As Winter Park Resort celebrates receiving more than 300 inches of snowfall so-far this season, it is also springing forward to a season with more snowfall in the forecast, a list of events with some big headliners, and a new kind of season pass offering.

Snow accumulation

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The past two ski seasons, the resort didn’t reach the 300-inch mark, and it currently sits 2 feet ahead of the average snowfall for this time of year, according to Steve Hurlbert, communications and public relations manager for Winter Park Resort.

The resort is now reporting receiving 309.5 inches of snow this season; something that has helped spur skier visits to the area.

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“Snow is a great motivator and we’ve seen a lot of excitement all season-long from guests about the quality of the conditions,” Hurlbert said. “Any time you eclipse 300 inches by the beginning of March, you know it’s been a good year and we expect the excitement about our snow to continue throughout the remainder of the season.”

Now the resort is heading into one of its snowiest months all year, Hurlbert said.

Snow continues to fall at the resort with more than 1 foot of new snow reported last weekend and 3 to 5 inches expected to fall during this week, according to the National Weather Service.

Heading into the weekend, a chance of snow shows up in the forecast for Friday and Saturday with a sunny and breezy day on Sunday followed by a slight chance for snow in the beginning of next week.

New pass offering

The resort will offer a number of season pass options for next season, which go on sale Tuesday.

Besides offering its normal season pass for the locals that pack on the days, Intrawest, the company that owns Winter Park Resort, will be offering a first-of-its-kind season pass that covers six days of skiing at each one of the six resorts the company owns across North America, a total of 36 days.

The Intrawest Passport is aimed at families, allowing children 12 and younger to ski for free with the purchase of a parent Passport.

“Times are changing and so is the traditional family structure. Intrawest understands those changes. Whether you’re a traditional single parent, or tri-generational family, we’ve created the Intrawest Passport to give your family the most flexibility and affordability to come ski or snowboard our mountains,” said Bill Jensen, CEO of Intrawest Resorts in a press release regarding the new pass offering.

The Passport Pass will have no blackout dates and will give skiers six days at Winter Park Resort, Steamboat Resort, Blue Mountain Resort in Ontario, Mont Tremblant in Quebec, Snowshoe Mountain Resort in West Virginia, and Stratton Mountain Resort in Vermont.

The introductory offer for the new pass will charge the primary adult of the family $549. Up to five additional adults can be added to the family for $399 each. Five young adults between the ages of 13 to 20 can be added for $199, and five children under 12 can be added for free.

“Skiing has been passed on from parent to child for several generations. We want to encourage the passion for the sport of skiing and snowboarding for the next generation by offering true value to families,” Jensen said in the press release.

The introductory pricing on the new pass will end on March 14, though how much the price of the pass will increase has yet to be determined by Intrawest.

The Intrawest Passport will only be available for purchase from a website dedicated to the new pass at intrawestpassport.com.

Winter Park Resort is making some modifications to their Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus offering this year by switching Monarch Mountain for Crested Butte Mountain Resort.

The Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus, priced at $439 for adults, will give pass holders unlimited days at Winter Park Resort and Copper Mountain as well as six days at Steamboat Resort, three days at Crested Butte, and five days at Mt. Ruapehu in New Zealand.

All of Winter Park Resort’s season pass offerings go on sale Tuesday, March 11 and can be purchased at the resort’s website at winterparkresort.com.

Springtopia

Winter Park Resort is looking to have a blowout of a celebration for April, its last month of operation, and has secured one of Colorado’s favorite local bands, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, for a free show on April 19.

The show is part of Winter Park Resort’s Springtopia event the last the entire month of April, wrapping up with the traditional Coca-Cola Spring Splash, where contestants attempt to ski or board their way across a pond at the base of the resort.

The resort is offering two passes to skiers and boarders who want to squeeze as much spring skiing in before the end of the season.

The first is called the Triple Play pass that gives pass holders three days of skiing at the resort for $109. The second is called the Double Dip and allows for unlimited skiing at both Winter Park Resort and Steamboat for $169.

The price of the passes is set to increase on March 18.

The complete list of activities for the Resort’s last month of the year can be found at winterparkresort.com/events-and-activities.

Reid Tulley can be reached at 970-887-3334