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It is my understanding that Snowbasin gives lifties a cash incentive to catch pass cheaters. I have heard them ask for birthdates when scanning so there must be some truth to this. Good!
And @MissySki : I ski out West: Mammoth, Solitude, Snowbird and AZ Snowbowl. While I’ve seen a few people with their pass visible, but most (including myself) have them in a “pass pocket” where the photo is not seen. I love to ski and it’s a big deal and a privilege to me when I’m on the snow - I hate seeing it become a chaotic zoo from the parking, ridiculous lift lines and $$$$$ food prices.What region do you ski in the most?
My favorite mountain out west is Alta in Utah. They have had RFID since 2008. Solitude installed RFID at about the same time. Both were/are very popular were locals. I would guess that in the early years, a few people tried to use someone else's pass. Since that's illegal, after seeing a few people getting pulled out of line to be checked more carefully by the liftie who was seeing the face of the card holder for a season pass, probably fewer locals would've been trying that tactic. I've seen people being politely asked to raise their goggles in recent years. The lifties with the tablet take their job seriously.
I've read more than one story from New England about people trying to use someone else's pass in the past decade. Used to happen regularly with paper tickets. I remember being surprised that Loon decided to back to metal wickets and sticky tickets after using plastic holders for a bit. I was there in 2016 or 2017. There was a case of a young man who used his brother's season pass at Killington. The concept of "non-transferable" is clearly stated on the back of the pass. He got caught and Killington chose to make an example of him. I don't know if they prosecuted him, but pretty sure the brother lost the use of the pass for at least that season.
What has been noted is that the photo appears on the tablet used by a liftie, along with basic info such as birthdate. That's why sometimes a person might be asked for a birthdate in addition to a name. I've seen people asked to raise their goggles and pull down whatever covering they are using to keep their face warm.While I’ve seen a few people with their pass visible, but most (including myself) have them in a “pass pocket” where the photo is not seen.
I believe they show up on the hand scanners too, at least some of them. Last week one of our lifts was still using hand scanners after the storms we had last month.. and I saw my face pop up on the screen.What has been noted is that the photo appears on the tablet used by a liftie, along with basic info such as birthdate. That's why sometimes a person might be asked for a birthdate in addition to a name. I've seen people asked to raise their goggles and pull down whatever covering they are using to keep their face warm.
When I was at Beaver Creek last month, people were using the Bluetooth My Epic App for their pass. A few times a liftie would ask to confirm that the name that showed up on their hand scanner was correct. Not sure if they also see a photo since the screen on the hand scanners are not that big.
Truth. They get their money up-front so aren't reliant on the fickle weather.High prices for daily tickets make paying for a pass look like a better deal, which smooths out their income stream. It's not a bad model, from a business standpoint.
I was asked my birth date two out of three days skiing Alta this past December. They may be stepping up this practice because I'd not been asked before and this is my fifth year on an Ikon pass.It is my understanding that Snowbasin gives lifties a cash incentive to catch pass cheaters. I have heard them ask for birthdates when scanning so there must be some truth to this. Good!