The return of Rob Katz as chief executive at Vail Resorts will pay unexpected dividends for Epic Pass holders, according to a company announcement this week.
The Broomfield-based ski and resort company is replacing its Epic Buddy Pass program with a new product called Epic Friend Tickets. Season Epic Pass holders will receive six to 10 Epic Friend Tickets good for 50% off lift tickets, depending on when they purchased their passes.
Tickets at Vail last season typically cost around $300 or higher for skiers without passes.
Those who purchased Epic season passes before April 14 will receive 10 Epic Friend Tickets. Those who purchased Epic season passes since then, or who buy them in the coming weeks, will receive six Epic Friend Tickets. Current season passes are priced at $1,075 for the Epic Pass ($548 for children). The Epic Local Pass costs $799 ($416 for kids).
Epic Pass prices will increase on Sept. 1. When Epic passes went on sale at early-bird prices on March 4, the unrestricted Epic Pass sold for $1,051, and the Epic Local Pass went for $783.
Katz, who ran the company from 2006 until 2021, replaced Kirsten Lynch after she was ousted in May. Katz announced the Epic Friend Tickets program in a letter this week to passholders, a communication channel he often used in his previous stint at the company’s helm. He introduced the original Epic Pass, which revolutionized the ski industry, in 2008. Denver-based Alterra Mountain Company countered with the Ikon Pass in 2018.
“Epic Friend Tickets are more than just a new benefit,” Katz wrote in this week’s letter. “They are part of our ongoing efforts to make skiing and snowboarding more accessible.”
Epic Friend Tickets will be honored at all 37 North American resorts owned by Vail Resorts, including its five Colorado holdings (Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone, Breckenridge and Crested Butte).
“Epic Friend Tickets can be redeemed through EpicPass.com, then activated in the My Epic app for direct-to-lift access,” according to a company news release. “The accompanying pass holder must scan their pass in a lift line before an Epic Friend Ticket becomes scannable.”
There is another benefit with the Epic Friends Ticket offer: Whatever those friends pay for their lift ticket can also be applied as a credit toward purchasing a 2026-27 Epic pass.