Lift tickets will be available in My Epic mobile app.
The Epic Pass is going digital next year just as tickets go on sale for the 2023/2024 season.
Vail Resorts, which owns the Epic Pass, is upgrading the company’s mobile app, allowing skiers and snowboarders to activate and store their lift passes on their phones, the company shared with Travel + Leisure. Visitors will then be able to keep their phones in their pocket, which will be scanned hands-free through Bluetooth.
“With Mobile Pass [and] Mobile Lift Ticket on the new My Epic app, your phone becomes your ticket to the slopes,” Tim April, the chief information officer of Vail Resorts, said in a statement provided to T+L. “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.”
The new mobile passes can be used in lieu of plastic cards or RFID chips. However, these will still be available and automatically sent to all new Epic Pass holders for next season.
The new features come as the Epic Pass went on sale on Tuesday for the 2023/2024 season starting at just $909. Pass holders who purchase early will also receive 10 buddy tickets and six ski with a friend tickets discounted.
The mobile pass will be available to use at all Vail Resorts mountains in the United States, with plans to add Whistler Blackcomb in future seasons.
In addition to the mobile pass, the new My Epic app will include several customized features, like interactive trail maps with GPS location tracking, both real-time and predictive lift line wait times, and personalized statistics.
The pass offers unlimited and unrestricted access to 42 different mountain resorts and limited access to more than 80 resorts all over the world.
All Epic Pass options are now on sale as well, including the Epic Local Pass, which starts at $676, and the Epic Day Pass, which starts as low as $41 per day.
In 2021, Vail Resorts decreased the price of an Epic Pass, which still remains below the $979 price tag from 2020.