Take Offs: The Spice of Life

In a case of déjà vu, Summit County, Utah, is hoping to capitalize on the same marketing concept that put Summit County, Colo., on the map some 20 years ago. Back then, the Colorado Summit’s four independently owned resorts put aside their differences and offered the Ski The Summit multi-resort, multi-day ticket. Though the pass has since been disbanded, the partnership helped the county become the most popular ski region in North America, recording more than 3.5 million skier visits last season.

Now comes Summit County, Utah, selling the four-of-five day Silver Passport that’s good at the independently owned Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley Resort and The Canyons. The ticket can be purchased for $232 with a local lodging of three or more nights. (It is only good for one resort per day, and Deer Valley does not allow snowboarders).

The three Utah resorts do about a third as much business as their Colorado colleagues, so they have a lot of catching up to do¿but geography is in their favor. The Utah resorts are 35 minutes from the Salt Lake airport, and they are all within four miles of downtown Park City. On the other hand, Summit County, Colo., is about 90 minutes from DIA, and its three major resorts are roughly a half-hour drive apart.

In a similar cooperation, Winter Park, Colo. (owned by the City and County of Denver), and Copper Mountain, Colo. (Intrawest), have joined to offer the Rocky Mountain Super Pass ($349 unrestricted). Though the two resorts are an hour’s drive apart, skiers can follow the snow from one to the other. The season pass was sold from March through April, but it’s likely it will be offered again this fall.

Travel Hit
The number of flights that spent more than an hour between pushing back from the gate and taking off rose 130 percent from 1995 to 1999. Source: Dept. of Transportation.