Here's the deal: The cheapest your ski pass will ever be is right now.

Every week you wait, the price ticks up. And this winter, there's an extra reason to stop scrolling and just buy — a climate pattern called El Niño that's about to shuffle the snow map. Buy first, plan second. Here's everything you need to know.

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Buy now, thank yourself later

Prices only move one direction from here. Epic's price increase hits Oct.  7 — that window's closing soon. Ikon is still climbing week by week through October and November — that window's closing right now. Either way, today is cheaper than next week.

(MORE: El Niño could impact this winter's snowfall and your ski trip)

The price clock is ticking

The clock is officially ticking: Epic Pass prices increase after Oct. 7 (and purchasing before then locks in 5 Epic Friend Tickets). Right now, the Epic Full Pass sits at $1,145 ($849 for Local), while the Ikon Full Pass is at $1,449 ($1,019 for Base).

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On top of rising rates, pass reservations are required at select marquee destinations (including Jackson Hole, Deer Valley and Aspen Snowmass). That means your pass decision isn't just about saving money anymore; it's about securing guaranteed availability before prime dates fill up.

What a 'hedge' means for your pass, specifically

Skip the finance talk — a hedge here just means picking a pass that protects you if the weather doesn't cooperate.

First, a quick myth-buster: a pass hedge isn't an automatic cash refund for a dry winter (neither Epic nor Ikon hands out standard money back mid-season for low snowfall). Instead, your pass acts as a weather safety net in two key ways:

• 1. The weather hedge (both passes): This is pure geography. If El Niño leaves your home mountain dry, multiresort access gives you the freedom to pivot and chase storms at whichever resort on their global network is actually getting buried in powder.
• 2. The bail hedge (advantage: Ikon): This one takes a small step at checkout. Standard Ikon passes are non-refundable—but if you add the optional Risk-Free Refundable upgrade when you buy, you can take a 100% cash refund through Jan. 15, or 50% back after a single scan. Epic doesn't offer an equivalent "bail out" refund option, standard or upgraded, once purchased.

The pass itself is the hedge — that's the whole point of locking one in early instead of gambling on a single trip.

(MORE: 5 ski resorts to have on your radar this El Niño winter season)

Don't wait this out

Here's why that hedge matters more this year than most: If you're in Montana, Idaho or anywhere in the inland Northwest, a strong El Niño is already shaping up to lean the snow south, away from you specifically.

(MORE: El Niño explained region by region: What it means for your winter)

That forecast doesn't change the buy-now math — if anything, it's the exact reason to make sure your pass has multiresort flexibility built in, rather than betting everything on a single peak. Sitting on the sidelines waiting to see where the first storm lands will only cost you more money and risk getting you locked out of key reservation spots.

The price only gets worse from here, so the move is simple: Buy first, plan second and follow the snow.

Lock in your pass today at the lowest rate to hedge your weather risks across multiresort networks — and if you want the financial refund option covered above, just make sure to add it at checkout before you finalize. That way, you're locked in at the best price and completely ready to chase powder wherever El Niño delivers it.

Faiza Mohammed is a meteorologist intern at weather.com. She studied geography and worked with the Weather Dawgs team at the University of Georgia. She also received her master's in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences from the Georgia Institute of Technology.