With reference to your article (Pique, March 1, “Tech changes at Whistler Blackcomb…”), what an excellent idea for Whistler Blackcomb (WB) to do away with physical ski passes and all that gate infrastructure, and replace with mobile phone passes and “hand-scanning.” It’s great to see such well-thought-out innovation in process designed to give guests a better experience and be more sustainable.
Of course, visitors from overseas may or may not have data enabled on their phones, most children won’t have a phone, extreme cold can kill one’s phone battery pretty fast, and it’s easy to forget your phone, which you use outside skiing hours, as opposed to a pass you leave in your jacket—but I am sure WB has no doubt thought this all through.
As for the plan to replace the automatic gates with individual “hand-scanning,” I am sure that’s going to be a real step forward in moving people through. And to claim it’s a sustainable move—can the mountain please focus first on reducing waste by not having to resort to disposable coffee cups and water glasses by 10 a.m. on weekends on the mountain? Yes they are “compostable,” but this still uses huge amounts of energy.
Finally—who really benefits from this change? Is this not in fact another data play where we are the product? Let’s hope they stick to it being optional—I, for one, will still be using my pass.
