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Schenectady Wintersports Club Northern New York Paddlers Mohawk Valley Hiking Club Newsletters September 2026 |
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This time of year is an interesting combination of the conclusion of summer activities with the overlapping of fall activities just getting underway. I hope your planning to attend our annual picnic / fall business meeting on September 19. Ed and Kim will be there with club kayaks and canoes to provide activity before we enjoy the catered lunch Bill Romania has arranged. Be sure to register for this so Bill has a headcount for the caterer. October follows with several events of interest. Last year we participated in the Maple Ski Ridge Fall Festival for the first time. We will be there again this year and will offer, for the second year, chances for a scholarship providing a lesson package at Maple. For so many of us Maple holds a special connection as a local mountain where many have learned to ski in the area where SWC was born. The scholarship drawing will take place at the conclusion of the Winter Expo in Saratoga later in the month, where SWC will also have a presence for the weekend. Squeezed between those two events members have an opportunity to join in the work weekend at the Clubhouse in Stowe. These weekends offer opportunities to spruce up the house and spend time with friends. Register for all or part of the weekend. Check you inbox as the picnic and work weekend notices are already out and the Fall Festival and Winter Expo will soon follow. Hope to see you soon.
Karen |
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Help Keep 90+ Years of Tradition Alive!
SWC isn't just about skiing, it's also about community. From the Slopes to the Socials, we've always been powered by members who pitch in and make it all happen. Join the fun by Volunteering.
We need ski trip leaders! Contact Rick Cobello. Michael Schaefer will provide Training. Contact Mike for more information.
Hosted Weekends: A long standing SWC tradition.
Members are encouraged to host as a way to get to know other members and to contribute to one of the long standing traditions of SWC. |
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Reminder: Room Rates for 2026-2027 Ski Season The SWC Board has set the standard room rates for the Waterbury clubhouse based on the number of adults in the room as follows: First person staying in the room $50
Second person (in same room) $45
Third - fifth person (in same room) $40
Dorm room third floor beds per person $40 Examples: 1. Room 11 sleeps up to 3 people - booking for 3 adults is charged as follows: $50 +45 + 40 = $135 per night 2. Room 13 sleeps up to 2 people - a booking for one adult is charged as $50 per night Rates are increasing based on several factors including capital expenditures, higher maintenance fees and costs in general increasing. We are also trying to achieve greater occupancy in rooms that sleep more than one person. |
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All Hands On Deck!
Member Team Weekend is October 15, 16, 17, & 18. Here’s your opportunity to strut your stuff. We need carpenters, electricians, window washers, painters, floor cleaners, window lubricators, picture hangers, weed whackers, and good story tellers.
Everyone is counting on us to make the Clubhouse ready for another great ski season. Come join the comradery of fellow members who make it possible for our unique asset, the Clubhouse at Waterbury Center, which makes SWC special.
Sign up on SWCWEB.org by using the link below. And bring another member with you! Register for Work Weekend HERE!
Just a sample of tasks at hand:
- Replace the decaying back door to the deck and install a new electronic deadbolt.
- Install a 12” valance between kitchen and dining room as a smoke barrier.
- Replace the furnace filters.
- Fix the open ground on the balcony outlets.
- Fix doorbell wiring.
- Desk corner wall insulation and trim.
- Rehang historical pictures in dining area.
- Paint Rooms 31 and 32.
- Poly new wood ceiling in entry.
- Lube aluminum storm window closures.
- Mop bedroom floor.
Looking forward to seeing a full house as many hands make the workload light.
Don |
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Painting the Clubhouse Thank you Marc Wagoner and Don Streed! |
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Is there membership interest in coordinating some cross country ski activities?
The response to this question might create an email list that could receive weekly or “ occasional “ news of ski conditions, places to ski, or simple no obligation “meet up” events where skiers could share some time on a trail. If this idea is of any interest to you the reader please call Will Seyse at 518 369-4254 or email him at wseyse@nycap.rr.com
As this is just a possibility at this point your call or email could vary from a “ yes please put me on the list” to a “ if you are going to try something like that I think you should include such & such…”. Let’s discuss this a little to flesh out the idea to decide its purpose and value.
