So far the first season of parking reservations and Alterra ownership has gone very well. At any given moment, we are working on dozens of issues to help make A-Basin a better place to ski and ride. Two of the issues that stand out the most are 1) managing peak days and keeping the quality of the ski experience very high on those days and 2) managing our quiet days (they are a little too quiet), growing them to be busier so we can keep our long season and be sustainable and reliable for our employees, guests and community.
We are excited to expand our Ikon Pass access to unlimited at A-Basin for the 25/26 season to help boost those quieter days. Ikon Base Pass will remain at 5-day access with no blackout days. Essentially, for the 25/26 season, Ikon Pass will function as an A-Basin season pass. And with that comes access to some of the best destinations in ski country including, neighbors Winter Park, Copper Mountain, and Steamboat, plus iconic mountains like Mammoth Mountain, Palisades Tahoe, Aspen Snowmass, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Big Sky, Taos and Alta, plus global names such as Zermatt, Chamonix, Niseko, Valle Nevado and more. I think the 25-26 Ikon Pass is the greatest season pass ever made. An A-Basin only Season Pass with additional benefits will still be available.
Over the years we have implemented many actions to manage access to The Basin (limiting tickets, limiting passes, ticket reservations, partner changes, etc.). Implementing Parking Reservations has been the most effective way to control the number of people arriving to ski. By controlling the number of vehicles that arrive on peak days, we have been able to keep and foster the incredible A-Basin ski experience we all know and love. Looking into the future, parking reservations will continue to allow us to manage for change and growth while preserving the A-Basin experience. Some important facts through March 2 at A-Basin as a result of parking reservations are:
- ZERO - Number of days that A-Basin parked out
- ZERO - Number of days that A-Basin parking contributed to highway problems
- ZERO - Number of people turned away from A-Basin due to parking and highway problems
- 3.0 - Average number of skiers per parking reservation (up from 1.8 in 22/23)
- 29.7% - Percentage of parking reservations that carpool with 4 or more people
- 42.2% - Percentage of skiers that arrive at A-Basin sustainably (carpool 4+, EV, Summit Stage, Snowstang) on parking reservation days
- Zero - Number of times I freaked out because of parking and highway problems
In our wild, crazy and changing world, we remain committed to preserving the A-Basin experience. By adding parking reservations and offering unlimited access to A-Basin on Ikon Pass, we will preserve that experience, manage the peak days, boost the soft days and continue to be steadfast and reliable for our employees, our guests and our community.