Everything seems to be prepared for the trip to the ski resort. Visa open, tickets purchased, hotel booked. The budget of rest is thought out: food, excursions, souvenirs. Have you forgotten anything? And how do you get to the slope of the mountain with which you are going to ride? Lifts are not cheap. Each time, buying a ticket for access to the hanging cradle, sitting in a chair or clinging to a yoke, you have to part with the "blood money". Buy a ski pass better: this will significantly reduce the cost of your vacation at the ski resort. What it is? We will talk about this in this article. We will also pay attention to the types of ski passes. Having learned more about these subscriptions, you can choose the one that suits you the most.
What is a ski pass?
Let's try to explain in an accessible way. If we compare the ski lifts with the metro, then we can say that ski-pass (ski pass) is a card that gives the right to several trips. Sometimes there is an unlimited number of lifts during the day or several days. But such a comparison with the metro seems simplified. After all, no monthly subscription to use the Moscow subway gives you the right to visit, for example, Sandunov baths. But some ski passes in Switzerland give you access to soak up in the spa centers of this country. The ski slopes of Western European resorts are interconnected in ski areas. The ski pass gives you the opportunity to ride on all the lifts, as well as get to their lower stations by shuttle buses. In most cases, this subscription is a plastic card, similar to a regular credit card. But there are (in the Caucasian resort of Krasnaya Polyana, for example) ordinary paper tickets with a barcode.
How does it work
A special magnetic chip is built into the plastic card. Often, it includes the personal data of the owner. This is to prevent the transfer of a ski pass to another person. The chip also carries information about how long (or how many trips) it is valid, what ski area it covers, etc. Such an electronic card is very convenient. You do not even need to pull it out of your pocket. Sensitive sensors "sniff out" her even under tight clothes and instantly read information from her. Refillable paper tickets are another matter. You will need to pass it through the terminal slot and, only after hearing a characteristic sound signal, go to the landing. Such a ticket is blocked by the system for a quarter of an hour. This is done so that you can not transfer the ski pass to another person. As you can see, in all cases the control over the passage to the lifts is carried out automatically. This significantly speeds up the landing and does not create queues. And the turnstile simply will not miss the "hares".
Types of electronic cards
They are different. The types and price range of ski passes are very large. Before acquiring a subscription, you need to carefully study what benefits it promises. After all, it is important to know what you are paying your money for. If you come to spend winter outdoor activities with a small child, it is more profitable for you to buy a debit card. This ski pass gives the right to transfer it to another person. Parents can thus take turns riding. The debit card is replenished. In the Italian ski area Dolomiti Superski, it costs forty euros for 460 units and one hundred euros for 1400. Each ski lift deducts a certain amount of these points from the card (depending on its convenience or length). A one-day or many-day ski pass on a slope is good if you liked these ski slopes. For example, you are a beginner athlete, and you do not need to climb to the beginning of the “black” routes. The universal ski pass gives you the right to use all ski lift lifts. Suitable for those who are determined to try out all the slopes. The combined subscription, in addition to actually using the lifts, includes some kind of bonus - access to the SPA center, for example.
Pros of ski pass
Is it worth it to buy such a reusable ticket for the lifts? Of course! A ski pass is a great opportunity to reduce the cost of your stay in a ski resort. Indeed, in the total amount, the price of one-time tickets will be much higher than the subscription. You will also save time and will not stand in line at the box office. Get a subscription once for several days - and that’s all. And you can even completely forget about the queues. In Ukrainian Bukovel, for example, every summer there is an online sale of ski passes for the winter. Significant discount. And even if you didn’t manage to go to the Ukrainian Carpathians this winter, the ski pass will be valid next year. Ski resorts in the Dolomites provide a separate service - My Dolomiti Skicard. The owner signs an agreement with the resort’s office, and at the first morning passage of the turnstile, a credit is deducted from his credit card, ten percent less than the cost of a one-day ski pass.
Cons of subscription
There are disadvantages to this service. The main enemy of ski passes is the weather. If you purchased a subscription for a week, and during its five days a blizzard raged or there was a pitch fog, no one will return the cost of unused days to you. And even if the lifts are closed due to a heavy wind, your expenses will not be reimbursed either. It does not make sense to sell or give your ski pass to another person. A personal electronic card contains complete information about the owner, and a weekly subscription contains a photograph. Do not think that no one is monitoring the turnstile. Cameras at lift stations are installed everywhere. Sooner or later, such a person will be tracked down and fined. Most multi-day ski passes are designed for a sequential day. But there are other tariffs. For example, you can use a certain number of different days in a certain period. But such ski passes are more expensive than usual.
Personal card protection
As in the case of credit cards, season ticket holders wonder: "What will happen if the ski pass is lost?" In this sense, the resort management has taken care of the safety of its customers. You need to contact the cash desk for the sale of ski passes and report the loss. It is necessary to have documents proving your identity with you, as well as a receipt for the purchase of a lost membership card. Employees will immediately block your personal card, and all unused funds will be transferred to a new piece of plastic. This procedure does not require additional funds. There is one exception to the rule when money is returned for unused skiing days. These are serious health problems. In the event of an injury or illness, if a medical certificate is available, the ski pass is withdrawn, and the funds on the personal card are reimbursed.
Categories of skiers
To popularize winter outdoor activities, resorts introduce various discounts for certain age groups. Everything is done so that people come as a family, taking even a nursing baby and an old grandmother. All children under six, and in some resorts even seven years old, can ride on the ski lifts (provided that their parents are accompanied) absolutely free. Then the baby tariff is valid - with a thirty percent discount. Often it is established not by years, but by the height of the child. Somewhere it can be a meter and twenty centimeters, somewhere it’s 1.4 m. The junior tariff applies to adolescents up to sixteen years of age. It entitles you to a ten percent discount. All older people over sixty five (Senior tariff) enjoy the same benefits. But in Krasnaya Polyana it is worth taking a valid student ID or student ID with you - these documents give you the right to a discount.
Seasons
Even for the same validity period of the ski pass, the price for it varies depending on the dates. Ski resorts, like seaside resorts, practice concepts such as high and low season. Even in places where skiing is possible all year round thanks to glaciers, there is this division. After all, not every ski lift will work in the summer. In addition to high, normal and low, some resorts have an early season. In Bukovel, for example, it begins with the first snow in late November and lasts only a week. Ski pass prices at this time are twelve percent lower than the regular season. There is such a thing as a “curtain”. In the last week of the season, some resorts declare free use of ski lifts in order to detain tourists and earn at least accommodation and meals.
Get a discount
We have already mentioned that an early purchase of a subscription reduces its cost in comparison with the ski pass that you can buy on the spot. The work of cashiers must be paid, taxes are levied on the salary, and therefore selling online memberships will cost you less. In some developed resorts in Switzerland, Austria, France and Italy, you can conclude an agreement to debit your credit card pass to the ski lift. In general, this gives a ten percent discount plus the bonus that such a “subscription” will be valid on the days you choose. If you want to buy a ski pass, the period of which extends to the low and regular season, then special calculators for online sales will determine the price.
The load subscription
Developed ski resorts are crowded with hotels. Housing supply often exceeds demand. Therefore, in order to get ahead of competitors and attract guests, many hotels practice an interesting system. If you have been staying in a hotel for more than two nights, you will be provided with a free or low-cost ski pass. This is a great bonus, because in the Alpine and Pyrenean resorts the prices for lifts are quite high. It is worth considering all the offers of hotels. Perhaps you should book a more expensive hotel, but save on a ski pass. And sometimes the subscription itself includes not only skiing on the ski lifts, but also visiting the term, travel on local transport, etc.