(Expired) $249 Cooper Season Pass with Partner Days
UPDATE 8/1/2020: Adult season pass prices have now increased to $349 and child passes are now $149. Still not a bad deal, but other small resorts offer similarly priced passes and solid partner benefits.
Deal
Last week, Colorado’s Cooper Ski Area announced its early-bird 2020-21 season pass prices. Through the end of July, this small, non-touristy resort is offering full adult season passes for $249 and child passes for $99. Passes for children 5 and under and seniors 75 and up are free. Renewing 2019-20 passholders will get an additional $50 off.
In addition to unlimited 2020-21 Cooper access, the pass comes with 3-day access to 49 partner resorts across 18 states. Cooper says this list is subject to additions and removals, and we’ve seen a few new mountains added just within the past few weeks.
Like other mountains, Cooper has updated their policies to address potential COVID-19 season interruptions. In such a scenario, passholders will receive a prorated or full credit towards the purchase of a 2021-22 pass depending on closure “timing.”
Verdict
Cooper’s is currently one of the cheapest season passes you can find anywhere. But the partner days may make it a smart buy for some people who don’t even plan on going to Cooper at all.
For those looking to visit just the partner resorts (we’ve reviewed two—Loveland and Snow King), the pass will likely pay off after two 3-day trips. For those looking to visit Powder Mountain—a much larger and more expensive resort than the others—the Cooper season pass is cheaper than buying 3-day tickets from the actual resort ahead of time.
But due to the structure of Cooper’s deferment policy, buying this pass for the purpose of accessing partner resorts may be a huge bet. Refunds cannot be proactively requested, and credits toward the next season will only be issued if Cooper is closed for a certain amount of time (at which point, the value of the credits will likely be prorated based on the amount of time closed). That means if you can’t reach your partner resort due to COVID restrictions but Cooper is open, you’ll lose your money.
The partner days are flexible, so if you’re absolutely confident you’ll make it to a couple of the partner resorts next season, it may be worth buying the pass for this purpose. Otherwise, it’s probably better to drop the extra money for normal tickets with resort-tailored assurance policies.
Alternatively, one could look into the Indy Pass, which offers up to 2 days at more than 50 small, independent partner resorts. This pass doesn’t include any Colorado resorts or the big-name Powder Mountain, but it otherwise boasts a similar value proposition and better COVID protections.