A lot of cross country skiing is done close to home for a short period of time and may not lend itself to a larger group effort. Spontaneity often takes precedence over an event planned days or weeks in advance. Think snow, and think of contacting me.
Will Seyse 518-369-4254 wseyse@nycap.rr.com |
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Grindelwald, Switzerland Sunday River, Maine Telluride, Colorado See Ski Trips for more information.
We need ski trip leaders! Contact Rick Cobello. Michael Schaefer will provide Training. Contact Mike for more information.
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The SWC Members Guide to Multi-resort Passes for 2026-2027 Season
Updated September 1, 2026 By Bill Romania
Most ski passes offer some form of discount for early purchase with the best prices and selection usually in the Spring. Many of the passes still offer savings during the summer with Labor Day the cut off. If you haven’t already bought your pass or are considering a second, now is the time to research and purchase your pass if you haven’t already.
There are many articles online comparing passes but few that focus on the areas that are most relevant to our SWC membership which is predominantly in the Northeast. This summary and guide will focus upon passes that include resorts in Eastern NY and the New England region for adults, children and seniors. By design, we will not investigate passes that either do not include major resorts in the Northeast or only include a few minor resorts. Thus, the Powder Alliance, Freedom Pass and Cooper Pass are not covered, nor are the various Epic and Ikon local passes that only feature western resorts.
I highly recommend you use this guide as just that; a guide to the passes and resorts that appear to be the best fit with your ski season plans, budget and location. The more you research pass prices, benefits, options and restrictions, the wiser your final choice will be.
Lastly, some of our regional resorts have been in a state of flux, specifically Smuggler’s and Burke. They have finalized their offerings and are worth a look given Smuggler’s proximity to the SWC house.
There is also a new pass this year, the Snow Pass, from the same company offering the Snow Triple Play that may be of value to our members.
The Big Ones
Vail Resorts offers four Epic passes that are relevant to our region but only two offer age-related discounts. https://www.epicpass.com/
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Epic Pass: The most comprehensive in terms of both days and resorts accessible.
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Epic Local Pass: The same resorts as the more expensive Epic Pass but with blackout dates at the most popular resorts and limited days at some western resorts.
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Northeast Value Pass: Excludes all Canadian, international and western Vail resorts but offers unlimited access to all others except for blackout dates at Mt Snow, Okemo and Hunter and limits access to Stowe to ten days. One of only two relevant Epic passes that offers a reasonable discount to seniors 65-79.
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Northeast Value Senior Pass (80+): Vail only offers this for at-resort purchase or supposedly via the phone at 970-754-0004. Pricing and availability is not available on the website. Expect the same restrictions as the Northeast Value Pass.
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Northeast Midweek Value Pass: Excludes all Vail owned resorts in the West, Canada and internationally. Valid mid weeks with blackouts at Mt Snow, Okemo and Hunter and limited to only 5 days at Stowe. The second of two relevant Epic passes with a senior discount.
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Young Adults: Vail now offers adults between 19 and 30 years of age the same price as teenagers, a 20% discount on the full adult price, but only on the full Epic and Epic Local passes.
Alterra Resorts offers several Ikon passes that are relevant to our region and some interesting cooperative agreements with their partner resorts. Altera only owns a few major resorts, 12 to be specific, but they are very popular ones. The remaining resorts accessible via the IKON passes are partners. Access to those partners and the most popular Alterra-owned resorts varies dramatically across the IKON passes. https://www.ikonpass.com/ There are no specific senior discounts for IKON passes but there is a back door to discounts via the partner resorts.
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IKON Pass: This provides access to all Altera owned and partner resorts without blackout dates. Access to partner resorts and some of the most popular Alterra-owned resorts is limited to 7 days. A recent perk is the addition of up to two days at non-IKON resorts, including Butternut, Jiminy Peak and Cranmore in the Northeast. I suspect this is an experiment to convince these resorts to join the Alterra partner program more than a perk for the full price passholders.
