Ikon Updates: Deer Valley Returns to Base Pass; Austria, Wisconsin Ski Areas Join Ikon

Galtür, Kappl, See join Ischgl destination; Little Switzerland, Nordic Mountain, Crystal Ridge to Ikon

In what is perhaps the most confusing partner announcement in the brief history of the multi-mountain ski pass, Ikon on Monday added six new ski areas for winter 2026-27 without adding any new ski areas. Here are the ski areas (Deer Valley has been on the pass since 2018, but is included here because Ikon parent company Alterra, which owns the resort, added the ski area back to Ikon Base, with three holiday-restricted days):

Ikon’s two-day tier only gives access on the full Ikon Pass. These are the only ski areas on full Ikon subject to blackouts. The new Austrian resorts share their five- or seven-day allotments with Ischgl-Samnaun. None of the new ski areas are on Ikon Session because it is a terrible product.

And here is why they don’t count as ski areas. Galtür, Kappl, and See do not bring their own buckets of five or seven Ikon Pass days. Instead, they cannibalize days from the Ischgl-Samnaun “destination,” which joined the pass last year. Little Switzerland, Nordic Mountain, and Crystal Ridge join Ikon’s two-day tier. Pass officials insist that these so-called “bonus mountains” are not on the Ikon Pass, even though skiers can ski them with their Ikon Pass. Here’s the roster: