The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Pass products on sale starting June 1
Dreams of fresh powder lines might be far from most peoples’ minds, but this is the time to score deals on a variety of pass options for the 2010-2011 ski season.
Crested Butte Mountain Resort’s winter pass products went on sale online June 1, 2010. In-person pass purchases will be available on June 19 at the Mountaineer Square season pass office in Mt. Crested Butte.
Some notable changes/additions include a new Anniversary Card valid for any unrestricted four days of skiing or riding for $199. The Anniversary Card is new this year as one of several offers commemorating the resort’s 50th year of operation.
In addition, the 10-day Mountain Card is being offered at $100 less than last year’s price, now available for $425. The 15-day Mountain Card and the EZ Pass (one day of skiing per week) also include slight price decreases.
When asked why CBMR lowered some of its pass prices, vice president for sales and marketing Daren Cole offered the following: “We recently hosted a meeting with the mayors of Gunnison, Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte to discuss how we can continue and work better with each respective community. One of the opportunities we discussed was developing products that provided more cost-effective opportunities through the Mountain Card and other pass products. The consensus of the group was that these price points accomplished this objective, specifically for those that are limited on the number of days they have to ski in a season.”
CBMR also dropped the prices on season passes for college students—through October 29 the College Platinum price is $449 and College Gold is $399, which adds up to a $200 savings from last year’s early-season pricing.
“We feel that these price points provide a great product for the active college market,” said Cole. “We received some fantastic feedback from the college on price points that would be attractive for the students and made these adjustments to act on that information.”
CBMR plans to continue working with Western State College with the ultimate goal of attracting more skiers by helping Western attract more students. “A lot of students come to Western for the opportunity to ski and we want to continue and help foster that passion,” said Cole. “We will also be offering a ‘Skiing 101’ package that will include five days of lifts, rentals and lessons. This is a great, cost effective introduction to the sport for students that may have not had the opportunity to ski growing up. Just as we are trying to attract more visitors, Western is trying to attract more students and we want to do what we can to help provide affordable value-added activities for the student population.”
As for the general public, Adult Gold passes run $949 until September 24; Platinum passes, valid for both the 2010-2011 winter season and the 2011 summer season, are $999 during the same window. Adults and seniors receive four half-price Buddy passes with the purchase of a Platinum pass and two half-price Buddy passes with the purchase of a Gold pass. Buddy passes are good for one day of skiing or riding at the resort.
On September 25, 2010 prices and availability will change. At that time, X Cards—a six-day non-blackout pass; the Anniversary Card, and the CB Card—a $45 one day card with the option to purchase additional days at 25 percent off window rates will only be available at regional ski and snowboard shows. All pass pricing and product information can be found at: www.skicb.com in the winter section.
