Where's My Season Pass?

With the introduction of hands-free RFID ticket and pass scanning at Sugar Bowl | Royal Gorge this winter, all season pass customers will receive brand new season pass media cards. Our new lift access gates will scan the cards, verify with the central database that a valid ticket or pass is loaded on the card, then open the gates to let you through. No longer will you need to show your pass - you can leave it in a pocket (away from your phone and wallet)!

We're printing replacement and new passes - a process that will take until mid-November to complete. We'll put a fresh batch of finished passes in the mail each week.

Due to COVID safety protocols, we will not be offering any in-person pick-up opportunities for season passes prior to the start of the winter season. Please have some patience as we print and mail everyone's pass. Our goal is to have them all mailed before opening day.

Why are you pausing pass sales?

As we all work together to slow the spread of COVID-19, we recognize the importance of physical distancing and avoiding crowded environments. Although an uncrowded experience has been part of the Sugar Bowl brand ethos for decades, in this pandemic climate we must be especially careful not to overwhelm the resort by selling too many season passes, lift tickets and trail passes.

We had already decided to limit daily lift ticket sales this winter and to require advance, online purchases so we know who is coming and when.

For season passes, the situation is more complex. There are essentially two options: 1) limit the number of passes sold, and/or 2) require daily passholder reservations with a limit on how many passholders can visit the resort each day.

Recently, neighboring resorts announced their plan to implement the passholder reservation option. In contrast, at Sugar Bowl – a smaller, independent and nimble company – we believe a limit on pass sales is a better approach for our customers, while still allowing us to stay within our safe, comfortable capacity every day and to maintain adequate social distancing between guests and staff at our pinch points near lifts and lodges.

 

Why didn’t you give us advanced notice about cutting off pass sales? I buy my pass every year. If you had told me you were close to selling out, I would have purchased sooner.

Thank you for being a season passholder with us in the past. We recognize that this is a very disappointing situation for you and we’re sorry that our pass sale pause may be impacting your winter plans. We didn’t anticipate having to do this so abruptly, but a surge of sales leading up to the recent August 31 cut-off forced us to reevaluate the situation. We’ll need to carefully manage our capacity and the number of people who visit Sugar Bowl | Gorge this winter in order to maintain safe physical distancing between guests and staff. To that end, we’d prefer to limit the number of passes sold instead of implementing a system where passholders must reserve their ski/ride days in advance.

The impacts of the coronavirus continue to evolve and it’s difficult to predict what the future will bring in terms of guidelines, restrictions and best practices. This was a difficult decision, but we need to stay true to our guiding philosophy, which is to provide memorable outdoor experiences while embracing our shared responsibility to slow the spread of COVID-19. Protecting the health and safety of the guests, staff and local communities we serve will always be our top priority. By limiting the number of season passes we well, we can maintain a safe and enjoyable experience for our guests. Please continue to monitor our website and email communications for any additional opportunities to buy a pass if we end up deciding to offer some additional passes for sale.

 

Are you going to require reservations for people who already bought 2020/21 season passes?

By pausing our season pass sales and limiting the number of passes and tickets we well overall, our goal is to safely and comfortably accommodate all of our passholder guests each day this winter, without a need for you to reserve your visit days in advance. That said, we can’t guarantee that we won’t need to introduce a reservation system for passholders at some point, because the coronavirus situation is constantly changing.

 

I have already purchased a season pass (in full or with payment plan) how does this change imact me?

There is no change at this time for season passholders who already purchased including those who utilized the payment plan. We will begin mailing passes at the end of this month. If you utilized the payment plan, your final payment will occur as scheduled on September 30th.

 

I wanted a season pass but cannot buy one now.  What are my options?

We’re using the word “pause” to describe our stop in season pass sales because it may turn out that, after further analysis and consultation with our local and county government partners, we have a little more space to add a few more passholders. We encourage you to keep checking your email, visit our website and follow our social media channels for the latest information.

If no additional passes become available, in a limited supply, guests seeking to visit the resort will need to purchase daily lift tickets in advance.

 

What if my child is on the Sugar Bowl Ski Team or enrolled in Sugar Bowl Academy?

Please contact the organization directly to discuss the impacts of this decision to children enrolled SBST and/or SBSTA.

 

Will season passes be going on-sale again?

We’re using the word “pause” to describe our stop in season pass sales because it may turn out that, after further analysis and consultation with our local and county government partners, we have a little more space to add a few more passholders. We encourage you to keep checking your email, visit our website and follow our social media channels for the latest information.

