It’s no secret that Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Company have been steadily raising season pass prices year over year. Since the 2021/22 season, the full Epic and Ikon passes have gone up around $400, while the Epic Local and Ikon Base passes have gone up around $220. Both full passes now cost over $1,000, and this year, the prices went up again.
DiCello Levitt, a law firm with offices nationwide, asserts that those price increases are the result of anticompetitive business conduct. That’s why this week, the firm filed a class-action lawsuit against Vail Resorts, Inc. and Alterra Mountain Company in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. DiCello alleges that “an industry‑wide scheme” has “driven up the cost of skiing and snowboarding across North America while limiting consumer choice.”
Vail and Alterra are violating antitrust laws, according to the suit, which DiCello filed individually and on behalf of all skiers and snowboarders, seeking damages and “equitable and injunctive relief.”
“For years, skiers have been told that soaring lift ticket prices, reduced choice, and overcrowding are simply the new reality,” Greg Asciolla, Chair of DiCello Levitt’s Antitrust and Competition Litigation Practice, said in a statement. “Our complaint alleges that these outcomes are not the result of healthy competition, but of exclusionary conduct by two companies that dominate access to the most desirable destinations.”
Suit Alleges ‘Identical Anticompetitive Schemes’
Both the Epic and Ikon passes are bundle options offering skiers and riders access to numerous destination ski resorts and regional ski areas around the world. Today, Vail Resorts has 42 ski areas under its ownership and partners with around 30 others. Alterra Mountain Company owns 18 ski areas and partners with around 70 others.
The 72-page lawsuit alleges that both corporations “unlawfully inflated prices” of day passes in order to coerce customers into buying the bundle option season passes.
Corporate leadership has all but admitted this was the strategy. The lawsuit quotes Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz from an interview with the New York Times, saying, “Vail’s lift-ticket prices have been ‘intentionally’ aggressive . . . They pushed customers to buy Epic Passes.”
In a more recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, when asked about this, Katz said, “This was an industry wide . . . transformation that happened, that our company absolutely led.”
The lawsuit says that Alterra followed Vail’s exact business model when it started in 2018. It alleges these are “identical anticompetitive schemes.” Because both corporations own or partner with most destination resorts and many regional resorts, customers are left with very few options but to choose between the two corporate “Mega Passes.”
“Vail Resorts introduced the Epic Pass first and established the bundled Mega Pass model. Alterra, upon entering the market, had the opportunity and economic incentive to compete by offering a materially different product,” the lawsuit reads. “Alterra instead chose to mimic Vail Resorts’ bundling and pricing strategies, sales calendar, and exclusionary structure.”
The lawsuit concludes by demanding a jury trial.
“We’re looking for full justice for the consumers,” Carrie Syme a partner at DiCello Levitt told GearJunkie. “That means: (1) getting the entire class of skiers and snowboarders compensation for what they’ve been overcharged on both lift tickets and passes, and (2) equitable relief that ensures that future consumers are getting competitive prices, too.”
Syme said that if there is ever a settlement or positive development in the case, Vail and Alterra customers may receive a communication about how to claim their share of compensation.
Epic & Ikon Pass Prices Raised Again for 2026/27
Fromhere, Vail and Alterra have to decide whether they’re going to file a motion to dismiss or, instead, file an answer to DiCello Levitt’s complaint, Syme said.
“That’s up to them. For our part, whichever they choose, we’ll be pushing to begin discovery in the case as soon as possible so that we can start uncovering their anticompetitive pricing strategies and, we expect, confirming that what we’ve alleged in the complaint is correct.”
GearJunkie reached out to both Vail Resorts and Alterra about the lawsuit. Alterra declined to comment. However, Vail issued a statement.
“We believe these claims are without merit,” a spokesperson told GearJunkie in an email. “We launched the Epic Pass in 2008 to make skiing and riding more accessible, reducing the price of a season pass by 60%. We’re proud that 18 years later, it’s still one of the best values in the industry, especially following our further 20% price reduction in 2021.”
Vail Resorts also noted that it has launched lower-priced pass products over the years, such as its Epic Day Pass Local and Limited Pass. It argues that its discounted and advance-purchase options are not discussed in the lawsuit.
The 2026/27 Epic and Ikon passes are on sale now, and their prices have predictably increased since last season. Currently, a full Epic Pass costs $1,089 (up $38 from last year), and the full Ikon Pass costs $1,399 (up $70 from last year). The Epic Local is going for $809 (up $26 from last year), and the Ikon Base Pass is $949 (up $40 from last year).
Those prices will continue to increase as the next ski season draws nearer.