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IKON Base Pass: This used to be the best value IKON pass because it got you into all the same resorts as the full IKON pass, just with blackout dates and usually 5 versus 7 days at partner resorts. That changed in the last few years and Base Pass holders no longer have any access to popular owned and partner resorts such as Deer Valley, Jackson Hole, Sun Valley, Snowbasin, Alta and Aspen beyond Snowmass. If none of those resorts are in your plans, this may still be the best IKON pass for you.
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Northeastern IKON Partner passes:
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Killington: The most expensive Killington pass, the Beast 365, includes an IKON Base Pass with the option to upgrade to the full IKON Pass. It is also one of the few passes that offers a discount for both young adults and seniors. If you plan to ski more than 7 days at Killington and frequent other IKON resorts, this may be the best pass for you. https://killington.com/beast-365-pass
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Sunday River, Sugarloaf, Loon and Pleasant Mountains: Boyne Resorts, owner of these four mountains plus six others in North America, offers two passes that can be upgraded to include an IKON pass
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New England Pass: Offers varying degrees of access to their New England resorts at the Gold and Silver levels. The Gold level can be upgraded to an IKON but the price and limitations are not visible on the website. https://www.sundayriver.com/season-passes/new-england-pass
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Boyne Passport: Unlimited access to all ten Boyne resorts and upgradable to an IKON pass for $799 full and $299 for the base passes. Only a token discount for those 65+ but a major discount for the 80+ crowd.https://www.boyneresorts.com/passport
The Others
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The Indy Pass: Limited to two days at 300 resorts, some of which are Nordic. This is a great pass if you aren’t tied to a location such as a family or vacation home but problematic because the pass sells out quickly and new customers must endure a waiting list without knowing if they will be able to purchase a pass. There are no discounts for seniors but you can purchase a discounted full-access senior pass at a partner resort and add-on the Indy Pass.
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The Indy Add-On Pass is a variation on the various IKON partner add-on passes. If you own a full access pass at an Indy partner resort, you can add on an Indy pass for a very low price. A great value but again the waiting list makes planning difficult.
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Learn To Turn Pass is an exceptional value for those just starting or restarting skiing because it includes rentals but again it is sold out and subject to a waiting list.
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To learn more, go to https://www.indyskipass.com/shop
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The Snow Pass and Snow Triple Play: The parent company Snow Operating has offered the Snow Triple Play for a few years. It isn’t so much a pass as a bundle of three heavily discounted tickets. For $179.99, riders can use those three tickets for a maximum of two days at 23 areas mostly in the Northeast. Quebec and NY dominate the list with a scattering in Maine, New Hampshire and Nova Scotia. Notable for the Capital District and SWC members are the inclusion of Jiminy Peak and Butternut in the Berkshires. The Snow Pass is new for the 2026/2027 season. Modeled after the Indy Pass, it offers up two days of access at each of 14 resorts and the option to buy additional days for 30% off. At $399.99 it may be a good deal especially if you live in Northeastern NY state because NY state areas dominate the list at 5 of the 14, most notably ORDA’s three plus Oak Mountain. The other NY area is Holimont, a small area south of Buffalo. Two small areas in the West are included, neither of which are large enough to warrant a ski vacation from the East. I suspect they are only included because the parent company owns them. Unlike the Indy Pass, there are no indications of limits on sales. I would expect the list of Snow Pass resorts to expand over time to include more of the areas included in the Snow Triple Play.
