Vail Resorts has pushed its standard adult Epic Pass to $1,089 for the 2026-27 season, a new record high, while simultaneously rolling out its first-ever discount specifically for skiers and riders ages 13 to 30.
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The company confirmed the pricing in a press release from its newsroom and in a filing with investors. The $1,089 full-price Epic Pass is up from roughly $1,050 the prior season, extending a years-long streak of annual increases that has drawn little organized resistance from pass holders.
A New Discount Aimed at Gen Z
For the first time, Vail Resorts is offering 20% off full-price Epic and Epic Local passes to anyone between the ages of 13 and 30. That discount brings the Epic Pass down to $869 and the Epic Local Pass down to $649 for eligible young skiers and riders, according to the company’s announcement.
Guests ages 13 to 30 who bought lift tickets at Vail Resorts properties during the 2025-26 season can stack an additional $175 off, which can bring the Epic Pass as low as $694 and the Epic Local Pass as low as $474.
The $1,089 price tag continues a pattern. Vail Resorts’ full-price Epic Pass sat at roughly $1,050 for the 2025-26 season, meaning the company has again raised prices even as it carves out its first age-based discount, a combination one regional outlet, the Sierra Sun, described as hitting new highs “despite” the new break for younger skiers.
- $1,089: new record price for the standard adult Epic Pass, 2026-27 season
- 20% off: new discount on Epic and Epic Local passes for ages 13-30
- $869 and $649: discounted Epic and Epic Local prices for that age group
“The future of the sport depends on the next generation of skiers and riders, and it is our responsibility to create a more accessible pathway for them well into young adulthood,” Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz said in the company’s announcement.
Vail Resorts operates dozens of mountains across North America and Europe, including Vail, Breckenridge, Park City and Whistler Blackcomb, and the Epic Pass has become the industry’s benchmark multi-resort season pass. The new young-adult tier suggests the company is betting that keeping skiing affordable for people in their teens, 20s and early 30s matters more to its long-term business than the headline price it charges everyone else.
For a family with a skier over 30 and a teenager, the new structure means two very different price tags on the same credit card statement this fall, full record pricing for one, and a fifth of that knocked off for the other. Whether that split pricing becomes the norm across the ski industry, or stays a Vail Resorts-specific experiment, will likely depend on how many young skiers actually buy in this season.
