![]() The first winter, 2019–20, pass holders clocked all of 9,000 skier visits to the forty-some resorts on the pass. The pass wasn’t terribly popular initially. They just want to have fun on a pretty, un-crowded mountain. They don’t need to be whisked uphill on high-speed chairlifts to ski wide, groomed runs with more traffic than the New Jersey Turnpike. The Indy Pass is aimed at skiers who aren’t interested in racking up 30-day seasons at ultra-expensive, big-name resorts like Vail or Deer Valley. “We’re kind of the opposite of Vail,” Doug tells me, understating the point considerably. A family of four could ski all season for less than the cost of a single Epic or Ikon Pass, the “megapasses” offered by Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Company, respectively, the two corporate giants that dominate the ski-resort industry. Launched in 2019, the pass initially cost $199 for adults and $99 for kids. The Indy Pass entitles holders to ski two days at each of more than 180 smaller resorts. A long-time ski-industry marketing guy, he’s also the founder of something called the Indy Pass, an unconventional alliance of small, independent resorts that has unexpectedly become the hottest ticket in skiing. Later I’ll learn why Fish has millions of reasons to be stoked today, but for now there’s pow to be shredded.ĭoug Fish is 67, with a wavy-gravy mane of white hair and a matching beard. We’re supposed to be doing an interview, but that would kill the stoke. Erik also vanishes, leaving me with Fish. “That was like heli-skiing!” Erik exclaims as we wait for a shuttle to drive us back up the mountain.Īt the top, Mitchell peels off and heads back to work. Apparently, he’s some sort of tech entrepreneur. The other two in our foursome agree: Kevin Mitchell, the general manager of Powder Mountain, and a guy named Erik who has tagged along. “Best run of the year!” he says at the bottom, giddy and out of breath. I follow Fish through a line of evergreens onto a wide-open, nearly untracked slope, making effortless turns all the way down. He’s almost always stoked-he even signs his emails “Stay stoked, Doug.” But today he is especially stoked, because we’re skiing a foot of freshly fallen snow at one of his favorite resorts, Utah’s Powder Mountain.
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