Prices continue to rise for a go-to ski pass in Colorado.

Vail Resorts on Tuesday announced its Epic Pass for the 2025-26 season — covering worldwide destinations including Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone, Beaver Creek and Crested Butte.

The adult pass with unlimited access to 42 resorts comes in at $1,051, up from $982 a year ago and marking the highest early-bird price to date. The pass, which goes up in price closer to the season, has never started above $1,000. 

Offering unlimited access to Breckenridge, Keystone and Crested Butte among 29 resorts and 10 days combined at Vail and Beaver Creek, the adult Epic Local Pass comes in at $783. It was $731 last year.

The 7% year-to-year price increase follows a trend since 2021, when Vail Resorts cut prices by 20%. Before then, in March of 2020, the early-bird cost for the full Epic Pass was $979 and the Epic Local Pass started at $729.

Vail’s cost slash four years ago came as competition seemed to be heating up with Alterra Mountain Co.’s Ikon Pass, which launched in 2018. That pass covers 59 destinations with varying degrees of access, including Arapahoe Basin, Copper Mountain, Winter Park, Aspen Snowmass, Steamboat and Eldora Mountain in Colorado.

Ikon prices for the 2025-26 season have yet to be announced; passes are set to go on sale March 13. Around this time last year, the full Ikon Pass came in at $1,249 and the more limited Ikon Base Pass at $869. Passholders could renew for $1,149 and $819, respectively. 

More shuttle stops, increased prices coming to Pikes Peak Highway

“Epic Pass was created to unlock access to incredible mountain resorts at an unmatched value for skiers and riders,” Vail Resorts Chief Marketing Officer Courtney Goldstein said in a news release Tuesday, adding the company’s pledge “to raise the bar to deliver the experience of a lifetime for our passholders season after season.”

Experiences have expanded — now 80-plus destinations around the globe, including Switzerland’s sweeping Verbier 4 Vallées announced Tuesday — since the Epic Pass was created for the 2008-09 season. The pass debuted at $579.

Tuesday’s news release credited “unprecedented innovation” focused at guest experience since then, with a reported $2.5 billion in improvements over the past 15 years. Innovations “have contributed to a decrease in lift line wait times year over year for the last three years,” the release said.

But this season hasn’t been without controversy for Vail Resorts.

A patroller strike at Park City coincided with customer outcry, a class-action lawsuit and a shareholder calling for an executive overhaul. Vail Resorts’ stock price dropped toward a five-year low by January, as labor agreements went on to be reached in Park City and elsewhere. Pay increases were announced for some workers at Breckenridge, Keystone and Crested Butte.

Also in January, even as visitation was slightly down across the company’s mountains, Vail Resorts told investors lift ticket and pass revenues were up 4.5%. While the company has raised pass prices over the years, it has also sold more bundles and options like the Epic Day Pass, contributing to a figure Vail Resorts has highlighted: 75% of visitation last season was represented by guests with a pass product.

The Epic Day Pass gives visitors a choice to buy one to seven days in advance. Depending on resort and day, prices range as low as $47-$100 — what Vail Resorts marks as a 65% savings compared with standard lift tickets.

Major military discounts have spelled other options in recent years.

For the 2025-26 season, active-duty and retired service members and their dependents can get an Epic Pass for $185, up from $172 last year. For veterans and their dependents, the pass is $601, up from $561.

Epic passes include benefits such as 10 “buddy tickets” — discounted tickets for friends and family — and 20% off food and drink, lodging and equipment rentals.