Nearly 2,500 years ago, 300 Spartans became legends for standing against an empire. Of course, they weren’t actually alone. The Battle of Thermopylae included a coalition of Greek city states fighting alongside them, which honestly makes the comparison to Indy Pass even better.
Skiing now has its own 300. Except instead of one company owning hundreds of mountains, the Indy Pass has built a coalition of more than 300 independent ski areas standing together in a ski world increasingly dominated by the Epic and Ikon mega passes. No shields. No spears. Just a heck of a lot of chairlifts.
Indy Didn’t Just Reach 300. It Blew Past It.
And Indy didn’t just squeak across the finish line. By September 8th, Indy has added 60 new resorts for the 2026/27 season, officially blowing past the 300 resort guarantee it made last spring. That brings the coalition to 304 alpine and Nordic destinations across four continents, 15 countries, 30 states and six Canadian provinces.
Perhaps even crazier? Indy sold out its spring public sale in just 37 minutes. Instead of simply selling more passes and packing more people onto its partner mountains, Indy spent the summer adding resort capacity so it could reopen a limited fall sale without compromising the experience. That gets to what has always separated Indy from the other mega passes: keep skiing affordable without blowing up the lift lines. Whether it’s adding independent mountains or experimenting with ideas like its Learn To Turn program, Indy keeps trying to grow without losing the independent mountain vibe that made people care about the pass in the first place.
Who’s Joining The Revolution?
When we first published this story in February, Indy announced 16 new partners for 2026/27. By spring, another wave of resorts had joined, and the expansion hasn’t slowed down since. That growth has been building for years, from passing 200 resorts to surpassing 250 for 2025/26 and continuing to expand the independent ski network.
Of the resorts joining Indy for 2026/27, there are a handful that especially caught our attention. And with the final round of announcements now complete, these are the names that personally mean a lot to us.
Smugglers’ Notch: Indy Lands One of the Big Ones
We’ve been talking about Smugglers’ Notch for years as one of the East’s great alternatives to the mega resort experience. Sitting just across Mount Mansfield from Stowe, Smuggs has roughly 1,000 acres, 2,610 vertical feet and legit technical fall line skiing on Madonna Mountain, plus the kind of New England glades that can turn a storm day into something special. More importantly, it has personality. Smuggs has stayed focused on the kind of independent ski experience Indy was created to support, which makes this partnership feel less like another pin on the map and more like a natural fit.
For 2026/27, Indy Pass holders get two days at Smuggs, plus a third day at 25% off, with no blackout dates. Advanced reservations will be required so the resort can maintain its Comfortable Carrying Capacity and preserve the uncrowded experience it’s known for.
The Rock
Pebble Creek lives up to its nickname “The Rock” with steep, rocky lines, legit double blacks, cliff bands, and chutes that don’t mess around. This is the kind of place where expert terrain actually means expert, and preserved snow on the shaded face stays soft long after a storm. Add in easy backcountry access, and you’ve got one of the most underrated hardcore ski hills in the West. No wonder Glen Plake ranked this place at the top of his list of best mountains to get stranded at on a powder day.
Skeetawk: We’ve Been Watching This One Since the Beginning
This one feels especially cool for us. Back in 2017, we wrote about the community effort to build a new ski area at Hatcher Pass when Skeetawk was still just the Hatcher Alpine Xperience and its first chairlift was part of the dream. Nearly a decade later, Skeetawk is officially joining Indy Pass. Today it has two lifts, 12 trails and more than 1,200 vertical feet, which is a long way from the volunteer powered vision we first wrote about.
Levi (Finland)
If you’re the type of skier or snowboarder who likes to start the season early, we’re talking October and sometimes even September, Levi has you covered. Thanks to snow farming, they guarantee 1.3 miles of terrain and more than 1,000 vertical feet, no matter what Mother Nature has in store.
And now Levi won’t be Finland’s only snow farming pioneer on Indy. Ruka is joining for 2026/27 too, giving the pass another Finnish resort we’ve written about for storing snow through summer and locking in early October skiing.
Les 7 Laux (France)
Les 7 Laux flies under the radar, even by European standards, as a smaller resort. But it still stretches across three villages and delivers nearly 3,300 feet of vertical for legit top-to-bottom laps. Most of the terrain caters to strong intermediates and experts, blending long cruisers like Coulemelle with serious off-piste lines in Vallons du Pra. It also boasts one of the largest lift-accessed freeride zones in the Grenoble region, reached via the high-speed Gypaète chair, quietly punching well above its weight.
This Is Indy’s 300
When Indy announced its 2026/27 pass last spring, it made a pretty bold promise: at least 300 partner resorts by November 1 or passholders could request a refund. That promise has already been fulfilled. So what does skiing’s version of the 300 actually look like?
Instead of one giant army flying a single flag, Indy’s strength comes from hundreds of independent mountains choosing to stand together, much like the Spartans, Thespians and other Greek allies did at Thermopylae. Family run ski hills. Community mountains. Nordic centers. Destination resorts. Places that may never have the size or marketing muscle to compete with the mega passes individually, but collectively can offer skiers and snowboarders an enormous network without giving up their independence.
The additions for 2026/27 show just how far that coalition now reaches, from Whitecap Mountain in Wisconsin and Onikoube Ski Resort in Japan to Pizol in Switzerland, Stranda in Norway and Stöten in Sweden.
That’s what makes this milestone feel bigger than simply hitting a number. Indy’s 300 aren’t being absorbed into an empire. They’re joining forces while remaining independent. And in a ski industry increasingly dominated by a handful of massive players, that might be the most important part of the story.
Indy Pass Sales Are Reopening
With the expanded resort network in place, Indy Pass is reopening sales. Waitlist members get first crack beginning September 1 on a first come, first served basis. If any inventory remains, passes will be released to the general public on September 8.
What Will Indy Pass Cost This Fall?
For the September waitlist sale, the Adult Indy Base Pass is $399, while the Adult Indy+ Pass with no blackout dates is $449. Add On passes are also available for skiers and riders who already hold an unrestricted season pass at an Indy partner resort.
Indy is also keeping its zero interest payment plan, allowing passholders to split the purchase into three payments with the first due at checkout. And the subscription model introduced for 2026/27 remains part of the program, giving passholders priority renewal access and the lowest available renewal price each spring.
Indy hasn’t announced pricing for the potential public sale yet.