 

Can I upgrade my Midweek Pass to a Slightly Restricted or Unrestricted Pass? Can I upgrade my Slightly Restricted Pass to an Unrestricted Pass?.

Unfortunately we cannot allow any season pass upgrades while our pass sale is paused. The is because we've based our operating model on the current mix of Midweek, Slightly Restricted and Unrestricted passes sold. Any shifts in the mix could impact our planning model and reduce its accuracy.

 

I’m not pleased with this decision and would like a full refund.

While we are disappointed to hear this, we recognize that we have significantly changed the pass program after you purchased. Please complete this online form to request a refund.  Processing of refunds may take up to 10 business days.

 

What about Royal Gorge? It seems like cross country skiing is the ideal physically-distant winter activity. Are there limitations?

Due to a smaller base of passholders and the lack of chairlifts, we are able to continue selling Royal Gorge season passes at this time. It’s possible we may need to limit pass sales at Royal Gorge in the future, but that’s not something we anticipate as of today. While our trails at Royal Gorge are part of the most expansive Nordic trail network in North America, we must still be mindful of our staging capacity in our parking lots and lodge. The health of Royal Gorge guests and staff is a top priority just as it is as Sugar Bowl. Royal Gorge guests should be prepared to visit safely by wearing face coverings and maintaining appropriate physical distancing. 

Dear Passholders,

To say that COVID-19 has had a tremendous impact on almost every aspect of life as we know it is an understatement. We recognize this unique scenario has presented our passholders with previously unimaginable challenges, and we want to thank you for your loyalty and continued patience as we navigate these uncharted waters.   

After waiting for the extended high pressure to subside, the storm door finally opened mid-March only to be met with the escalating spread of COVID-19. With great reticence, we made the difficult decision, along with the rest of the industry, to suspend operations. We recognize that it was tough to see the fresh snow and not be able to experience it, but difficult decisions had to be made quickly for the safety of our guests and employees.

We took care of our seasonal employees by paying them through March to ensure they landed safely. We committed to retaining our full-time year-round staff and developed an industry-leading “Return to Work” plan for our essential employees when Stay-at-Home orders were initiated. These decisive actions were intended to help flatten the “curve” and make a difference in our community.  

Over the past several weeks we have been thinking deeply about next season and what the “new normal” may look like. Recognizing that most health professionals believe the virus could come back in winter, we want to take a cautious but optimistic approach to next season. Our team is working to develop operational plans that will be available to implement if health-related guidelines are required.  We will continue to provide you with updates as more details become available and as we get closer to the start of the season.

In the meantime, we want to assure you that our intention is to offer peace of mind when it comes to your season pass purchase. For this reason, we have extended the initial purchase deadline from May 31st to June 30th and we have made the following changes to our Season Pass Program for 2020/21:

 

100-Day Guarantee

Purchase with confidence knowing the same weather guarantee from last season, which assures you that the resort will provide lift-served access for at least 100-days, will be in place next season and also now provides protection for impacts from COVID-19.

2020/21 Season Passholders are Covered If:

• A shelter-in-place order at your primary residence prevents you from visiting the resort 100 days during the season.
• A state/county mandate prevents the resort from operating 100 days during the season.
• A lack of snowfall prevents the resort from operating 100 days during the season.

If we fall short of 100 days of operation, each day under 100 days that we do not operate will be applied as a 1% credit toward the purchase of a 2021/22 season pass. Some exclusions apply based on pass usage and pass type. The 100-Day Guarantee also includes trail access for Royal Gorge season passholders. Sugar Bowl is considered to be open if we have at least one detachable express lift operating for 3 or more hours. Royal Gorge is defined as open if at least 10km of groomed trail is available.

 

Daily Resort Access Assurance

If county, state or federal jurisdictions implement health-related guidelines that cause Sugar Bowl to limit daily visitation at the resort for passholders, and you decide this doesn’t work for you, we will honor a refund upon request. Refunds will be calculated based on length of season and pass usage.  The exact calculation can be found in our terms and conditions.  If such restrictions are implemented, passholders will have 30-days to request a refund from the day of notification.

 

Rewarding Your Loyalty

We understand that you may be reluctant to renew your season pass until the season gets closer. To thank you for your purchase, if you renew a season pass by October 31, 2020, Sugar Bowl will apply a resort credit of up to $150, based on pass type. This credit (approximately 20% of current pass rates) can be used beginning opening day of the 2020/21 season for food and beverages in resort cafes, retail, tuning and more.

