It's All Downhill: Epic or Ikon?

[View web version]( [It's All Downhill. The latest from the slopes of New England and beyone by Matt Pepin] Friday, October 19 | [Follow Matt Pepin on Twitter]( NONE SHALL PASS I’m not buying either an Epic or an Ikon pass this season. I’d like nothing more than to have a multi-resort pass, but I’ve done the math and I just don’t think I’d be able to go skiing enough at the places featured on those passes to flip the value proposition in my favor. My ski days are limited every year by a variety of factors, especially family and work commitments. But as I watch the battle rage between the rival passes, I’ve thought a lot about which one I would buy if I had the ability to go skiing more frequently. Ninety-nine percent of my skiing happens in New England, so any pass decision would come down to the Northeast resorts offered by the passes. As things stand now, it stacks up like this: Epic: Okemo, Mount Sunapee, Stowe Ikon: Stratton, Killington, Sugarbush, Loon, Sunday River, Sugarloaf There’s a strong case to be made for each, and of course there are so many variables for skiers, including where you live, the type of skier you are, and when/where you like to go skiing. Right now, I’d pick Epic, despite Ikon having twice as many New England resorts and costing only a little more. Mount Sunapee is the reason because of its proximity to Boston. It’s the closest ski area to Boston in what I’d consider the "big mountain" category, and for me, driving time is a huge factor. Mount Sunapee is a breeze to get to from the Boston area because it's interstate highways almost all the way and takes less than two hours. I like the layout at Mount Sunapee a lot, and could see myself satisfied with going there six or more times a season. I'll be very interested to see what the Epic pass will do to crowds at Mount Sunapee, which I've seen swell to pretty epic proportions on weekends. I'll particularly pay attention to what it does to weekday crowds there, since I try to do a lot of my skiing on weekdays primarily to avoid crowds. If I had a job that was more like 40 hours a week and M-F instead of 60 plus a lot of weekends, I'd be more inclined to load up every weekend and head to the places on the Ikon pass. Really, if I had to list my five favorite New England resorts, four of them are already on the Ikon pass, so that would probably be my choice. I like where things are headed with multi-resort passes, but the reality is, at this point, they just aren't right for me. CLICKWORTHY BY THE NUMBERS: While I'm out on a multi-resort pass this season, they remain popular. So what are people buying? [The On The Snow blog surveyed users and revealed the numbers recently](. Meanwhile, [VT Ski + Ride took stock of what the recent acquisition spree]( by the parent companies of the Epic and Ikon passes means to skiing in Vermont. THE NEED FOR SPEED: Maine’s Sugarloaf ski area will host the first US Alpine Speed Championships in March, US Ski & Snowboard announced last week. Downhill, super-G, and Alpine combined events will be held March 16-21. Just two days later, the US Alpine Championships will shift to Waterville Valley in New Hampshire for slalom, giant slalom, and parallel slalom races on March 23-26. [Read my full story on the event here.]( SPEAKING OF SKI RACING: If you've wondered how to get a child into a ski racing program, [the Brave Ski Mom website has an excellent guide to doing exactly that](. Whether it's just for fun or more competitive, the guide covers it all. THE JOY OF DISCONNECTING: I can't imagine extolling the virtues of keeping your phone in your pocket while out skiing [could be written much better than Heather Hansman did in the last-page essay in the most recent Ski Magazine.]( I've always silently chuckled at those who whip out their phone the minute they get on a lift, or are stopped on the side of a trail furiously texting or checking Twitter. Of course phones are great to keep in touch with the rest of your group while skiing, but man there's something to be said for disconnecting. Trust me, those 200 emails are still going to be there when you're done for the day. [Subscribe to BostonGlobe.com]( OH, LOOK IT'S ON: Both Killington and Sunday River announced they plan to open Friday. That's cool, because it's great to know that ski season has begun. At the same time, let's face it: It'll still probably be a while before there's a significant amount of skiable terrain open in New England. While we wait for more snow to fall and be made, here are photos shared by Sunday River (above) and Killington as they kicked their snowmaking operations into high gear this week. [Like It's All Downhill? Tell a friend to subscribe.]( [Sign up for more Boston Globe newsletters.]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Pinterest]( About This Email You received this message because you signed up for the It's All Downhill newsletter. To automatically unsubscribe, [please click here.]( Please note: this will unsubscribe you from the newsletter only. If you wish to cancel your BostonGlobe.com subscription, please call 1-888-MY-GLOBE (1-888-694-5623). [Manage Your Account]( | [Terms of Service]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Help Center]( | [Advertise](mailto:mbentley@globe.com?subject=Advertising in BostonGlobe.com) Address: The Boston Globe 1 Exchange Place Suite 201 Boston, MA 02109-2132 ©Copyright 2018 Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC