With a flashing billboard and ice sculpture at the Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show, the newest Goliath in the ski resort industry on Thursday unveiled a new ski pass that could rival Vail Resorts’ wildly popular Epic Pass.

The Ikon Pass is a collaboration of resorts unified to unseat the dominance of the 750,000 Epic Passes sold by Vail Resorts.

The new Alterra Mountain Co., which formed last year by corralling a dozen top-tier destination ski resorts, forged the pass, offering a blend of limited and unlimited skiing on 50,000 acres across 23 resorts in nine states and three Canadian provinces. The Ikon Pass will include coveted resorts such as Aspen Snowmass (the marketing name for Aspen Skiing Co.’s four mountains), Wyoming’s Jackson Hole Mountain and Utah’s Alta and Snowbird, according to Thursday’s announcement, but it was not clear how much skiing at those and other resorts will be offered and under what restrictions. Pricing also was not disclosed.

The new pass replaces the Rocky Mountain SuperPass, which will not be offered for 2018-19. The popular Mountain Collective pass will continue for 2018-19.

The pass differentiates between Alterra’s ski areas and 11 partners. Aspen Skiing Co.’s Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass ski areas are not listed among Alterra’s destinations but Aspen Snowmass is called a partner and its mountains are included in the pass. Alterra lists its resorts as Steamboat, Winter Park, California’s Squaw Valley-Alpine Meadows, Mammoth Mountain, June Mountain and Big Bear Mountain Resort, Vermont’s Stratton, West Virginia’s Snowshoe, Canada’s Tremblant and Blue Mountain, Utah’s Deer Valley Resort and CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer. When the company formed last year with the acquisition of Intrawest Corp. and Mammoth Resorts, it was announced by Aspen Skiing and is led by former Aspen executive David Perry.

Aspen is now described as a partner, but it appears to be more of an investor. Aspen’s owners, the Crown Family of Chicago, joined Denver investment firm KSL Capital Partners to fund the new enterprise.

The Ikon Pass partners are Aspen Snowmass, Copper Mountain, Eldora, Jackson Hole, Montana’s Big Sky, Vermont’s Killington, Maine’s Sunday River and Sugarloaf, New Hampshire’s Loon Mountain and Utah’s famed Alta and Snowbird.

Details about specific limitations were not announced Thursday. Do not assume which resorts — partners or Alterra destinations — will offer limited or unlimited skiing, said Alterra spokeswoman Kristin Rust. That’s all getting figured out. In coming weeks, the Denver-based company will outline specifics of the Ikon Pass, which will be offered for sale this spring.

Aspen Skiing chief Mike Kaplan, in a statement, said: “We are excited to be connected with these destinations and look forward to being part of this extended family.”

Alta, the powder paradise up Utah’s famed Little Cottonwood Canyon, joins that family, giving Ikon Pass holders two resorts — Alta and Deer Valley — that ban snowboarders.

“We feel that Alta’s authentic skiing experience in a natural mountain environment complements the Ikon Pass network of aspirational skiers and the other iconic destinations in the Ikon Pass community,” said Alta president and general manager Mike Maughan in a statement.

Stephen Kircher’s Boyne Resorts joined Alterra, offering his family-owned company’s Big Sky, Loon, Sunday River and Sugarloaf as part of the new pass.

“The Ikon Pass offers an unparalleled, convenient experience for the ultimate outdoor adventurer,” Kircher said in a statement. Related Articles Vail Resorts CEO says reservation system could be lifted during season if it proves unnecessary

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Alterra corralled Utah’s Powdr Corp. to join the effort, including its Killington, Copper Mountain and Eldora ski areas as part of the Ikon Pass. Absent was Crested Butte, which has been part of the Rocky Mountain SuperPass.

The family-owned Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, renowned for its legendary steeps and independent spirit, like Aspen Snowmass offers unlimited access season passes for close to $2,000. It would be surprising to see those ski areas join a discounted pass program that allows unlimited access. But it was surprising in 2008 when Vail Resorts offered its unlimited Epic Pass for around $600, a discount of close to $1,200 off the previous years’ season passes to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone. That pass has fueled spectacular growth for Vail Resorts’ stock.

The resorts unified under the Ikon Pass banner have labored under the dominance of Vail Resorts, the publicly held behemoth whose annual season pass sales probably exceeds the total sales of all other season passes in the U.S. The Ikon Pass aims to change that.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to collaborate with some of the world’s finest destinations, creating truly unique mountain experiences,” Snowbird boss Dave Fields said in a statement.