The End for the Lift Pass? Smart Phones needed next season…

Along with confirmation of Winter 2018 Three Valleys Opening Dates & Lift Pass Prices the lift companies have confirmed that all passes of 6 days or more (including all season passes) next season will only be available via a Smart Phone.

Les 3 Vallées has always been a leader in technology from some of the very first avalanche control systems, the first 8 seater chairlift in France, state of the art Piste Grooming machines including hybrid / electric models with built in radar based snow depth measurement, free wifi, video tracking areas with automatic sharing on social media, 3D piste map apps and of course the new amazing “selfie machines” installed this season.

The new Lift Pass App seen here running in the Apple Wallet

With an estimation of over 90% of skier and snowboarders carrying compatible Android and Apple iPhones there are a whole host of benefits that this can bring including pay as you go options, the need to never stand in a lift pass queue again and a massive amount of data, usage and tracking statistics that can be used for safety, missing persons (although obviously not a replacement for an avalanche transceiver), fitness logging and help with the planning of new lifts and pistes improvements across the ski area.

The combination of NFC, Bluetooth and Wifi communications means that all skiers will be able to be tracked (GPS enablement is also mandatory to prevent lift pass fraud) – in fact skiers travelling too fast will automatically have their lift passes revoked immediately, fair enough if this is enforced in family/beginners areas only. No news yet of if a pass will be turned off if the skier has spent 5 hours in the Folie Douce however…

All turnstiles will need new reader modifications this Summer

Further developments planned have the use of contactless credit cards and SANEF motorway toll readers (watch out for transfer drivers getting “free” skiing!) – even Oyster Cards could be used if there is a demand for their use. Apple Watch 2 (the model 2 has GPS embedded) and Samsung Gear S3 Watches will also work at rollout in December 2017.

Some of the devices planned to be able to use the new technology

Obviously this news has raised plenty of questions including compatible phones (those without NFC for instance), battery life and the civil liberties issues.

Les 3 Vallées have sort to calm fears by assuring that all major lifts will have alternative QR Code readers similar to mobile phone boarding pass readers and that all gondolas will have the latest mobile phone wireless charging technology installed by the start of Winter 2019 – indeed the new Ariondaz Gondola will have this fitted for it’s opening in December 2017. Most phones from 2018 on are expected to have this technology incorporated in to them.

The wireless charging technology being introduced to Gondolas next season

Finally, an independent trusted third party will manage all tracking data and ensure it will only be used for safety and anti-fraud purposes. They will also be responsible for the secure destruction of this data which will be made following the end of the ski season and no personal, identifiable data will be archived.

The new Ariondaz Gondola in Courchevel 1650 going in this Summer & opening in December 2017

So? Is this a step too far in technology terms or do we embrace the future? We’ll feed back any comments to the local Mairies and the relevant ski area management companies.

The new “selfie machines” – Another example of leading edge technology in The 3 Valleys