We’ve reached the point in the ski season where the discussion has turned to next year’s pass options. Both Vail and Alterra have announced the pricing for next year. I was shocked, shocked, to see that prices have gone up again.  Epic Passes are up about 7%, which is pretty typical, and I’m sure is commensurate with a 7% increase in the quality of the experience there. Deer Valley’s price increase is a lot steeper on the full season. They have added a couple of new pass products that look interesting. The full season Senior has increased by about $400, or around 18%.  The adult pass is $3,400, including the Ikon, plus tax. That’s a lot, and while there will be even more terrain open next year with the expansion, there’s only so much skiing you can do in a year. The DV Unlimited Pass is the Range Rover of ski passes, with no blackout days, and some freebies like a day at Alta, Brighton and Snowbird. It’s got all the bells and whistles.At the other end, DV is offering a new Utah Limited pass for $1,400. It’s the 10-year-old Subaru of ski passes (still double the Epic Local) allowing access to Deer Valley Monday through Thursday, with blackouts on all the Monday holidays and a couple of random periods in March. Coupled with the Friday-Sunday exclusion, it basically takes half of March off the table.  There’s also a Select Pass that allows weekend access, but with the same large blackout periods around the holidays and March. That one is $2,900.These two new passes are a nice gesture to local skiers, but also a recognition that Fridays are now as messed up as the weekends, and that when push comes to shove —as now often does — they would prefer to have the destination guests on the mountain. Local skiers are kind of in the way of the customers who pay $350/day for a pass and $200 each on food and beverage. It’s not locals paying $1,500 for cocktails in a tent. That’s what corporate skiing has done. It used to be that local season pass holders were the financial lifeline that got the resorts open for the season. The work-for-pass programs kept the places fully staffed. Taking care of locals was taking care of business.  Now local skiers are clogging up the lift lines for people burning through real money on ski instructors, hotels and food. Locals are welcome Monday through Thursday, excluding holidays and most of March. But please, no duct-taped locals for the holidays.The Epic Local Pass is $783 plus tax, with blackouts. The price difference between the Epic Local and the Deer Valley Unlimited begs the question whether the experience at Deer Valley is really four times better than Park City Mountain. I have both passes, and the answer seems to be “yes.”  I’ve had some kind of a pass at PCMR almost every year since 1964, and love it. The year of the infamous $9 hotdog soured me on the operation. I gave it another chance, and it partially rebounded. This year’s chaotic opening with an unforgivable posture towards employees that resulted in the strike — well, that sealed the deal. I won’t be back. Next year will be a tipping point in local skiing. Lurking in the background of any pass decision is the great unknown over parking. Even a free pass is no bargain if you can’t get there to use it.  Deer Valley plans be under construction at Snow Park more or less the day after closing. Parking next year will be about half what it is now, pushing the traffic to Keetley and Richardson Flat. Nobody has said DV will charge for parking next year, but they haven’t said that they won’t. Maybe they don’t know yet. The Snow Park base area will be a mud pit next year in any event, which bookends the mud pit at Keetley. It’s hard to make a decision on a pass without knowing if there is a $2,000 parking cost tagged on.Parking at the PCMR base is already complicated and expensive, which is part of why I don’t use it. Next year, the Canyons parking will be torn up for construction of a new multi-story parking garage, which they claim will be open for ski season. Construction is supposed to start next week.  Given the cost of structured parking, it’s a sure bet that parking will eventually cost at Canyons, PC, and Snow Park. So add that to the cost of the pass, or factor in an extra hour a day for the Richardson Flat experience. The city still hasn’t put up any kind of a sign at the entrance to the parking lot. It seems like something that said, “Welcome to the Park and Ride Lot. Thank you for reducing traffic. Not responsible for rabid coyotes,” would be appropriate.)All of which got me looking for options. A full season at Snow Basin is $1,239 or $929 Senior. Sundance hasn’t announced prices yet, but based on this year, I’d guess they will be about $950 full season or $450 senior. They don’t have the Beautiful People, $125 grilled cheese sandwiches, or DJ Ruckus in the yurt, which all seem like added benefits.Tom Clyde practiced law in Park City for many years. He lives on a working ranch in Woodland and has been writing this column since 1986.  The post More Dogs on Main: Season pass dilemma appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less