Hello skiers and riders of the southeast, and welcome to autumn. This is arguably the most gorgeous time of the year for our region, so we hope that you are taking full advantage of it. May these days be colorful and cool.
As the temperatures begin to drop and the long sleeves start to pop, we will also see our local ski areas and resorts begin their transformations for the upcoming ski season by positioning and testing their equipment alongside getting their staff in order. Consider it as a behind the scenes hustle and bustle with a bit of fall cleaning.
By the way, a lot of them are hiring right now, so if you have the time available and a desire for perks such as free skiing or snowboarding, please apply. It’s a fun and rewarding industry to be a part of.
Fortunately, the current employees on hand have put in some of the preseason work by posting their lift ticket prices for the upcoming season. This accompanies the season pass rush that many of you hopefully will capitalize upon as you plan out your upcoming trips. Winter will be here very soon after all.
There are a lot of options out there, and the process of discovery for finding your ideal package can be daunting, but we would like to help. The purpose of this report is to consolidate as much of that information together into one spot. Our hope is that this will cut down on the number of web browsers you would need to open, but more importantly, may this data shed light on places you are considering carving up soon.
*** Please note that the information within this article was collected by me, myself, and I only. All of which was pulled from the respective websites between September 12th and 17th. While the aim is for a flawless presentation, human error is always a factor. ***
Let’s start with the season passes.
The most popular ones have four-letter names that sound similar, but the places they are valid at are vastly different. Of the numerous choices, the southeast has a presence with two, which are the Indy and the Ikon passes.
For the Indy Pass, you will see Ober Mountain, Cataloochee, Hatley Pointe (welcome back!), Winterplace, Winter Green, Massanutten, Bryce Resort, Canaan, and Wisp. They also include White Grass Ski Touring near Davis, WV for anyone that likes cross country skiing.
It should be noted that the Indy Pass only provides two days of skiing and riding at each location. This is a great concept if you like to change up the scenery and collect trail maps.
Next up is the IKON Pass, and that one works at Snowshoe Mountain Resort. This is a great pass for traveling around as well, and they have a few options to choose from:
- Full-fledged IKON Pass with unlimited access and no blackout dates for adults (Ages 23+) for $1,359. Sixty resorts in total.
- IKON Base Pass with some blackout dates, but an unlimited amount of use outside of those dates to fourteen places, including Snowshoe. The price is $969 for adults (Ages 23+).
- They also sell four, three, and two day sessions if you are not intending to visit regularly. This is ideal if you are planning an extended weekend at Snowshoe.
- More details can be found at https://www.ikonpass.com/en/shop-passes?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paidsearch&utm_content=aa57574301269-cc704891661837&utm_keyword=ikon+pass+locations&utm_campaign=IP_Brand-Ong-ECM-SE_SEA_B_LW_EXM&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIscf9pYHBiAMV7ZSDBx2NFSicEAAYASAAEgInWvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
As for the EPIC Pass and Mountain Collective passes, which are fine products to a lot of unique places, they are not covered by any of our resorts. Whomp-whomp.
Same for the notorious Monarch Mountain Season pass out of Colorado, which for many years has been partnered up with several terrific destinations, at a much lower rate of $629 for ages 18 to 61. I did not even know that there was a chairlift in the state of Texas, but apparently there is a bike park north-west of Austin that is partnered with this pass named Spider Mountain. Who knew?
More details can be found at https://skimonarch.com/season-pass-partner-resorts/
It is worth noting that the North Carolina Gold Cards, valid anytime at all six NC places, are sold out. They curtail the quantity to one-hundred, and I could not even find a date for when they went on sale.
What about the day of window price lift tickets?
I am glad you asked.
This chart is meant to showcase the worst case, highest price scenario at the ticket window. There are obviously discounts and other special rates such as students, seniors, and military. Check the web links below for further details.
These figures may change at any time, but for now, information in is information out.
This was all based upon full day rates, and most places designated that as an eight-hour window of time.
Maybe this is a bit early for our most northern locations in Virginia and Maryland, but all of them are keeping us in limbo until we get closer to the start of the season. While that chart seems simple enough, there are additional bullet points to consider for each place, and here is what I found.
Appalachian Ski Mountain:
- 8 Hour flex is eight consecutive hours during the 9 AM to 5 PM timeframe.
- Super Session is 9 AM to 10 PM or Midnight with its own lift ticket rate.
- Night Skiing is from 5 PM to 10 PM or Midnight.
- Juniors, seniors, and students have their own lift ticket rates.
- SPECIAL MILITARY DISCOUNT! $5 off adult ski tickets. Applies to active soldier, spouse, and dependent children. Each family member must present military ID.
- https://appskimtn.com/ski-tickets
Beech Mountain Resort:
- Sessions are available in 4, 8, and 12-hour increments.
- Night skiing is available, but their rates were not published.
- In the previous years they have had midweek night session discounts for men, women, and students. Hopefully that will happen again, but please check their website and social media outlets during the season for more details.
- https://www.beechmountainresort.com/tickets-passes/winter-slope-tickets/
Cataloochee Ski Area:
- They operate in 4 and 6-hour sessions.
- $42 midweek night skiing lift ticket.
- https://cataloochee.com/tickets-passes/lift-tickets/
Hatley Pointe (formerly Wolf Ridge):
Nothing has been published yet, but their website did have this message:
“Hatley Pointe will be opening for Winter 2024. Passes will become available closer to our opening. For any specific questions regarding passes, rentals, and other purchases visit our FAQ page or contact us directly.”
https://www.hatleypointe.com/passes
Sapphire Valley Ski Resort:
- They have discounted Amenity rates, such as $48.75 Adult non-holiday lift tickets, available for property owners, a homeowners’ guest, a timeshare owner, or a lodging guest on a resort property with a valid Amenity Card.
- VRBO Rentals: The VRBO listing should state Amenity Card Info and/or Amenity Availability – if not, please contact the VRBO Property Owner.
- Military service members (active and retired) with ID will receive the Amenity Rate! Thank you for your service. A valid government issued ID showing your service is required.
- https://skisapphirevalley.com/lift-rental-ratesl-ski-sapphire-nc.html
Sugar Mountain:
- They just switched to RFID scanning this offseason.
- Lift/Slope ticket sales are first come, first served. Online and phone sales are not available.
- Holiday rates apply December 19, 2024 through January 3, 2025.
- March Madness rates, which are discounted decently, begin on Monday, March 10, 2025.
- https://skisugar.com/tickets/
Ober Mountain:
- Non-holiday Sundays are less than Saturdays with a rate of $79.
Tennessee Resident Sundays: $49 with a valid state issued ID. Bonus! - Night sessions on Monday through Friday are from 5 PM to 9 PM.
- Saturday and holidays appear to be a full session from 9 AM to 9 PM.
- https://obermountain.com/skiing-snowboarding-tickets/
Canaan Valley Resort:
- Free lift ticket to guests aged 5 and under or seniors aged 70 and older.
- The listed Holiday weekends are MLK and Presidents Day.
- No night skiing information. Posted hours were from 9 AM to 4:30 PM.
- https://www.canaanresort.com/ski-winter-activities/skiing-snowboarding/lift-tickets/
Snowshoe Mountain:
- Each day fluctuates in cost. Most midweek ranges generally were between $80 or $88 with no rhyme or reason, and the lowest was $50 in November and early December.
- IKON Pass is valid at this location.
- The Flex 3 Pass is a great value at $199. It is only available prior to the start of the season in November. Three days of skiing and riding. Blackout dates exist around major holidays such as the week after Christmas, MLK Weekend, and President’s Day Weekend. https://www.snowshoemtn.com/plan-your-trip/flex-3-pass
- Other basic lift ticket information can be found at: https://www.snowshoemtn.com/plan-your-trip/tickets-and-passes/lift-tickets
Timberline Mountain:
- Their website is different from the rest. They list the lift ticket cost at $95 for ages 13 & up, but there are a few drop down tabs for various $10 worth of credits to their Timberline Mountain Card.
$10 Short Day Credit
$10 Late Day Credit
$10 Beginner Day Credit
$10 Mid-Week Credit - “Take advantage of our Timberline Mountain Credits and use the credits on food, drinks, retail items, lessons, or future lift tickets and rentals! Depending on how you spend your day on the slopes, you can earn up to $40 in credits per visit!”
- Curious if that means you must pay the $95 up front and then get some kind of return back in the form of concessions and merchandise only?
- Save $5 on each Timberline Mountain Card if you purchase lift tickets online.
- $10 Military discount available too.
- https://timberlinemountain.com/lift-tickets
Winterplace Ski Resort:
- Night skiing is from 4 PM to Close but it is not available on Tuesday or Wednesday.
- Tuesday & Wednesday were bunched together at the Mid-Week rate while Thursday to Monday was at the weekend rate.
- https://www.winterplace.com/lift-tickets
Bryce Resort:
Their website claimed to have 2024 – 2025 lift ticket rates live, but under the “Slope Use Tickets” tab I kept getting a message saying
“Sorry, there is no online availability for (insert month here) Please call us at (540) 856-2121.”
https://bryceresort.com/winter/ski-and-snowboard
Massanutten Resort:
They have not updated their website to show 2024 – 2025 rates. It still has the last season listed.
https://www.massresort.com/play/snow-sports/hours-rates/
The Omni Homestead Resort:
Their website is dedicated to booking hotel rooms, hot springs packages, and other amenities.
No information is available yet for specific dates during the upcoming season.
https://thehomestead.ltibooking.com/categories/lift-tickets-rentals
Wintergreen Resort:
They have not updated their website to show 2024 – 2025 rates. It still has the last season listed.
https://www.wintergreenresort.com/Lift-Tickets/
Wisp Resort:
They have not updated their website to show 2024 – 2025 rates. It still has the last season listed.
https://www.wispresort.com/Lift-Tickets/
So yeah, that is a lot of information to digest at once. We get it.
Obviously, there are other factors to consider, such as your geographic proximity to the slopes, that will aid in deciding one way or another.
Please remember that going midweek or at night will always be more bang for the buck and generally less crowded. Beware that any sudden blasts from the Arctic will bring out the powder hounds though, which we hope will happen often.
Nonetheless, keep us in mind whenever you need additional information such as the open terrain status, base depths, and live camera shots. All of that, plus much more, will be here at skisoutheast.com every day during the 2024-2025 ski season.
