The 2017-18 Mountain Collective pass features 16 ski destinations spread across North America and even down to Australia and New Zealand. For residents of the Northeast, the pass can easily more than “pay for itself” with just one regional trip and one destination trip out West.
Mountain Collective 2017-2018 Pass Now Available For $449
Each Mountain Collective passholder receives two days at each destination, plus a third day at one chosen destination. Any additional lift tickets can be purchased at half of the single-day window rate. Sugarbush in Vermont was added as the representative of the Northeast in the 2017-18 list of destinations. In a typical ski season, skiers and boarders living in the Northeast often take a trip or two up to the mountains of New England, then venture to the West for a longer trip.
PHOTO CREDIT: Sugarbush / Mountain Collective
Crunching The Numbers
Scenario 1: One Sugarbush and one destination trip for one adult
Single adult living in the Northeast plans to take a three-day trip up to Sugarbush. This skier also wants to make a destination visit for five skiing days to Taos in New Mexico. When buying the Mountain Collective Pass, the skier chooses Sugarbush for the bonus third day. The pass completely covers the Sugarbush trip, two days at Taos, and then the remaining 3 Taos days are 50 percent off. (Traditional comparison figures are 2016-17 regular-season online rates with multi-day discounts where available. Considering the traditional lift-ticket prices will likely go up next season, the actual savings will probably be slightly greater than this calculation.)
Mountain Collective Pass (5 days): $449
Taos 50% Single-day Window Rate Tickets (3 days): $147
Total: $596
Sugarbush Lift Tickets (3 days): $245
Taos Lift Tickets (5 days): $470
Total: $715
Scenario 2: One Sugarbush and one destination trip for family of four
Family of four (two adults and two children ages 12 and under) living in the Northeast plans to take a three-day trip up to Sugarbush. This family also wants to make a five-day destination visit to Taos in New Mexico. When buying the Mountain Collective Pass, each member of the family chooses Sugarbush for the bonus third day. The pass completely covers the Sugarbush trip, two days at Taos, and then the remaining 3 Taos days are 50 percent off.
Mountain Collective Pass (Parent 1): $449
Mountain Collective Pass (Parent 2): $449
Mountain Collective Pass (Child 1): $99
Mountain Collective Pass (Child 2): $99
Taos 50% Single-day Window Rate Tickets (3 days): $477
Total: $1,533
Sugarbush Lift Tickets (3 days): $900
Taos Lift Tickets (5 days): $1,520
Total: $2,420
PHOTO CREDIT: Sugarbush / Mountain Collective
Scenario 3: 8 days at Sugarbush for adult (age 40-64)
One adult (age 40-64) plans to ski exclusively at Sugarbush on four two-day weekends throughout the ski season. A Sugarbush season pass costs $799 for this age group. (An adult season pass for ages 19-29 costs $349 and $549 for ages 30-39.) The $799 season pass makes sense for more than 10 days, but the Mountain Collective pass is an attractive alternative for 10 or less days. The skier chooses Sugarbush for the bonus third day on the Mountain Collective.
Mountain Collective Pass: $449
50% Single-day Window Rate (5 days): $195
Total: $644
Sugarbush Season Pass (ages 40-64) $799
Total: $799
Why would you not get 2 free days at Taos with the Mountain Collective pass before you start paying the 50% fee?
You are absolutely correct, James… A pass holder gets 2 free days at Taos, saving you even more money! Thanks for catching our typo – We’ve made the changes above.