Since 2018, buyers of Alterra’s Ikon Pass can expect two things: to spend a lot of money, and get a lot of snowboarding and skiing at some of the biggest mountains in the world in return.
Then on Monday, March, 24, Stuart Winchester of The Storm Skiing Journal introduced a new thing to expect: two days of snowboarding and skiing at four smaller, family-first ski areas.
Ikon Passholders will soon have access to Buck Hill and Wild Mountain in Minnesota, Cranmore in New Hampshire, and Jiminy Peak in Massachusetts with the purchase of the Ikon for the 2025-2026 season. It’s a big change of pace for the Ikon, particularly because the two Minnesota ski areas are both independently owned, and only service about 300 feet of vertical drop.
Photo: Tad Conroy/Indy Pass Media Kit
Cranmore is a beloved New England skiing institution located about one mile from downtown North Conway. It has a devoted uphill community, and one of the most renown ski schools in the state. It has 1,200 feet of vertical drop, an average snowfall of 120 inches, and services 170 acres of lift-serviced skiing and riding.
Jiminy Peak is located just 12 miles north of downtown Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It’s frequented by locals and students of nearby Williams College. The mountain has a vertical drop of 1,150 feet, 167 skiable acres, and an average snowfall of 100 inches per season.
Both New England ski areas are owned by the Fairbank Group.
The news wasn’t announced by Alterra or the team at the Ikon Pass, but rather, broken by Winchester. Both Cranmore and Jiminy Pak have mentions of the Ikon Pass on their websites, and both will be selling a discounted Session Pass three day discount for passholders. That will go on sale starting on April 1, 2025.
The move is rather unprecedented, but as the Journal points out, it could be an attempt to draw in passholders that are more likely to make shorter day trips to ski areas in their neighborhood than frequent trips hours away that require extra money for food, hotels, and gas.
“This new two-day tier could rapidly grow from four new partners to 40,” Winchester writes. “It could anchor the pass in markets where the nearest 1,000-foot vertical drop melted with the last ice age. Suddenly, any ski area on the continent spinning multiple chairlifts within a tank of gas’ drive of a big city is a potential Ikon Pass partner.”
The move is also undoubtedly a nod of both respect and pure imitation to the Indy Pass, which also features two days at local and independently owned ski areas. The pass has developed a loyal following, and has sold out consistently in the past few years.
Related: New Hampshire Ski Resort Hits Market After One of its Best Season in Decades