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The Mountain Collective: Similar to the Indy Pass, access is limited to 2 days at each resort. There are only 27 resorts in the collective. The resorts are quite desirable and well-known but they heavily skew to the Western US and Canada. There are only four in the Northeast: Whiteface, Sugarloaf, Sunday River and Le Massif. https://mountaincollective.com/
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SKI3 Pass: If you live west of Vermont and in reasonable proximity to the I-90 or I-87 interstates, this pass is hard to beat. The “3 “in the name refers to the three ski areas owned and operated by ORDA; Whiteface, Gore and Belleayre. Historically ORDA’s management of the mountains was mediocre, to be kind, but they seem to have gotten their act together in recent years. The SKI3 Pass comes in 12 variations with significant discounts for buying early and renewing. The passes for 20-somethings and mid weeks are attractive but the best value by far is for the 70+ skier at only $389 before August 5 which renews for only $339. Whiteface isn’t the most accessible and Belleayre may be too far south for many of our members but Gore is one of the closest large mountains to the Capital District. The pass can be researched and purchased at the websites of any of the three resorts. https://goremountain.com/tickets-passes/ https://whiteface.com/tickets-passes/ https://www.belleayre.com/tickets/
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White Mountain Super Pass: Alternatively, if you live on the east side of Vermont, this pass may work for you. The resorts are Waterville Valley, Bretton Woods, Cranmore and Cannon. The pass isn’t cheap but it provides access to four major resorts without any restrictions. There is no discount for seniors or young adults. https://whitemountainsuperpass.com/
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Ragged Stash Pass: Ragged is lovely mid-sized mountain in Danbury, New Hampshire. Ragged is owned by Pacific Resorts Group so a pass here gets you some sort of access to their two Western and two Mid-Atlantic resorts but the real value for SWC members is the 5 free days at Jay Peak. The 50% discount at their New England Reciprocal Resorts partners doesn’t hurt either: Dartmouth Skiway, Granite Gorge, Pats Peak, McIntyre, Whaleback and Butternut. https://www.raggedmountainresort.com/Season-Passes/
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Burke/Smugglers Notch Pass: Now under the same ownership, most passes are good at both resorts. Passes are offered in tiers with Tier 2 now on sale until Labor Day. The premier pass is the Core Season Pass, which are good at both resorts. Kids 5 and under as well as those 80+ ski for free. Seniors, defined as 70-79, ski for only $299 at both, one of the best 70+ deals in the East. Burke and Smugglers plan to limit day ticket sales during peak periods to maintain a safe and comfortable experience but passes will always be honored. More details and options are available at https://www.smuggs.com/tickets-passes/season-passes/ https://www.skiburke.com/tickets-passes/winter-season-pass
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AIM High Season Pass: Berkshire East and Catamount have opted out of the Berkshire Summit Pass with Bousquet for 26/27 and instead offer the AIM (Authentic Independent Mountains) High Season Pass. The AIM High pass includes unlimited day and night skiing at both Schaeffer family-owned Berkshire East and Catamount. The additional benefits are impressive: Two free days each at Jay Peak and Burke Mountain all season long and unlimited free midweek skiing at Burke from March thru the end of the season. Seniors, defined as 60-79, pay the same price as 7-18-year old’s, a saving of $150 from the adult rate. https://berkshireeast.com/winter/season-passes
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Ski Vermont 4Pass: This isn’t so much a pass as a four pack of deeply discounted tickets to four different Vermont resorts sold via a lottery. The participating Vermont resorts are not public yet, nor are the blackout dates. The price is $220 plus tax and available to anyone residing anywhere. The lottery date will be announced in September. For more information, go to https://skivermont.com/ski-vermont-4-pass/ . I’ve seen no mention of age-related discounts in any of the marketing materials.
Seniors Summary
80+ Skiers and Riders: Many of the passes, notably not including IKON, offer free or nearly free skiing for skiers and riders 80 and over. There are many options also at specific ski areas. It may be most effective to identify where you plan to ski and contact the resorts directly regarding access and prices.
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Epic: Vail does offer some of their regional passes, including the Northeast Value Senior Pass for 80+ but they must be purchased at the ski area or over the phone and pricing is not visible on the website.
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IKON: The only way to get a senior discount is to buy a full season senior pass at a partner resort and then add on the IKON pass. Some do not offer this benefit so check the fine print before committing.
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Smugglers Notch/Burke: Skiing is free for those over 80. I’d expect to have to show proof of age in person to get the pass so be prepared.
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Ragged Mountain Stash Pass: Only $49 for the 80+ crowd with no other discounts for younger seniors.
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AIM High (Berkshire East and Catamount) Free for the 80+ crowd with the full benefits of the adult pass.
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New England Pass (Boyne Resorts): Only $30 for what they call super seniors (80+) but that only gets you access to the resorts without any other perks or benefits.
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Boyne Legends Passport: This 80+ pass is pricey at $1,200 but that is a $1,700 savings over the adult pass.
