Provide five case studies of how ski resorts are using "bleeding-edge"
technology to gain more customers, service existing customers better,
etc.  I'm looking for really futuristic stuff... not just "get a web
site" but things like biometrics in ski passes, effective use of CRM,
etc. The more visuals in the article (logo of resort, photo of
technology, etc.) the better.

I'll be available to answer any clarification questions you may have along the way.

(I require this answer by Sunday at 11pm Pacific time and I'll have a
series of questions, each priced at or above $50, over the next 24
hours all related to technology and ski resorts.)

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Clarification of Question by jhabley-ga on 04 Apr 2004 17:06 PDT

Hi Pink... I was hoping you'd take it on!  :-)  I'm looking for more
along the lines of marketing, attracting customers, etc. but you're on
the right track.

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 04 Apr 2004 17:09 PDT

Jhabley,

I wish I could answer this for you, but I've been taken ill, and am
going to bed. Hope someone else can find what you need!

~Pink

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Clarification of Question by jhabley-ga on 04 Apr 2004 17:18 PDT

:-(  Sorry to hear you're ill... remember: lots of water and vitamin
C! I'll miss your great work, but I know there are others here who do
great stuff too.

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Clarification of Question by jhabley-ga on 04 Apr 2004 21:28 PDT

I see someone has locked this-- thanks for taking it on.  :-)  My
deadline is flexible.  I'll need this now by Monday at 9:00 AM
Pacific.

I'll be available at about 11:30 PM Pacific for clarifications if you
need them then.

I'll have other questions Monday.

Here's an interesting article:

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992156

Note to other Researchers:

I am ill, and won't be able to actively research this question, so my
comment above should not be taken as the "staking of a claim" here.

Best of luck!

Hello Jhabley,

Only two examples - there are a lot of ski areas that are still pretty
traditional in their use of technology (usually due to cash flow
problems). I have been to several ski areas (Colorado, Utah, Oregon,
California) and the more advanced ones do...

[1] Web cameras. For example:
  http://winter.mtbachelor.com/mountain_services/current_conditions/
which is a ski area with three fixed cameras of the main mountain
area, the "cone camera" showing a popular hike up / ski down area, and
hmm - the third camera that usualy shows another chairlift seems to
have been removed. Another example:
  http://www.mammoth-mtn.com/
and click on Web cameras (last entry on menu on the right). These only
work during the day but allow you to actually pan / zoom the image,
take snapshots, etc.

[2] Electronic passes. Several areas use some form of scanned pass -
often bar codes. This allows the ski area to offer 3 of 4 day tickets,
multi-site tickets, and so on. I used them at Copper Mountain, KBA
(Keystone, Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin - plus Vail, Beaver Creek),
Mammoth Mountain (and June Mountain) and so on.

My favorite ticket system is the one at Mount Bachelor in Oregon. In
the west village image from the first link, you should be able to see
a set of turnstiles in front of the ski lift. The large equipment box
on the left of each turnstile is actually two different scanners:
 - a ticket scanner - put your ticket in and it scans the ticket and
if valid, lets you in. If you have a "points ticket", (pay by the
ride) it will also deduct the point value and display how many points
you have left.
 - a badge scanner - both season passes and "Express Passes" are a
picture Id w/ a proximity card / reader on the turnstile. Put the pass
in a holder on your upper left arm and walk up to the scanner - it
will validate you and let you in. If its your first run of the day w/
an Express Pass, your credit card will be charged the appropriate rate
(more on holidays, very cheap on Tuesdays).

These two systems are very efficient and the pricing policies are very
flexible. If you have one of the passes, you can order next year's
pass on line and the pass will be ready when you arrive.

Those are the two types of services that come to mind. I don't think
that is enough to deserve the fee, but if you want me to expand on
these - I may be able to dig up more examples tomorrow.

  --Maniac