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While some are settling into warming temperatures ahead of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s closing day April 13, others are already planning for next winter.
Jackson skier Forrest Lewis, 30, has slipped into his boots over 80 days this winter with a goal of 100 days before the season’s snow melts.
To save some cash on resort turns, he tracks the cost of season passes at JHMR and multi-resort options like the IKON pass and Mountain Collective.
He keeps a spreadsheet with the last three years listed.
“I think that’s just kind of a personal fixation,” Lewis said, “and because I like spreadsheets.”
It helps him decide how to get the most ski days for the cheapest price. Is it one pass or a combination of passes that provide more flexibility at a similar price?
For people like Lewis, JHMR is continuing its in-person sale in early May, offering locals a first chance at discounted spring rates. The mountain introduced the sale last year after season passes sold out in record time the year prior, frustrating locals.
At the time, a resort spokesperson said it was the third year in a row that ski season passes sold out at the resort, but this is by far the fastest the resort has ever sold out of the two most popular passes.
Last year’s discounted spring rates stayed the same as the previous years. But this year, the discounted price of each pass has gone up while they’ve introduced a new five-day bypass.
The cost of the Grand Bypass, a mid-priced option that Lewis sees as the most popular for those in their twenties in Jackson, has increased by about 17%. This, while the Grand Pass and the 10-day Bypass, a top of the line and bottom of the line option, rose by about 9%.
Also new this year, the Ikon Pass is axing their base plus pass. It represents a “squeezing of the middle,” according to Lewis. He sees it as a strategic move “to get you to buy either the cheaper option that doesn’t have nearly as many benefits or pushing you towards the more expensive options.” Lewis said.
Despite those changes to this year’s pass options, Lewis feels a combination of a 10-day pass at JHMR and an IKON pass, like he had this year. He says the pass combination over $2,000 is still his best bet.
After the in-person sale ends, most pass prices increase slightly and are available online until the end of May. Prices then increase again on June 1 if there are any leftovers. Grand Targhee passes go on sale today. Snow King passes are discounted until the end of the month.
