Vail to launch nw social media app for tracking ski stats and connecting with friends.
Tracking stats and sharing them is at the heart of the new EpicMix pachage
By Summit Voice
SUMMIT COUNTY — Vail Resorts this week launched a new integrated social media app that could become the virtual equivalent of the apres ski lodge, as a place to share stories about a day on the slopes.
EpicMix will track skiers and riders on the company’s five mountains via radio-frequency scanners installed on lifts. The scanners read chips embedded in passes to calculate vertical footage and other on-mountain stats. That information can then be shared via Facebook and Twitter.
The mobile application will work across the company’s five resorts: Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly Valley, in California. The app will go live when Keystone opens just a little more than two months from now, on Nov. 5.
The app will enable guests to send messages to their private groups of Facebook friends on the mountain and will alert guests when any of their Facebook friends are skiing and where they are on the mountain. Guests will be able to create special EpicMix leader boards with their Facebook friends and get grooming updates, snow and weather reports, as well as resort news and traffic information.
“EpicMix takes the fun of playing and sharing online and marries it with the very real experience of skiing and riding,” Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz said. “By not requiring our guests to do anything new, EpicMix is accessible to everyone, not just those already familiar with social media. EpicMix has the ability to track your physical accomplishments, similar to applications like Nike+ and then combine it with the community experience of location-based social media, similar to applications like Gowalla.” .
EpicMix will also have a special website for kids under the age of 14, which will allow them to connect with their parents’ accounts, but will have content designed specifically for them and unique pins only kids can earn. The kids’ site also will have special privacy restrictions. Parents will also be able to use EpicMix to track the lift rides of their kids in real time.
Guests can also opt out of the system altogether by choosing to disable the radio frequency chip in their passes to prevent scanning. The basic functionality of EpicMix does not require Vail Resorts’ guests to do anything. There is nothing to buy, nothing new to wear and no required check-ins with their mobile devices.
The application is embedded into Vail Resorts’ existing season pass and PEAKSlift tickets. EpicMix can be used by any guest at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly, whether they purchase a season pass or a PEAKS single day lift ticket. EpicMix will launch on opening day at Keystone Mountain on Nov. 5, 2010. The Company has posted a comprehensive video demonstrating the features and functionality of EpicMix at http://www.epicmix.com.
