Top photo: via @winterparkresort by @the_biz_ness

It’s that time of year where you can feel it in air. Cool evenings with a briskness that only means one thing—winter is just around the corner. The usual suspects start to get the first dusting (and sometimes more) of snow in places like Colorado, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming. Over the last few days, Winterpark in Colorado, Big Sky in Montana, and Sunshine Village in Banff got a nice dose of Mother Nature via a blanket of fresh snow combined with the fall colors already in turn.

Winterpark, Big Sky, and SSV check three of forty boxes within the Ikon Pass resort bucket list that you’ll want to visit this winter. And if we’re lucky, some of those resorts just might open as early as fall. And by fall, we mean next month! Yes, October. It’s not uncommon for a few resorts to open before Halloween. Resorts like Arapahoe Basin (aka A-Basin) and Killington, VT can and will open in October, weather permitting. So dust off your gear, give ’em a good tune up, and have your Ikon Pass ready go for the start of an amazing season.

Speaking of the Ikon Pass, globally, there are over forty resorts to which the multi-mountain pass provides access. From Big Bear, CA to Blue Mountain, Ontario; Revelstoke, BC to Valle Nevado, Chile; and  Niseko United, Japan to Zermatt, Switzerland, the Ikon pass will fulfill your ultimate winter bucket list and fill your Instagram account with photos to make any influencer jealous.

For a complete list of resorts covered under the Ikon pass, visit www.ikonpass.com, but here are some spotlight resorts from around the world:

West Coast:
Mammoth Mountain, CA
June Mountain, CA
Bear Mountain, CA
Snow Summit, CA
Palisades, CA
Mt Bachelor, OR

Rockies:
Aspen Snowmass, CO
Jackson Hole, WY
Solitude, UT
Winterpark, CO
Arapahoe Basin, CO

East Coast:
Stratton, VT
Killington, VT
Loon Mountain, NH
Sugarloaf, ME
Sunday River, ME
Windham Mountain, NY

Canada:
Ski Big 3, Alberta (Sunshine Village, Lake Louise, and Mt. Norquay)
Cypress Mountain, British Columbia
Revelstoke, British Columbia
Red Mountain, British Columbia
Mont Tremblant, Quebec
Blue Mountain, Ontario

Europe:
Zermatt, Switzerland
Kitzbühel, Austria
Dolomiti Super Ski, Italy

Japan:
Niseko United, Japan (Grand Hirafu, Annupuri, Niseko Village, and Hanazono)

Southern Hemisphere
Valle Nevado, Chile
Thredbo, Australia
Mt. Buller, Australia
The Remarkable, New Zealand
Coronet Peak, New Zealand
Mt. Hutt, New Zealand