Indy Pass Adds Echo Mountain, Granby Ranch in Colorado
Additions give Indy 4 alpine ski areas in Colorado, and 103 total
The first digital fragment verifying Indy Pass’ existence, visible via the Wayback Machine, dates to March 17, 2019, when indyskipass.com blinked to life with 10 partners and $199 price tag. It would take 1,066 days, 71 additional ski areas, two-and-a-half full ski seasons, and one pandemic before the pass added its first Colorado partner, 2,000-vertical-foot Sunlight, on Feb. 15 of this year. It then took 203 days for Indy to add its second: Bluebird Backcountry on Sept. 6. And now, just 70 days later, we get Indy Pass Colorado partners number three and four, as Echo Mountain – a night-skiing haven that is the closest ski area to Denver – and Granby Ranch – the closest ski area to Winter Park that isn’t Winter Park – join the pass.
And now, suddenly, Indy is a Colorado ski pass. Maybe not for Colorado skiers, who are sweeping Epic and Ikon Passes off their windshields like morning dew, but for skiers rolling into Colorado from the Indy-dense Midwest and New England. Skiers who just want to check the whole thing out. Skiers who want a vibe.
Indy Pass founder Doug Fish acknowledges this. “Colorado is the epicenter of skiing in North America, and we are proud to now have four partner resorts there," he said. “There are so many great pass options for Coloradans that we don't expect pass sales in the state to be huge. However, our passholders from around the country will be stoked to have these great additions for their Rocky Mountain vacations.”
For those seeking a low-key Colorado tour, Indy delivers. Here is where they all sit in relation to one another. The closest stretch is an hour and 10 minutes from Granby Ranch to Bluebird; the farthest is three hours from Sunlight to Echo:
Passholders will get two days each at Granby Ranch – which will black out the Christmas holiday period on the Indy Base Pass – and Echo Mountain – which will black out nothing – plus the pass’ 101 other alpine partners and 18 cross-country partners for the 2022-23 ski season. Here’s a look at Indy’s full roster:
Echo and Granby are Indy’s 52nd and 53rd new partners since April (21 alpine, 17 cross-country, 14 as part of their Allied discount program). Which means we have officially entered the Ridiculous Zone. Two hundred and six days of downhill skiing. Thirty-six days of cross-country skiing. For $329 (early birds picked it up for $279). No one can fully utilize this product. It’s like the time I bought a 12-pack of safety glasses. Which is more safety glasses than I’ll use if I live to be 300 years old. The Indy Pass is that impossible thing: too much skiing.
It’s the best kind of problem to have. A moderately organized person who’s unafraid of wintertime driving can easily ski this thing down to $10 per day. Or less. They just have to decide where to go.
Here’s a deeper look at Indy’s new Colorado partners, and what their additions mean for skiers, Colorado skiing, and the megapass landscape in general; as well as an analysis of which Colorado free agents remain: