Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Epic Pass, the world’s best ski and snowboard season pass with access to over 80 resorts (including Vail), to raise prices

This happens every year, so consider this your PSA to buy a pass ASAP

Epic Pass backdrop photo
Epic Pass / Epic Pass

There might still be the little issue of fall to negotiate before we get our first turns, but with signs pointing to another incredible ski and snowboard season, most of us are already dreaming of that first chair of the winter. If you’re one of the many already planning for a shredding winter and have not already lined up with an Epic Pass for winter 2023, time is running out; price increases are coming after Labor Day.

There’s one bragging right that every snow bum and shredder looks for: who has the best price per day? At the end of the winter, you want to know that you got the most snow for your money and the most vertical meters logged for the ticket price. You can’t win the prize if you don’t buy the ticket, and the Epic Pass is the hottest ticket. The expanse of Epic Pass mountains spans continents and opens up unrestricted access to the best snow around. With price increases expected after September 4, now is the time to get your winter kickstarted and get your hands on an Epic Pass.

A skier shreds the snow in perfect conditions.
Glade Optics / Unsplash

What does the Epic Ski Pass give you?

Three levels of Epic Pass are available for winter 2023: the full pass, local pass, and day pass. Here’s what you get for each of them and their current price.

  • Epic Pass, $929: The full epic pass is the most comprehensive ski ticket in the world, giving you unlimited access to 37 resorts across North America. On top of this, you get seven days each at Telluride and across six resorts in the Canadian Rockies, five days each at Rusutu and Hakuba in Japan, and access to 26 partner resorts in Europe.
  • Epic Local Pass, $689: The local pass gives you the same benefits as the full pass but with restricted access at some resorts on peak dates and with Vail, Beaver Creek, and Whistler Blackcomb limited to ten days. European riding on the epic local pass is restricted to five days at Andermatt-Sedrun-Disentis, Switzerland. However, you still get five days each at Hakuba and Rusutu in Japan.
  • Epic Day Pass, from $104: This is a ‘build your own’ ski pass. With the epic day pass, you can choose how many days you ride — 1 – 7 — and how many resorts you get to ride. You can use these days at any time during the season, but you do need to make a reservation.

All Epic Passes also get you 20% off food, lodging, ski hire, group lessons, and even heli-skiing, and also include Epic Coverage, providing refunds for injury, job loss, and resort closure.

A snowboarder sprays snow into the air.
Joshua Reddekopp / Unsplash

How much will the Epic Pass price increase be?

The Epic Pass price increase is not new for 2023/24, and Labor Day is the historic deadline. While we can’t say for sure how much the pass will increase — that’s a secret kept under wraps until it’s too late to make your decision — the prices in 2022/23 jumped just a little less than 10%.

Okay, so this figure might not have you sweating, but think of it this way: Wouldn’t you rather use that money to get yourself some new snowboarding swag for the season? I thought so. Do yourself a favor and lock in your access early.

Editors' Recommendations

Tom Kilpatrick
A London-born outdoor enthusiast, Tom took the first ticket out of suburban life. What followed was a twelve-year career as…
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort owners sell to local families, keeping resort hyper-local indefinitely
Jackson Hole resort has been sold - to everyone in the area, basically
Skier heading downhill at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, with the sun and aerial tram in the background.

Consolidation and conglomeration. These two words have dominated almost every industry — from banks to fast food restaurants to web apps — over the last two decades as more small- to medium-sized businesses are gobbled up by large, often international corporations. In many cases, that loss of independence means putting customers second and profits first. The mountain resort industry has been no different, with massive multinational conglomerates buying up U.S. resorts for years now.

But many smaller, family-owned resorts have stood strong, vowing to remain independent despite seemingly all-consuming consolidation — resorts like Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in (where else?) Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It's a world-class, year-round playground that's been a mainstay of North American ski resorts for the better part of a century. The bad news is that it's been sold; the good news is that the buyers of the famed Jackson Hole ski resort aren't who you might expect.

Read more
This is the strongest indication yet that we should have another incredible ski and snowboard season in ’23-’24
It could be another excellent winter
A person snowboarding down a hillside.

We’re a hopeful bunch, us skiers and snowboarders, and maybe a little superstitious. Living in ski resorts worldwide, I’ve heard everything from the high number of berries on a rowan tree to fog in August indicative of "the best winter for a decade." We spend our summers looking for signs that our winter will be knee-deep and we’ll be shredding the powder, but for winter 23/24, the strongest indication is now here: it’s not the berries.

The 2024 Farmers' Almanac will be released soon, including what they claim to be their renowned 80% accurate weather forecast. While the outlook might not be favorable for farmers, it’s good news for all of us looking forward to a winter of ski and snowboard action. Winter 2023/2024 is looking set to be another incredible season of snow. Here’s what the Almanac is lining us up for.

Read more
Snowboard season is almost here, and the most insane Burton Step-On bindings just dropped
We can't get enough of Burton Step-On bindings
Burton step on for kids and splitboarders

If there's one thing better than new snowboarding tech to get you stoked for winter, it's new snowboarding tech that makes the best gear on the market available to a broader audience. This winter, Burton Snowboards is adding to its range of industry-leading step-on boots and bindings, with these newest Burton step-on bindings paving the way for split boarders and groms to step in and shred — no more strapping in or sitting down.

The good news for young shredders and backcountry powder chasers is that you don't have long to wait. The Burton Step-On Grom arrives on October 3rd, along with the new colorways of the established Burton Step-on binding lines. Burton Step-on Split bindings will follow shortly after, on November 20th. If you're not a part of the Burton Step-On revolution yet, here's why these newest additions should sway you.

Read more