Will Resorts Be Watching You Remotely?

[SnoWonder]

With the resort apps (like Ikon or Squaw-Alpine) now able to track the specific runs you have been on, and the speed which you ski them do you think they will:

• Look for skiers that go out of bounds?
• Look for excessive speeds on the family friendly runs?

Does the data reside only on your phone or on the resort servers? Obviously the technology makes it possible, but do they do any analysis to identify potential troublemakers? Also if you are involved in an accident, can they use that data whether on your phone or servers to forensically analyze the situation? In the end, are these apps a good thing? For the record, I ma not being worried personally about any of the above, but the thoughts occurred to me the other day when using the app.

 

[SSSdave]

Such would require a ski area have cell service, the ski resort app being loaded onto a smartphone option set up to be enabled, and the individual enable GPS tracking on their phones. So up to the person if that matters. Since I cannot imagine anything worth hiding data-wise while skiing, doubt anyone would take issue. Well except for those very few ducking ropes and they could easily disable such.

Personally, I stopped carrying my moto g6 on slopes because I don't tend to ski in groups, already have too much stuff in my many pockets especially something bulky like smartphones, prefer my tiny Canon ELPH190 that has a real 10x zoom, prefer my really tiny San Disk Sansa MP3 player to a smartphone, can see on monitors what lifts/ trails are open, and already know the resort trail layouts thus no map nec. So what else is in these ski apps that might be useful on slopes?

 

[eok]

Like most any app nowadays, I'm sure resort apps provide a trove of info to the resorts & the sales/marketing folks they use. But I doubt there's any "real time" monitoring of the data for the stuff you mention - because it costs them $$$. I could see the data being analyzed after-the-fact in special cases like you describe, but I really feel it would be rare for them to do it.

 

[Bad Bob]

They would be so bored with what I do.

 

[Black Dog]

They are watching.

 

[Doug Briggs]

Are these apps using GPS to follow you? Neither are very explicit about what they actually track. EpicMix just counts your lift loads in their own network and reports it to the app on request.

 

[cantunamunch]

IKON requires you to initiate tracking - but they DO use GPS.


But all of that is completely blown away by the data Google and Apple have the moment you have location tracking turned on.

 

[James]

Gee, free app, sucker people in with “benefits”, get them hooked. Sounds familiar.
They’re gonna do something with it.

 

[crgildart]

LOL at the 270934270 people who forget to turn it off after walking to their car and driving down the mountain. Last time I did that I hit 84 mph down the backside LOL!

 

[cantunamunch]

LOL at the 270934270 people who forget to turn it off after walking to their car and driving down the mountain. Last time I did that I hit 84 mph down the backside LOL!

That's almost as funny as the Google timelines corresponding to the WB gathering. Pretty sure everyone had at least one "ferry ride".

 

[VickieH]

Ever read The Numerati by Stephen Baker? Data heads are gonna do their thing and someone is going to capitalize on it.

 

[Philpug]

Resorts will be watching data which is beneficial for them. Lift traffic and and at what times, much of that for staffing.

 

[Analisa]

Epic is definitely capturing data through their EpicMix app, and they speak to it in their annual reports. It helps Vail capture a ton of data that would otherwise be inaccessible. Like, they can track your ability level through the app based on instructor ratings in EpicMix Academy, your ski lift wait times, total number of runs, vert, etc. Will it ultimately lead to strategies that benefit Vail? Totally. But some of those tactics benefit skiers too.

At Stevens, we had an entire slow double lift on pretty mellow terrain that only serviced the park, and 1 chair that serviced a lot of terrain for lower intermediates that never failed to have super long lift lines. Post-acquisition, they've made pretty quick work to upgrade the double to a high speed quad, split park features across both lifts (one got jumps, the other a rail garden), and both now have solid options for easy blue terrain. (Here's a before and after). It's been a clutch change with the backside of the mountain taking a long time to fill in this year. I see how this kind of data can be mutually beneficial for skiers and the company alike.

Now, back to my regular scheduled programming of grumbles around the Disney-fication of the ski industry by mega resort brands and the inhumanity of a $4 diet coke.

Annual reports below:

http://investors.vailresorts.com/static-files/1e93a8f9-2451-40d6-942f-b2c1411470c6

http://investors.vailresorts.com/static-files/ab51e121-8b37-45f2-8b1d-05364c4a20ac

 

[Pequenita]

Ikon/Alterra is doing something with data collected through the app, too, so my guess is that it's on the servers. I pulled up the Ikon app over the weekend to see what it looks like, and it had a bunch of cumulative numbers on there of for "all" users. Since it's essentially the same platform as the Squaw/Alpine app, I'm sure the capability is there too. Also, they've been incentivizing using the app by saying everyone who is tracked for 100K ft vert gets entered into a drawing. The app doesn't display useful information for me, so I have to think that its purpose is for the resort to collect data.

If you choose to use the app to track your runs, it uses the phone GPS to estimate speed on a run, and the app knows when you're on a run vs a lift. Finally, if you leave the location tracking on, it'll keep track of when you enter and leave the general resort area.

 

[Guy in Shorts]

The map that tracked cell phones over the Killington Resort showed all the secret lines and stashes. All of our acreage is open for skiing so no rules were broken. The data is out there like it or not.

 

[mikel]

Even before the apps they had a general idea where you were skiing *IF* you went thru an rfid gate or had your pass scanned. I could log into my account and see how many days I've skied and it even listed the lifts I accessed that were scanned.

Are the apps good? I think there are upsides and downsides but only each individual can answer that. How do you feel about stat tracker, friend finder, GPS enabled tracking? That stuff is not stored on your phone. Just using the Copper app as an example of an upside, in the latest update, there is now a large Emergency Assistance button on the app. If you have GPS enabled it can aid greatly in locating you.

 

[Philpug]

If big brother wants to find you, he will. If you are on this site (or any site)...you are being tracked.

 

[nns6561]

Rumors last year were that Stowe suspended or pulled passes from skiers based on the app saying they skied closed runs.

 

[Philpug]

Rumors last year were that Stowe suspended or pulled passes from skiers based on the app saying they skied closed runs.

Well, if you are stupid enough to ski closed runs then you deserve to have your pass pulled. But, Vail/Epic's app does not track what trail you were on but what lifts you ride.

 

[scott43]

If big brother wants to find you, he will. If you are on this site (or any site)...you are being tracked.

Not if you're using the Tor browser and a VPN...