Sweet Spring Deals from Indy Pass and Others

The Indy Pass, the ski pass that gives you two days of access to each of 63 independent ski areas around the country, just added two major New England resorts. In late February Indy Pass announced it was adding Saddleback, Me. and Waterville Valley, N.H. and that current passholders can ski there this season.

Saddleback will charge $10 a day for Indy Pass holders for his season. At Waterville Valley, there is no surcharge. Next season both ski areas will be part of the regular Indy Pass which has included Magic Mountain, Suicide Six, Bolton Valley and Jay Peak in its Vermont line-up as well as 8 other ski areas around New England, including Cannon Mountain.

A regular season pass is $259 but if you want to ski after March 1, a spring pass is now on sale for $149 for adults and $69 for kids 12 and under. Some blackout dates apply at Bolton Valley. The pass is only good for two days at each resort so is best for skiers who like to sample different areas.

Saddleback came back to life this year under new ownership after a 5-year hiatus and has already become a favorite of skiers who are willing to make the trek to Rangely, Me. for what are often some of the best conditions in New England. The resort has plans for more terrain expansion, new lifts, a solar farm, upgrades to the base lodge and a mid-mountain lodge for weddings and events.

Waterville Valley has long been one of the largest and most popular resorts in New Hampshire. Other New England areas on the Indy Pass include: Cannon Mountain, Pat’s Peak, and Black Mountain in New Hampshire; Berkshire East and Catamount in Massachusetts and Mohawk Mountain in Connecticut.

This makes the Indy Pass, with 12 ski areas in New England alone, the biggest ski pass in the region in terms of the number of ski areas it grants access to. Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass provides access to 8 resorts in New England and four more in the mid-Atlantic. Indy Pass also has 13 ski areas in the mid-Atlantic region and as far south as Tennessee and West Virginia.

The impact on Vermont’s ski areas could be significant as the pass becomes more attractive to skiers in the metro Boston and Portland, Me. areas.

That’s not the only sweet spring deal around, though: Killington is offering its Nor’beaster pass for just $249 if you buy it before March 15. The pass is good at Killington and Pico from March 15 through the end of the season — and at Killington, that season and often run until June 1.

Watch too as next year’s season passes start to come on sale. Traditionally, several ski areas have let you ski this season on a 2021-22 pass.

Photo: Deep in the trees at Maine’s Saddleback.