Deadlines have passed for the lowest prices on Epic and Ikon products — those season tickets to Colorado’s biggest ski resorts. 

As for access to some of the smaller but equally beloved destinations, a family-friendly option just recently went up for sale. 

Trade association Colorado Ski Country USA is returning its Gems passes, so named for 10 “gems”: Arapahoe Basin, Loveland, Monarch, Cooper, Eldora, Echo Mountain, Granby Ranch, Sunlight, Purgatory and Powderhorn. 

The Gems Parent and Gems Teen passes grant two days at each of those ski areas. Meanwhile, the Ski Passport for kids in kindergarten through sixth grade grants four days at those 10 “gems,” plus nine more resorts including Copper Mountain, Winter Park, Aspen and Steamboat. 

The Ski Passport is $76 and the Gems Teen Pass is $210 (for ages 12-17). By purchasing a Ski Passport or Gems Teen Pass, one parent per household can buy a Gems Parent Pass for $350. 

Colorado Ski Country USA notes the parent passes are released in waves — “to make the limited number of passes available to more families throughout the sales period.”

Getting more families on the slopes was the aim of the Ski Passport that launched 30 years ago, Colorado Ski Country USA President Melanie Mills said in a statement. In 1996, she said, “it was a pioneering approach to access, opening Colorado’s mountains to kids and families in a way that encouraged them to enjoy the breadth of skiing across the state.”

Along with the teen and parent passes over the years, the program expanded with the Gems Discount Card. The $50 card unlocks discounted tickets for two days at each of the 10 “Gems” ski areas. 

Reads the billing: “It works just like your warehouse club membership: buy the card and unlock ‘members only’ pricing on lift tickets.” 

For more details, go to coloradoski.com/passes-and-deals.