EAGLE — Vail Resorts is turning the clock back on its Epic Pass prices to reward loyal customers following a trying year. On Wednesday morning, the resort operator announced that it is lowering the price of passes by 20% across the board.

The reset takes Epic Pass products back to prices last seen during the 2015-16 season, when Vail Resorts offered access to only 11 North American resorts. Now, it offers unlimited access to 34 North American resorts in addition to access to resorts across the globe.

In a news release, Vail Resorts said it is making the move to honor the loyalty of its passholders.

“The ski industry, our company and skiers and riders everywhere just navigated the most challenging season we have ever encountered,” CEO Rob Katz said in the release. “… As we double down on our pass strategy by dramatically reducing our pass prices, we are excited to make it easier for everyone to move into a pass, and we remain fully committed to ensuring continuous improvements in the guest experience.”

Katz went on to say that the pricing change is also an effort to grow the sport and make it more affordable.

“The new prices announced (Wednesday) not only provide value to existing skiers and riders, but we also believe they will contribute to the growth and vitality of our sport as we bring new people and higher engagement into the industry, which we think is imperative,” Katz said. “We also believe these lower prices will benefit our financial results based on new learnings from the past few years.”

The price reduction applies to the entire Epic Pass portfolio, which is on sale for the 2021-22 winter season at EpicPass.com.

The Epic Local Pass is now available for $583 (down from $729 last season) with no blackout dates, and the full Epic Pass is priced at $783 (down from $979 last season).

All 2021-22 pass products will come with Epic Coverage, at no additional cost, which provides full or partial refunds for personal events like job loss, injury or illness, as well as for certain resort closures, including closures due to COVID-19.

The move comes a little more than a year after COVID-19 cut the 2019-20 season short. Vail Resorts made the unprecedented decision to temporarily shut down all of its North American resorts March 14, 2020 — a decision that became permanent in the days that followed.

The company was then forced to reinvent the on-mountain experience at all of its resorts in just eight months to pull off a ski season in a pandemic, which included launching a much-scrutinized reservation system to limit crowds. In a letter to passholders Friday, Katz wrote that the company will be getting rid of the reservation system starting next season.

This story is from VailDaily.com.