Just as motorists can pay to use the carpool lane to squeeze past the logjam of traffic on some Utah roadways, extra cash can now get skiers and snowboarders around the lift lines at Solitude Mountain Resort.
They might also expect to get some dirty looks and possibly a couple snowballs launched their way.
Solitude announced this month that it will be one of several Alterra Mountain Company-owned resorts offering a Reserve Pass for the 2025-26 winter season. The add-on perk allows access to a priority line on all lifts except Honeycomb Return, which is one of two lifts providing access out of the popular expert terrain in Honeycomb Canyon. Priority access applies only at the resort where the pass was purchased.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Skiers trek up to the Moonbeam Express for opening day at Solitude Mountain Resort on Thursday Nov. 10, 2022.
At Solitude, the perk can be added to any Ikon Pass or Solitude season pass for $699. An adult Ikon Pass currently costs $1,519. Solitude youth passes or those with blackout days are less expensive.
Marc Lodmell, Solitude’s director of marketing, said the Reserve Pass is a product of visitor feedback.
“We are always listening to our guests and reviewing what they want,” Lodmell said. “We also look to other industries in the hospitality realm and watch what is working, what trends are appealing to consumers, and follow suit where appropriate for us.”
Reaction to the pass has been mixed, and some online commenters have said they buy the passes to make the most of their time on the slopes during limited vacations. However, in social media posts, many skiers have disparaged what they see as a class-based system that further enforces the idea that skiing is only for the rich.
“What is the etiquette when you see someone doing this [using a fast pass]? Do you hoot, gesture or yell (if so what?)” one Reddit poster asked. “For those of you who purchase fast tracks, how do you prefer the lower class interact with you? Grovel? Yell words of disgust or encouragement? For those who purchase fast tracks, how do you flex it and ensure people understand it is your right as a more important contributor to the mountain’s bottom line?”
A Facebook commenter, responding to an article about the Reserve Pass, offered to fight anyone in a Reserve Pass lane in exchange for a case of beer.
More than 4,300 people have signed a Change.org petition demanding the pass not be sold at Crystal Mountain. No such effort has been taken to prevent Solitude from embracing the program. However, when Snowbird became the first Utah resort to implement an express lane in 2021, a similar petition was launched with little result.
Snowbird, which is owned by POWDR, still offers its single-day Fast Tracks passes in limited numbers. Prices range from $59 for a weekday to $89 for a holiday. The tram does not have a Fast Tracks lane.
“It’s very effective for those who want to skip the wait,” Snowbird spokesperson Jacob Marquardt wrote in a text, “and is particularly popular on the deep powder days that characterize this resort.”
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Skiers ride the Link Lift on Solitudes opening day, on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024.
Disney is credited for first making the fast pass system popular after introducing it at its parks in 1999. Copper Mountain introduced a similar “Beeline” product to the ski world during the 2001-02 season.
In addition to Solitude, at least eight other Alterra resorts plan to offer the Reserve Pass for the 2025-26 season. They include Crystal Mountain (Washington), Sugarbush Resort (Vermont), Big Bear Mountain (California), Snowshoe Mountain (West Virginia), Winter Park (Colorado), Schweitzer (Idaho) and Canada’s Mont Tremblant and Blue Mountain.
Most of those resorts are charging at least twice as much as Solitude for Reserve Pass privileges. For $1,499, season passholders get fast access to all of Crystal Mountain’s detachable, high-speed chairlifts plus the Mount Rainier Gondola. Sugarbush is charging $2,000 for express access to only its Super Bravo Express Quad.
But that’s not necessarily where the add-ons end. Winter Park also introduced the Early Ups program this season. For an extra $299, season and Ikon passholders can get on the lifts 30 to 60 minutes before other guests every morning throughout the season.