Industry News
Vail Resorts is exploring every available avenue to control lift lines at its busy resorts as angry customers sign petitions and share photos of lift lines to a viral Instagram account. The latest measure, confirmed Wednesday by Vail Resorts spokesperson John Plack, will be ‘phone-free zones.’
The signs are new this season and are part of the operating plan unveiled by Vail Resorts in November to enhance the guest experience, reports Vail Daily.
“In an effort to load lifts safely and efficiently, we are asking guests to put their cell phones away as they approach lift terminals.”
– John Plack
The idea is to ensure guests concentrate on loading lifts safely and efficiently rather than being distracted by their cell phones.
According to the Vail Daily, Skier Tanner Miller was recently apprehended by a lifty for using his device in the Phone Free Zone at Chair 2 in Vail.
“They won’t even let me fight the boredom of their enormous lift line by checking Epic Mix. And this is coming from the same resort that equipped the gondola with WiFi.”
– Tanner Miller told the Vail Daily
A Stevens Pass, WA, skier started a petition against Vail Resorts for what he calls ‘mismanagement of the ski area.’ The petition has so far garnered over 43,000 signatures.
Jeremy Rubingh specifically cites lift lines, parking, the treatment of employees, and lack of investment as disgusting.
I’d like to see them control the areas around the lift entrances where so many people stand around making it difficult to get through to the lift line.
Spray paint a no standing zone in front of the lifts on the snow.
I saw nobody checking cell phones at Crested Butte. This only benefits Vail Resorts in multiple ways without addressing the staffing issue.
Having been a ski lift operator at Deer Valley for seven years there is a legitimate reason to curb cell phone usages when loading a chair lift from your safety and the safety of your children which is often ignored when a cell phone is used by the parents. I have seen it first hand
Ah, a company making a change that insinuates the consumer was the problem rather than the company taking responsibility for it’s on failures. How original.
How about employees actually working the lift lines. Stop the self merging and actually make these operators take control. We were at Heavenly yesterday and the Girl working Dipper had things dialed in and she was alone. Sky was a mess in the morning and stagecoach had 3 people chatting while there was no control at the 2 sided merger. Stop the self merging and take control.
This is a hairball of stupid. How about put your phone away for 99% of your ski day?
Call me cynical, but I’m sure this is a way to control those #epicliftline posts