You’ll Soon Be Able to Scan Your Epic Pass From Your Phone
Vail Resorts rolls out mobile lift tickets and passes, plus here’s when Epic Passes go on sale for 2023-’24.
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Finally, the technology we’ve been waiting for. Next season, you can load your Epic Pass onto your phone and leave it in your pocket all day. No more scrambling to show it to a liftie or getting a new one printed because you left it at home.
For the 2023-’24 season, Vail Resorts will roll out a new My Epic app that will offer mobile lift ticket technology. Buy your Epic Pass or lift ticket online, activate it, and store in your digital wallet. Using low-energy Bluetooth capabilities, your pass will scan without having to move your phone from wherever you stashed it.
In addition to the convenience of not having to stop and pick up a physical pass or lift ticket card, Vail will be able to increase its sustainability efforts by no longer creating waste from plastic or RFID chips. The scanning technology will be available at Vail-owned resorts in the U.S., with Whistler Blackcomb coming online in the near future.
The new app will offer more than mobile pass scanning, and will be an upgrade from the current Epic Mix, which has become a topic of contention among skiers due to its many bugs and inconsistent performance. Users have been complaining for years about maps not loading correctly, not recording accurate stats, and having to log in every time you open it.
According to Vail, the new (and hopefully improved) My Epic app will offer a bevy of new functionality to enhance the skier experience.
- Interactive trail maps with GPS location tracking
- Real-time life line wait times
- Individual stats, including vertical feet skied, number of lift rides ridden
- The resort included on your pass and which resorts are restricted
- Grooming updates, terrain status, snow reports, and base conditions
- Ski patrol call feature
- Weather updates and snow cameras
The app will also be the new home of the resort charge feature, so skiers can use it to add their credit card info and have it scanned for food, beverage, and retail discounts.
“With Mobile Pass & Mobile Lift Ticket on the new My Epic app, your phone becomes your ticket to the slopes,” Vail Resorts chief information officer Tim April said. “This innovation reflects our commitment to harnessing technology to improve your experience, making it easier to get you on the mountain faster and then help you have the best day exploring.”
Of course, people who don’t want to use their phones, or are worried about battery life on the slopes, can get a pass or lift ticket printed. And for the coming season, as part of the transition to the new program, passes will still actually be mailed to new pass holders and old passes will be reactivated. The hope is that more and more skiers will forgo the physical pass over time. More info on the new app can be found here.
The 2023-’24 Epic Pass goes on sale on March 7. We’ll have a rundown of offering for next season as soon as they’re released.