70+ Skiers and Riders:
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SKI3 Gore, Whiteface and Belleayre: See above for pricing.
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Smugglers/Burke: The current rate is $299, a $400 savings over the normal adult pass so a major saving. Again, verify with the resort before committing.
65+ Skiers and Riders:
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Boyne Passport: Only a $100 savings versus the full pass.
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Killington Beast 365 Pass: 65+ skiers and riders save $400 versus the adult price with all the same perks. The upgrade to the full IKON pass is the same price for all pass holders over 19. https://killington.com/beast-365-pass
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EPIC Northeast Value: See above.
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EPIC Northeast Midweek: See above.
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New England Pass (Boyne Resorts): 65-79 pass holders save $400 versus the adult pass with all the same access and benefits.
60+ Skiers and Riders:
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To purchase IKON and EPIC passes, click here.
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Now is the time to hit the ski shops if you are considering a major purchase. I realize that seems counter-intuitive given the number of late season sales we’ve all witnessed but there is more at stake than just discounts on last season’s gear.
2026/2027 equipment and clothing inventory is coming into shops daily. Those shops will have the broadest selection of models and sizes that they will have all year and once it’s sold, there are no chances to reorder. The reason for this is how the industry operates. Last spring all the shops placed their orders, frequently at the big industry shows. The manufacturers like Lange or Head set their production quotas and produce as close to the amount as possible over the summer. Because of the high cost of running their production lines and inventory, they rarely produce any excess or restart production after the season starts. Manufacturers then ship to non-resort shops in August; in October to resort shops. A resort shop is a retailer located on-premise at a resort. The logic being that the resort shops really can’t sell anything until they open whereas other shops will have traffic to sell too much earlier.
This is a big deal if you are boot shopping because common sizes, known in footwear as ‘belly’ sizes after the large bump in the middle of a normal distribution of sizes, are the first to sell out. Also very small and very large sizes can also sell out early given how few are usually ordered. The same applies if you are looking for very large or small clothing size, esoteric ski models or just a model that is hard to find in your size.
This time of year is also when shops start their kids (and adult) lease programs. Getting your kids outfitted early has many benefits including having access to the broadest array of models and sizes. Some shops even offer incentives for leasing early. Ski Essentials in Stowe (the re-branded Pinnacle) is offering both a coupon at Picasso Pizza and a gift certificate for future purchases at Ski Essentials.
Remember those big orders of ski equipment coming in in August? Well they have to be paid for usually within 30 days. So shops will be doing everything they can to generate cash. That’s why you will see a proliferation of Labor Day sales, discounts for bundling a ski and binding purchase and other benefits. Their online stores, like SkiEssentials.com, will offer an even wider array of deals and discounts, including older and niche equipment like last-years race skis. After this early season splash, don’t expect to see discounts again until the season is winding down in the Spring.
Winter is coming, in a good way!
Bill Romania |
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You asked and we delivered.
The Schenectady Wintersports Club has officially opened a merchandise store for members. Please take a look. There are 15 items to start. Your feed back is critical for expanding the store. Ordering instructions are on the SWC webpage. You can pick up the items in Ballston Spa or have them delivered for an addition charge.
Any suggestions or items for consideration, please contact Rick Cobello |
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ADK Canoe Classic 90 Miler - Sept 11-13
Click here for NNYP Race Results
For information on canoe and kayak races across NYS visit NYPRA.ORG
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President's Column
Saturday August 29th was a great day for a hike, and several of us joined for the trek up Vrooman’s Nose in Middleburgh, arranged by Mike Schaefer. If you’ve never experienced the Nose I suggest you put it on your list of hikes to complete. It’s a short hike, great for families and quite popular. The view at the large flat rock area is magnificent and we happened to enjoy that view exactly 15 years and 1 day after the flood waters of Irene had devastated the valley. Our hiking group consisted of a blend of familiar faces and those we had never met before. Nice job Mike, I’m looking forward to the next hikes you have planned. Bill |
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For a printable version of this Newsletter click here Click here for SWC Members Guide to Multi-Resort Passes for 2026-2027 Season |
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