Highway 2 washed out due to flooding last week. Now skiers can’t drive to Stevens Pass, and it could be months until the road’s fixed.
SKYKOMISH, Wash. — Last week’s floods left Stevens Pass completely inaccessible, just as the resort was preparing to open after a delayed season. Now Vail Resorts, the owner of the ski resort, is standing firm: season passes are non-refundable, regardless of the road closure.
“Our Epic Coverage refund policy does not extend to road or traffic challenges,” the resort said in an Instagram post. “Of course, we will continue to assess the entire situation as it evolves.”
The company emphasized that lift tickets are fully refundable, but season passes are not. “Our Passes are not refundable because they are valid all season long, and we plan to open for skiing and riding as soon as snow conditions permit,” the post stated.
Vail Resorts offers two main season pass options: the Epic Pass, which can cost over $1,000 depending on age and provides access to multiple Vail mountains across North America, and the Epic Local Pass, which typically costs around $400 and provides access to Stevens Pass only. Both offer unlimited skiing and riding throughout the season. Current pricing is unavailable, as the company has stopped selling passes online.
Vail’s policy does extend refunds for natural disasters, including flooding. Highway 2 was washed out due to flooding. Governor Bob Ferguson said it could be months until the road is fixed.
Yet the company is not budging on season pass refunds for road closures.
The company has not returned KING 5’s request for comment as of Monday evening.
The Washington State Department of Transportation is working on access to Stevens Pass from the east side through Leavenworth and Chumstick Highway—a roughly four-hour journey from Seattle. But for most pass holders living near Seattle, that detour makes Stevens Pass impractical.
Consequently, some pass holders have turned to Snoqualmie Pass, about 50 minutes from Seattle. The mountain had its opening day at Summit West on Monday and reported good snow conditions.
“The drive to Stevens is not worth it,” Epic season pass holder Alayna Gagnier said after skiing at Summit West. “This is 50 minutes from Seattle. This is a much better drive anyway.”
Gagnier isn’t banking on a refund from Vail. Instead, she plans to use her Epic pass to visit Whistler Blackcomb in Canada. But next year, she said, she’ll switch to the Ikon pass, which covers The Summit at Snoqualmie.
“They really need to do something or they’re going to lose customers,” she said.
Not everyone agrees that refunds are warranted. Sean Leaming, who was skiing at Snoqualmie, offered a different perspective: “Those who ski a lot will get their money’s worth. They’ll go every weekend, if not more. It doesn’t take too many trips to make it worth it.”
Vail Resorts has stated it will continue to assess the situation as it evolves but has not indicated plans to modify its refund policy.
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