 

New Pass Payment Plan

New this year, passholders may elect to pay for passes in three zero-interest installments to spread the purchase out over time. Guests will pay 50% at the time of purchase followed by two equal payments, automatically charged on August 31st and September 30th. Passholders must purchase by August 1 to qualify. Child passes (ages five and under) are not eligible for the Payment Plan.

While it’s difficult to know exactly what modifications to our operations will be necessary to continue to keep our guests and employees safe, we expect to open with physical distancing and other protocols in place. We also anticipate the need to adjust our winter operations schedule to match peak and non-peak visitation and demand.  

 

Peak Winter Operations:

• During Peak periods (Friday – Monday and holiday periods) we expect to operate all facilities and services at both the Village and Judah portals.
• We suggest that for services that tend to “sell out” such as hotel rooms, ski school and rentals that you make reservations well in advance.
• Village Gondola will operate 24 hours a day.

Non-Peak Winter Operations:

• Non-peak, mid-week operations (Tuesday through Thursday), will focus on lift operations and provide limited services. Subject to change.
• Lift operations will remain relatively unchanged. Crow’s Peak Chair will operate only as conditions permit, Summit Chair will operate on weekends and holidays when conditions permit.
• Services will include:
  • Private lessons available mid-week by advance reservation only.
  • Rentals and Retail will be available only at the Judah base area.
  • Midweek food services across the resort will be limited. Hours and menus will be reduced.  Judah Café, Nob Hill Café, and the Belt Room Bar will be open for lunch and après.
  • The Hotel will be closed Monday night through Wednesday night.
  • Village Gondola will operate 7am to 7pm.

We appreciate you being a Sugar Bowl | Royal Gorge passholder -- our passholders are vital to our community and to our future success. Lastly, we would like to thank you for respecting our request to avoid the ski area after the closure in March. Your support has kept our employees and staff safe and for that we are grateful. Thank you for your patience and understanding amidst this uncertainty and change. We look forward to making turns with you next winter when the snow starts flying!

 

Wishing you well,

 

 

Greg Dallas

President and CEO

Sugar Bowl | Royal Gorge

 

We would like to thank our 3 Pack guests for their patience and understanding as we were required to very quickly make tough, sweeping, and immediate actions to protect our guests, employees and our community as the COVID-19 situation rapidly evolved. The decision to close for the season has had a tremendous impact on our employees, our community, and undoubtedly, on you. With that in mind, we have attempted to find a solution that will offer value for unused days and welcome you back to Sugar Bowl when travel is viable.

Here’s what we are doing to provide value to you once we’re able to reopen next winter:

3 Packs
Because the season was cut short by a few weeks, we wanted to offer some flexibility for those who didn’t get to use their 3 Pack products in their entirety. As such, 2019-20 3 Packs with unused days will be honored from the start of the 2020-21 season through December 18, 2020. Packholders can go to a ticket window to redeem any unused days. Any remaining dates will expire after 12/18/20. No refunds or credits will be provided for 3 Packs, even if the pack was unused.

 

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Frequently Asked Questions:

Why are you not just refunding my season pass/3 Pack? 
We are committed to balancing what is fair to our guests with what is fiscally-responsible for the resort so we may continue to operate for seasons to come. Sugar Bowl is a proudly independent resort, with the two mega-conglomerates of the industry in our backyard. Unlike the big guys who are able to spread the impact of this closure across multiple properties, Sugar Bowl is wholly-owned thus absorbing the full impact of this closure.
Prior to closing due to the unusual, dynamic situation involving the coronavirus, Sugar Bowl Resort was open for 107 days this season. The duration of the season allowed ample time for pass and pack usage, and surpassed the commitment offered by our 100-Day Guarantee. With daily operations comes significant cost including labor, fuel, maintenance and much more.  We spend that money as part of our commitment to opening the resort daily, no matter the weather conditions, and our guests rely on that assurance.  As such, refunds for 2019-20 Sugar Bowl season pass and 3 Pack products are not available (as agreed upon at the time of purchase). 

Why are you only allowing me to use my 3 Pack until December 18th?
The season was cut short by a few weeks, thus we have added a few weeks to the beginning of the season for you to utilize your remaining days.

What if I am not able to use my 3 Pack during that period?
After December 18, 2020 any unused days remaining on 19/20 3 Packs will expire.