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2016-17 season passes for Copper Mountain and Epic Pass ski resorts now on sale at discounted rates

Season passes for 2016-17 at Copper, Keystone and Breckenridge are now available for $49 down. Purchasing early also locks in benefits, including free kid season passes at Copper and six fixed-price buddy passes for the Epic Pass properties.
Alli Langley / Summit Daily file photo |

2016-17 season passes

For the 2016-17 season, all Summit County ski resorts have upped the ante by adding additional days at mountains across the state, nation and world. The international game isn’t only for Epic Pass holders these days. Here’s a look at the full slate for Copper and Vail Resorts properties:

Copper and Winter Park

Copper Mountain season pass — $399 adult (18-64), $309 teen (13-17) and senior (65-plus), $229 child (12 and younger)

Copper Mountain Secret! season pass — $549 adult, $459 teen and senior, $379 child

Copper Mountain Four-pack — $159 flat

Rocky Mountain Super Pass (unlimited Copper and Winter Park, plus five free days at Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand) — $499 adult (18-69), $409 teen (13-17) and senior (70-plus), $299 child (6-12)

Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus (unlimited Copper, Winter Park and Eldora, plus limited days at Steamboat, Crested Butte, Alyeska in Alaska, two New Zealand resorts and three Japanese resorts) — same as Rocky Mountain Super Pass

Breckenridge and Keystone

Epic Pass (unrestricted) — $809 adult (13 and older), $419 child (5-12)

Epic Local Pass (10 days at Vail and Beaver Creek, limited access at Park City and Tahoe resorts) — $609 adult (19 and older), $489 teen (13-18), $319 child (5-12)

Summit Value Pass (limited access at Breckenridge) — $509 adult, $409 teen, $289 child

Keystone A-Basin Pass (limited days at both areas) — $299 adult, $219 child

Epic 4-Day (unrestricted in Colorado, Utah and Tahoe, plus four additional days in Midwest) — $399 adult, $219 child

For $49, Copper Mountain Resort and Vail Resorts are hoping you’ll commit to all the snow that hasn’t yet fallen.

Earlier this month, Copper Mountain, Breckenridge and Keystone started selling season passes for the 2016-17 season. Passes for all three resorts are available now, with the best rates and bonuses available until April 4 for the Copper pass and April 10 for the Epic Pass.

The two other local ski areas, Loveland Ski Area and Arapahoe Basin Ski Area (part of the Epic family), have not yet announced season pass rates for next year. They tend to confirm prices by mid-April.



Copper

The standard Copper Mountain season pass is $399 for adults (see sidebar for other rates), with unrestricted skiing at Copper only and no blackout dates. The early rate for all Copper passes can be locked in now for $49, similar to the VR offer. The Secret! pass also makes a return next season and includes access to private lift lines and other benefits.



New this season, the resort is throwing in a free kid’s pass with every adult pass purchase. Yes, a free pass: Kids ages 6-12 get a complimentary and unrestricted pass with no blackouts when mom, dad or anyone over the age of 18 years old gets a pass. Both passes come with added benefits — think things like discounts on friend lift tickets, food and more — and are perfect for families. The $399 adult rate is guaranteed until April 4, and the free pass promotion is available until June 1.

Epic Pass

At Breckenridge Ski Resort and Keystone Resort, the entire slate of Epic Pass options is available for next season. The big daddy of them all, the full Epic Pass with unlimited riding and no blackout dates, is on sale for $809 (up from $769 in 2015-16) with the option to secure the lowest rate for $49 down before April 10. (The $49 down option is available only if you opt into the company’s auto-renew program, which charges the down payment in mid-March every season until you opt out.)

Purchase an Epic Pass by the April 10 cutoff, and you’ll also get six buddy tickets — the flat-rate discounted tickets that are good for any of VR’s 12 stateside resorts, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breck, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin. All Epic Passes also come loaded with six “Ski with a Friend” discounted tickets that vary in value during the season. What’s that mean? If you renew one during the thick of the Christmas holiday, it will cost your friend more than renewing early or late in the season, and these rates change from resort to resort. Just be sure to call the ticket office before heading over: These passes range anywhere from $59 per day to $109 or more.

As usual, the Epic Pass is lauded as one of the best values in the ski industry, and the numbers back up the claim. With the addition of Perisher in Australia (available in 2017 only), Wilmot Mountain in Wisconsin and Mt. Brighton in Michigan, the Epic Pass grants access to 32,000 acres of skiable terrain in six states and two countries.

The one thing missing right now: European partnerships. For the past two seasons, the Epic Pass has come loaded with five consecutive days at Verbier, Switzerland for folks who stay at approved resorts. As of press time, VR hadn’t yet confirmed this deal for the 2016-17 season.

A similar partnership with Les 3 Vallées, France for the 2014-15 season was discontinued after one year.


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