CBMR ski passes to see bump in price next season

On Sale May 1

Crested Butte Mountain Resort has announced that 2015-2016 season ski passes will go on sale on Friday, May 1, and pass holders will see a small increase in prices. Early buyers will see the Peak Pass increase in price to $629 from $599 for adults.

Child (7-12), Young Adult and Senior Peak Passes will also see upticks to $209, $315, and $419, respectively. Children six and under will receive their passes for free, and the college price is $519.
The Adult Peak Pass Plus, which includes a wide range of additional benefits, will increase from $799 to $839. The Child (7-12), Young Adult, and Senior rates for the Peak Pass Plus will be $419, $525, and $629, respectively. Children six and under will be $105 and the college rate will be $725.
The increases come after two years of the same rates, including the $599 Adult Peak Pass, which created quite a bit of buzz when it was introduced. Scott Clarkson, vice president of marketing and sales for Crested Butte Mountain Resort, explained that the resort rarely holds prices steady from year to year because of consistent rises in operating costs. He and other resort executives did so last year in order to boost the Colorado market and give locals who missed out on year one a chance to grab the special rate.
“We normally see costs going up about five percent a year in operating a resort, so we try to reflect that in pricing and rate management,” Clarkson said. “We were overlooking that in order to hold the rates last year, so this year we had no choice but to raise it.”
Clarkson said the $599 rate did help move the needle with skiers in places like Buena Vista, Montrose, and Grand Junction, and he feels this year’s modest increases keep skiing accessible at CBMR. “When you look at it all told, these rates plus the GCSAPP Choice Pass Program make it affordable for families to ski at CBMR,” Clarkson said.
With operating costs rising aannually, Clarkson thinks pass holders should expect a 4 to 5 percent increase each year. But he pointed out that it would take 12 years to reach 2012 early season rates, when an adult season pass was around $1,000.
The early-season 2015-2016 rates will be good through October 9, 2015, and all passes will include uphill skiing access, discounted buddy tickets, 20 percent off at CBMR-managed lodging booked through Crested Butte Vacations, and three days of free skiing at Loveland Ski Area.
The Peak Pass Plus will also include summer lift access at CBMR, year-round use of the Adventure Park, and three free days of skiing at Steamboat Ski Resort, Copper Mountain Resort, or Winter Park Resort (to be used in any combination among the three resorts), among other perks. Full details will be available at www.skicbcom/passbenefits.
As Clarkson sees it, the benefits of the Peak Pass Plus depend on how you look at it. “Some people see it as the pass that includes summer, some people see it as the pass that has all those other benefits for winter,” he said, adding that the price difference between the Peak Pass and the Peak Pass Plus is less than the cost of a summer pass. “If you think you’ll be activating the lifts a lot in the summer of 2016, now would be the time to get the Peak Pass Plus,” he said.
Whatever pass you choose, season passes go on sale on May 1 and can be purchased at www.skicb.com/tickets-passes/season-tickets. The ever-popular CB Card will also be available for $69 online through October 9, 2015. The Pass Protection Program will be offered for 6 percent of the purchase price (including tax). Participants can get reimbursed in the case of unforeseen circumstances. Choice Pass rates will be determined in partnership with GCSAPP this
summer.