.

REI still has a slight deal for Indy that's a $10 savings.