2011/12 Season Pass Guide

Last year the “Cruisin’ the Castle” card gave you the 1st and 5th day free, with a $15 discount for all other days.

Bottom Line: If you plan on skiing more than 15 days at castle, the regular pass is a good bet, otherwise the card is probably your best option (Click here for details).

Last year the Louise Plus Card gave you the first and second day free, and a $50 ticket for every other day. Discounts were also given for days at Kicking Horse & Castle.

With a Louise pass you also get sweet reciprocal deals with discounts of $20/day also applied to Castle, Kicking Horse & Revy.

Bottom Line: While it’s tough to make any conclusions without the regular pass pricing, the season pass pays off if you plan to be at the Lake more than 15 days this coming season (click here for details).

Keep in mind that there are other options such as the Super Pass and the Rocky Mountain Passport which provide more resorts at a discount from individual resort passes.

Last year, the Sunshine Marmot card gave the 1st, 4th, and 7th days free, with $13 discounts on all other days.

Bottom Line: If you plan on making it out to ski Marmot 12-14 times this season, jump on the early bird pricing before September 30th. As a nice bonus to passholders, look into the the hotel rate discounts in Jasper between 25-50% included as a benefit to passholders (click here for details).

Last year you could save money at Nakiska with the Ski More card, giving you the 1st, 4th, & 7th days free, or with the iSki card which gave you one free day and discounts on every other day.

Bottom Line: The Nakiska season pass is one of the best priced passes out there, with the adult early bird pass paying off in approximately 8-11 days depending on which discount card you compare against (click here for details).

Last year, the Big Drop Card gave holders the 1st, 4th, and 7th days free.

Bottom Line: If you work in Banff and can find some time midweek to get up on the slopes, Norquay is a solid bet. A season pass pays off if you can get out there at least 10-14 times (click here for details).

Last year, the Sunshine Marmot card gave the 1st, 4th, and 7th days free, with $13 discounts on all other days.

Bottom Line: With early-bird pass rates, and assuming a similar card to last year, you save money with the season pass if you ski approximately 15 days or more at Sunshine this season (click here for details).

The Powerpass is the price of a single day ticket, but you get the 1st day included, 10% off days 2-6, the 7th day free, and then it expires. You can get them at Freeride, Pentagon and Apex ski sops.

Bottom Line: A season pass pays off if you plan to make it out at Apex more than approximately 12 time this season. If you're not sporting the seasons pass this year, definitely go with the Powerpass - it's a no-brainer (click here for details).

Dual Mountain pass with Silverstar and Big White is available for an extra $150 for the season, but you can get it for $119 before the Sept 25th early bird pass deadline.

Bottom Line: If you're heading out more than 10 times this year, get on the early bird rates. At full price, you'd need to ski 15 times to pay off the pass. If you're going to be skiing either Big White and Silverstar at least twice in addition, get the add-on! (Click here for details.)

Last year, the Ski More card gave you the 1st, 4th, & 7th days free, with a $13 discount all other days. Other pass options for Fernie include the upgrade to the RCR Rockies Pass for $150 ($40 for students) to add Kimberley and Nakiska, or the Super Pass at $290 ($240 for students) which includes Kimberley, Nakiska and Lake Louise.

Bottom Line: With all the pass combinations, take a look at what is best for you. You'll need to get out riding at Fernie quite a lot at ~15 days to pay off a season pass at early bird rates. If you combine it into a Rockies or Super pass, it might make more sense if you'll be at RCR resorts and Lake Louise frequently (click here for details).

Pricing listed above is for residents of Alberta or British Columbia. If you live outside these two provinces and are looking for season pass info, you'll need to visit the Kicking Horse website.

Bottom Line: With the early bird prices, an adult pass will pay off in around 12 days - and 12 fine days they would be, especially with the new terrain added last year in Superbowl.

Last year, the Ski More card gave you the 1st, 4th, & 7th days free, with a $13 discount all other days. See some of the options Fernie offers to combine multiple areas into a single pass.

Bottom Line: Comparing early bird pass rates against the Ski More card, you need to ski Kimberley approximately 15 times to pay off a pass; that said, if you ski Fernie, Nakiska or Louise at all, check out the other options before making any decisions (click here for details).

No details on any discount cards that we've heard of (yet).

Bottom Line: $883/68 = 13. Ski Mt. Washington >=13 times, and you've paid off your season pass. If the season is anything like last year, it's definitely worth it. (Click here for details.)

Last year, the Pano Snowcard included the first four days free. Basically a no-brainer if you're out at least twice.

Bottom Line: The early bird pass rates are paid off after ~11 days on snow, the Pano snowcoard is definitely a good option to ride Pano without paying for the full season pass. (Click here for details.)

The Powder Hound Punch Card is simple. No purchase cost, buy five days, punch the card, and on the 6th day, it's free.

Bottom Line: If you're inept at using punch cards, you'll need to ski Powder King approximately 14 times to pay off the season pass. If you're good at using them, it jumps to 16 days since it saves you two day tickets. (Click here for details.)

Last year, Red Mountain's Vertical Value Card provided the first and 4th day free, with a round 23% discount on all other days, up to 8 uses.

Bottom Line: Comparing against the discount card, you'd need to ride Red Mountain about 15-16 times to pay off a pass, without the discount card, that number drops to 13... all before the prices rise to regular rates. (Click here for details.)

Last year, the Revelstoke Costco Vertical Card included the first two days free, with 15% off all other days.

Bottom Line: An early bird pass to Revelstoke will pay off after ~11 visits. Who doesn't like skiing Revelstoke that much? (Click here for details.)

Dual Mountain pass with Silverstar and Big White is available for an extra $150 for the season, but you can get it for $119 before the Sept 25th early bird pass deadline.

Bottom Line: If you're heading out more than 10 times this year, get on the early bird rates. At full price, you'd need to ski 15 times to pay off the pass. If you're going to be skiing either Big White and Silverstar at least twice in addition, get the add-on! (Click here for details.)

The Sunpeaks Value Card also has early bird pricing - save $10 if you buy it before Sep. 30th, 2011. The value card gets you the first day free, then 15-25% off regular day ticket prices depending on the dates.

Bottom Line: If you ski Sunpeaks at least 10-12 times a season what are you waiting for? Take advantage of the early bird pass prices! Otherwise stick to the value card. (Click here for details.)

Whistler's edge card allows you to pre-load days in 1, 3, 5, & 10 day increments at a discount from the regular day ticket.

Bottom Line: Unless you are able to ski Whister at least 15 times, the Edge card is probably your best bet. Otherwise, you might just be one of those people who lives close enough to Whistler to include a 30cm clause in your employment contract... no work & no friends on a powder day. (Click here for details.)

Whitewater's season pass comes with an impressive array of reciprocal deals with other resorts. Not only can you ski Whitewater more, you can also ski nearby resorts (like Red Mountain) at a discount.

Bottom Line: Whitewater's early bird pricing means you break-even on your pass purchase after 11 days on the snow. If you can take advantage of some reciprocal deals, it's even sooner. Either way, there's great skiing to be had. (Click here for details.)