The Return Of The Midweek Pass

This week, Palisades Tahoe announced the return of the Midweek Pass, which has not been available for about ten seasons. Once the Ikon Pass took over the scene in 2018, that was the demise of the midweek pass product at most of the ski areas owned by Alterra. For $699, adult skiers and riders can ski unlimited midweek days at Alpine Meadows and Palisades Tahoe for the 26/27 season.

Okay, it is not truly unlimited, as there are some blackout dates: December 28 through January1st and February 15th. Honestly, it is not all that many blackout days. For someone that is sick of the Ikon Pass crowds and is determined to only ski midweek, this pass becomes a very attractive option. Young adults (12-22) and Seniors (70+) get the midweek pass for $629. The children’s pass is just $489, which is a decent value for the unschooled and somewhat schooled.

The thing is I will likely never make a midweek pass work for my adventures. There’s too many friends that I like to ski with that can only ski on weekends and holidays. And what sort of ski conditions blogger would I be if we could never report on weekend conditions? There’s also just a small part of me that enjoys scoring parking reservations week after week. Maybe I also enjoy those days when 90% of the crowds are sticking to 10% of the mountain, while I go off and enjoy some of the lesser traveled parts of the mountain. Being completely honest here, FOMO is also a big part of my decision to have a full pass at Alpine Meadows.

What If I Already Bought An Ikon Pass?

That is an interesting question. Odds are that you may have already bought your pass for next season. Would they let you backtrack now and let you downgrade to the midweek pass? I just scanned the entire press release and it makes no mention of this issue. The webpage at the Ikon Pass site also does not cover this possibility. The AI chatbot has also not been programmed yet to answer this question. Note: Yes, even though this is a Palisades Tahoe pass, you still purchase it at the Ikon Pass website.

The past practice has generally been that you can upgrade products without a problem. Downgrading a product is often a different story.

Certainly this would have been easier if the product had been made available at the same time as other passes went on sale. My best guess is that the AI bean counters were busy analyzing the sales of the $89 spring midweek tickets and deciding how to better capture that market. Then someone else said “Let’s do it!” without figuring out all of the details.

So let us know how it goes for you and we will update things here. 🙂

Update number 1: A reader reported “”Yes, we can return your Ikon Pass and sell you a midweek Palisades Pass.”

There Is Potentially A Downside

Assuming that there’s a good number of midweek passes purchased, there is likely a downside. It’s likely that we will see more skiers and riders on the mountain midweek. Truth be told, that has already been happening. Those lazy midweek days where it feels like a private resort are getting more and more rare. Ikon Pass tourists, van life and the “work from home” COVID inspired lifestyle have all increase midweek visitation.

It’s not all bad. Spreading some of the skier and rider traffic into the midweek day could mean that there is less pressure to make the most of every weekend day. I would prefer a few more people on the mountain if it meant more lifts operated midweek or that the Chalet and Ice Bar opened more regularly.

Hopefully This Is The Start Of A New Era

Last spring, as I wrote about Ikon Pass purchases for the 26/27 season, you may remember that I wished for a Palisades Tahoe only pass option. I know I am not the only person that thinks that while mega passes may have “saved” skiing and riding a decade ago, they are quickly becoming problematic. They make every weekend and holiday painfully crowded at the big mega pass resorts, while drawing traffic away from the smaller resorts that need the traffic to stay alive. Don’t get me started on the unnecessary travel it encourages – ensuring that we warm our planet faster and faster.

I look forward to the day where single mountain passes are once again the cheap option and mega passes come at a mega price. Maybe for the 27/28 season….

You can purchase your midweek Palisades Tahoe pass for 26/27 here.

In other news…the days are already getting shorter. Winter is coming!