REQUIRED PASSES
Dartmouth Skiway Season Pass (on sale in the fall)
Each athlete is responsible for his/her own Dartmouth Skiway season ski pass or daily lift ticket. Purchase a season pass by October 31st for best pricing! Consider buying a pass for the entire family. Skiing with other families while the kids are training is one of the best (and most fun) ways to strengthen the Ford Sayre Community.
Whaleback Training Pass (on sale in the fall)
To participate in Midweek Training athletes will need to purchase the Ford Sayre Training Pass at Whaleback for $295.00. This is different than Whaleback’s Mid-Week Pass, the FS Training Pass includes a hill fee, which is the cost that Whaleback charges FS Junior Racing and other clubs to use their trails for course setting and training.
RECOMMENDED FOR BIG MOUNTAIN DAYS*
Please note that Big Mountain Days are ALWAYS OPTIONAL; however, we strongly encourage attendance! Big Mountain Days have always been incredibly important to our program and the overall development of our athletes. They’re super fun, a chance for team bonding, and a great addition to what we can provide at the Skiway and Whaleback. We had really bad luck with weather last winter and could not offer the number of BMDs we anticipated. We will hope for a better 2022-23 winter season!!
We plan to ski at Burke for our Big Mountain Days. If Burke is not open in early December, we will do our best to find an alternative that provides good snow, terrain, and cost! Please decide what works best for your family.
Burke Mountain Kingdom Pass: Available to grade school and high school students attending school in Caledonia, Orleans, and Essex Counties of Vermont or in the Coos and Grafton Counties of New Hampshire. All students must show proof of current residency and enrollment status at pass pick-up. For MCS kids this pass deal unfortunately does not apply. (Please note that ALL season pass rates go up on June 30th.)
5th Grade VT Pass: We recommend all 5th graders (VT & NH) get the VT 5th grade pass. For only $20, 5th gr
aders receive 3 vouchers at each participating VT ski resort (including Burke). It’s a great deal!
Single-day tickets/Indy Pass Add-on/Online deals are always an option.
COLORADO TRIP PASS:
***Colorado is optional and all info can be found here***
A-Basin Fall Pass (parents must purchase for the child in advance) A-Basin Fall Pass is ONLY $99 for ages (6-14) We ski at least 4 days at A-Basin during our Colorado trip, so this pass works out to about $25 a day! For families who choose to ski with Ikon, A-Basin is included. Coaches will purchase day-of group tickets if/when we ski at Loveland.
*FAQ: WHY DON’T WE GET AN EPIC OR IKON PASS AS A TEAM FOR BIG MOUNTAIN DAYS?
Answer: A Short History on the Epic Pass
When both Arapahoe Basin and Stowe Resort went Epic at the start of the 2017-18 winter season, it made economic sense to have our U14 and U12 families purchase passes to use as a team during our November Colorado camp and our Big Mountain Days (BMD) throughout the season. We certainly got our money’s worth. The Epic pass surely made BMD planning easier. Plus, Epic passes provide great options for family skiing beyond the Ford Sayre season.
Things have changed since 2018. The Ikon pass was introduced and some families now prefer this option. In addition, trails at these larger resorts have become more crowded, the lift lines have grown, cars are turned away on access roads, and Stowe, one of our favorite and most frequented big mountains, will now charge for parking! We do not feel it makes sense to determine an Epic or Ikon option for over 60 families in the U12/14 alpine program.