The Ikon Pass Is Your Golden Ticket to Ski Resorts Around the World

14.03.2024 - 18:47 / cntraveler.com / Jackson Hole

For skiers and snowboarders who dream of hitting a smorgasbord of mountains come wintertime, the Ikon Pass is like a passport to a kingdom of potential adventures. If you’ve been waiting for these golden tickets to become available again, there’s good news: Starting March 14, you can buy the 2024/2025 Ikon Pass. They will be valid for the remainder of the current winter season which, thanks to recent storms, will probably see lifts spinning beyond Memorial Day at some resorts (we’re looking at you, Mammoth).

For those not familiar, Ikon is a multi-resort pass that gives you access to a whopping 57 destinations across 5 continents, 17 US States, and 4 Canadian Provinces. This includes bucket-list spots like Aspen Snowmass, Palisades Tahoe, Jackson Hole, Chamonix/Mont Blanc, Niseko, Japan, and Big Sky (one of Condé Nast Traveler's Best Places to Go in 2024, by the way). It gives you access to roughly 180,000 skiable acres, which is exhausting just to contemplate.

There are a few Ikon Pass options, with the top two tiers including unlimited days of skiing at slightly over a dozen marquee resorts. This really incentivizes you to get out there, because the more days you use the pass, the better of a deal you're getting. Considering the cost of daily lift tickets at some of the big-name spots, it’s almost always cheaper to purchase a season pass if you plan to be on the slopes for more than four or five days a year.

Another reason to snag an Ikon Pass is its list of perks. For example, once a month at participating resorts, Ikon Pass holders get to experience First Tracks, where the lifts start spinning for you an hour before everybody else. The pass also gets you discounts on gear at companies like The North Face, Blenders eyewear, and F45, plus a 15% discount for on-resort food and frequent deals on lodging. New this year, the pass will get you more single-day 25% discounts for friends/family, a free day in participating summer bike parks, and $200 CAD off per day for CMH Heli-Skiing. Of course, Ikon isn’t the only multi-resort pass in the game: Vail’s rival Epic Pass also features some dreamy destinations, so it’s worth checking out both; depending on where you live (or where you want to visit this year) one pass may be a better fit.

Below, we break down the various tiers of Ikon Pass, and the resorts participating in the 2024/2025 season.

Ikon Pass: This pass is the more comprehensive of the two, and offers unlimited access to 14 select destinations, plus up to 7 days each at the remaining 23 resorts. There are zero blackout dates, and it has a starting price of $1,049 for adults (18+), $869 for a teenager or those in college/the military, and $599 for children ages 5-12.

Ikon Base Pass: With unlimited