Ikon Pass holders then have the option to make long weekend trips to Aspen or Steamboat, which takes them out of the halo of Denver-area traffic and into a different mountain experience, with more room to breathe.

Note: only the full Epic Pass offers days (seven) that can be used at Telluride.īreckenridge is a better bet during the week. These skiers will get the best of Vail and Beaver Creek, when the crowds are sparse and I-70 is clear.įull Epic Pass holders can then make a long weekend-or longer-trip to Telluride, one of the true treats in all of skiing. Crowds at Copper tend to be milder, and the drive to Winter Park avoids more of the intense I-70 corridor compared with the other resorts in the region.įor this reason, we recommend the Epic Pass for those who have the flexibility to drive on Friday mornings and Mondays, or other non-peak days for that matter. That's also the case for the Ikon Pass, of course, but to a lesser degree. In short, Denver area skiers who have to ski on weekends are going to face some traffic and crowd pain if they go with the Epic Pass. This can lead to some monster weekend crowds at Breck, and Keystone gets busy, too. For that reason, a lot of skiers with Epic Passes end up at Keystone or Breckenridge during these times, in addition to the fact that Epic Local Passes offer only a limited number of days at Vail and Beaver Creek. That makes the selection of the Epic Pass more appealing, as getting to Vail and Beaver Creek, Epic's premier ski resorts, which both happen to sit on the far west side of the central Colorado ski area basin, becomes far easier.ĭenver-area locals who have to drive on Saturday mornings because of more rigid job schedules should consider the Ikon Pass, as it grants access to Copper Mountain and Winter Park, whose commutes, especially that of the latter, are less high-stress than trekking all the way to Vail or Beaver Creek, and offer smaller weekend crowds than Breckenridge or Keystone.įighting to Vail on a Saturday morning in February is an ill-advised journey. Those who don't have to drive during peak times, however, can avoid these traffic deluges. This designation matters because, as any Denver-area skier knows, getting to and from the slopes on the weekends can be a gauntlet of four-plus hours in each direction. The next two sections of this piece are for them (skip ahead if you're not a Coloradan).įor those choosing a pass based mostly on snowfall and powder chasing, see The best ski pass for Colorado powder chasers.ĭenver locals who have flexible work schedules True free agents, however, will consider both passes before picking one.Ī big group of these people will be Denver locals. Skiers who need to log a few days at Telluride-the best ski town in North America-will go Epic. Skiers who insist on getting some time at Aspen are going to buy the Ikon Pass. Skiers who love Vail are going to buy the Epic Pass. The first question that should be asked of anybody in this position: what is your alpha resort? If a skier won't feel satisfied without skiing her favorite hill at least a few times, then buying the pass that features that resort becomes a straight-forward play. Some people buy both passes, which can be worth it provided a skier gets enough days on the snow.īut for those who prefer to buy just one pass, consider this the definitive guide. Skiing wise, the Ikon Pass and Epic Pass are fairly evenly matched in Colorado, which can make picking one pass an agonizing decision for those who live in the state or those who plan to visit a few times a winter.

Naturally, this begs the question around crowds, which have been a consideration for Denver-area skiers for years. This price drop will have skiers across the state re-examining their calculus and perhaps selecting Epic over Ikon. Nowhere is the Epic-Ikon pass war more intense than it is in Colorado.

Ikon local pass