Indy Ski Pass Announces 20/21 Pass Policies and Adds New Resorts
In the wake of continued COVID-19 impact to the ski industry, the Indy Ski Pass has announced its partner resorts, prices, and deferment policies for the 2020-21 season. 45 independent resorts across the East Coast, Midwest, Rockies, and West Coast will return to the pass, as will 7 new resorts in similar regions. Theoretically, passholders can ski for 104 days next season if they hit every resort on the pass.
The base Indy Pass will offer 2 days at each partner resort with some blackouts for $199, while the Indy+ Pass will offer the same product with no blackout dates for $299. Indy says that most resorts will not have blackouts, but that a final list will be posted in August.
For the first time, kids and existing season passholders at partner resorts will be eligible for discounted rates—pass prices now start at $99 for kids and $129 for partner season passholders. Full pricing information can be found here.
Indy also announced its new assurance policy, the “Get America Skiing Promise.” As per the policy, passholders will automatically receive the following credits for the 2021-22 season if they use the pass less than four days next season:
0 days used: 80% credit
1 day used: 60% credit
2 days used: 40% credit
3 days used: 20% credit
Passes will go on sale on September 1st.
Our Take
We’re glad that Indy has released their deferment policies despite sales not going live until September 1st; this should help potential buyers juggle their options against other pass products with important deadlines before then.
We haven’t reviewed any of Indy’s resorts yet (most of them are small and considerably less developed than major destination resorts), but $199 for this pass is a steal if you can ski 4 or more days. If you don’t, Indy’s new assurance policy means you’ll get some sort of credit for the following season for any reason. It’s a bummer that there’s no renewal discount for 2019-20 passholders and the assurance policy doesn’t match the full refund/deferment opportunities offered by Epic and Ikon, although for many people, the maximum $40 lost by not using the pass at all and renewing the following season won’t be the end of the world.
On its own, the Indy Pass has never really made sense as a season pass product due to the maximum of 2 days redeemable at each partner resort. However, the new discount for partner passholders should help make it more competitive in this regard. The lack of discounted youth pricing last season was a huge omission, so it’s good to see this addressed as well.
