The Australian Epic Pass has expanded its offering to its Australian passholders by offering access to six Epic resorts in the Canadian Rockies. For the 23/24 Northern Hemisphere ski season, Australia passholders will get five days access across the resorts of Fernie, BC, Kicking Horse, BC, Kimberley, BC, Nakiska, AB, Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC, and Stoneham, QC.
For the 22/23 ski season, Australian Epic Pass customers only had ten days access to Whistler Blackcomb in Canada and no other Canadian ski resort. Meanwhile, US Epic customers have unlimited access to Whistler Blackcomb and received seven days across the aforementioned six Canadian Rockies resorts. Vail Resorts purchased Whistler Blackcomb in August 2016 and added it to the Epic Pass immediately.
“Whistralia”
Whistler has always been popular with Australian snowsport enthusiasts, and it is estimated that about 34% of the Whistler workforce in winter hails from Downunder. Australians are the second highest number of workers in Whistler with Canadians being the highest percentage with 53% and many Australians started referring to Whistler in winter as ‘Whistralia’. The annual migration of thousands of Australians to Canada is not new and has been going on for decades. The tradition at Whistler is in fact so strong the resort now celebrates a national Australian holiday, ‘Australia Day’ each year on January 26th.
Each year more than 250,000 Australians visit Canada, so the added five days to the six Canadian Rockies resorts might help attract some visitors away from Whistler and to some of the new Epic Australia partner resorts.
