Whistler Blackcomb has only just passed the halfway mark of its 2022-23 winter season, but parent company Vail Resorts is already looking ahead to next year.
Epic Pass products for the 2023-24 winter season are officially available to purchase as of today, March 7.
Epic Passes—which offer unrestricted access to all Vail Resorts properties—are currently on sale for US$909 for skiers and snowboarders aged 13 or older.
That will be the lowest price Epic Passes will be sold for this year. Traditionally, Vail Resorts will bump prices up incrementally throughout the year before the pass sale cutoff, which usually takes place in early December. Early bird gets the worm, as the saying goes.
The current price works out to about CAD$1,250, based on Tuesday, March 7's exchange rate. Last season, Epic Passes were first offered at USD$841, which converted to about CAD$1,060 at the time, or $1,156 based on current exchange rates.
Epic Passes also allow passholders seven total days at Resorts of the Canadian Rockies—Fernie, Kicking Horse, and Kimberley in B.C. and Nakiska in Alberta, plus Mont Sainte Anne and Stoneham in Quebec—and seven days at Telluride Ski Resort in Colorado.
For those looking to take their Epic Pass abroad, passholders can ski or ride five days each in Hakuba Valley (home to a total of nine ski resorts) and Rusutu, Japan, while Vail Resorts announced Thursday it has acquired a majority stake in Switzerland's Andermatt-Sedrun. Epic Pass holders will receive unlimited access to the Swiss ski resort next season, as well as limited access to Vail's European partner resorts like Verbier 4 Vallées in Switzerland, Les 3 Vallées in France and Italy's Skirama Dolomiti.
Hot tip for Whistler-based skiers and snowboarders: don't fall victim to the appealing price of the USD$676 Epic Local Pass. Though it does indeed offer access to all Vail properties with restrictions, it only offers a total of 10 combined days of access to Whistler Blackcomb, as well as Vail and Beaver Creek, excluding holidays.
New in 2023, Epic Pass holders will also be able to use their phone as their pass at Vail Resorts' American properties, the company recently announced.
Whistler Blackcomb Unlimited Pass, EDGE Cards are back
For skiers and snowboarders who know most of their shredding will be done in Whistler next winter, Vail Resorts is also bringing back the Whistler Blackcomb Unlimited Season Pass. Sold in Canadian dollars, the pass exclusively offers unrestricted access to the local hill and is currently on sale for CAD$1,299.
Both the Unlimited Season Pass and the Epic Pass include a PEAK 2 PEAK 360 Pass for unlimited sightseeing access this summer, while the Unlimited option includes two "Bring a Friend" vouchers for 50 per cent of lift tickets, plus six 25-per-cent-off vouchers for lift tickets and six more 25-per-cent-off tickets for sightseeing throughout the winter. Unlimited Season Pass holders can also purchase half-price lift tickets for resorts like Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Park City, Heavenly, Stevens Pass, Stowe and Sun Peaks, to name just a few. Neither pass offers spring skiing in 2022.
Those who purchase Epic Passes at the early-bird rates will also receive 10 Buddy Tickets, which offer about a 39-per-cent discount on peak lift ticket prices for Whistler Blackcomb (allowing friends to buy lift tickets for the fixed price of $139), and six "Ski With a Friend Tickets," which offers a discount of up to 25 per cent on lift tickets.
Epic and Whistler Blackcomb Unlimited pass holders both receive varying discounts for on-mountain food and beverage offerings, lodging, group ski and ride school lessons, equipment rentals and more.
Passes are non-refundable except through Vail's Epic Coverage program, which offers reimbursement for events like resort closures or personal events like job loss, injury or illness. Epic Coverage is included with each purchase.
Meanwhile, Canadian and Washington state residents who can't commit to an entire season can instead purchase two-day, five-day or 10-day EDGE Cards—which currently range in price from $204 for a restricted two-day EDGE Card to $798 for 10 days of unrestricted access to Whistler Blackcomb—or the customizable Whistler Blackcomb Day Pass, which allows skiers and snowboarders to pick from between one and 10 days.
Skiers and snowboarders who lock in a five- or 10-day EDGE Card now also receive unlimited early-season skiing or riding at Whistler Blackcomb, valid from opening day through Dec. 8.
For more Whistler Blackcomb pass offerings, visit the resort's website or epicpass.com.
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