A ski pass is what? Ski pass in ski resorts

It seems that everything has been prepared for the trip to the ski resort. Visa is open, tickets are bought, hotel is booked. The budget of rest is thought over: a food, excursions, souvenirs. Do not forget anything? And how do you get to the hillside with which you are going to ride? Lifts are not a cheap pleasure. Each time, buying a ticket for passage into the hanging cradle, sitting in a chair or clinging to the yoke, you have to part with the "hard earned". Get a better ski pass: this will significantly reduce the cost of your vacation in the ski resort. What it is? This we will discuss 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 easily. If you compare the ski lifts with the metro, then we can say that ski-pass (ski pass) - this card that gives the right to several trips. Sometimes there is an unlimited number of ascents during a day or several days. But this comparison with the metro looks simplistic. After all, no monthly subscription for the use of the Moscow subway does not give you the right to visit, for example, Sandunovsky baths. But some ski passes in Switzerland give access to soak up in the spa centers of this country. The ski slopes of Western European resorts are connected to each other in the skiing areas. Ski pass gives you the opportunity to ride on all the ski lifts, and also to get to their lower stations by bus shuttles. In most cases, this subscription is a plastic card, similar to an ordinary credit card. But there are (in the Caucasian resort of Krasnaya Polyana, for example) ordinary paper tickets with a barcode.

How it works

A special magnetic chip is built into the plastic card. Often it includes the personal data of the owner. This is done in order to prevent the transfer of the ski pass to another person. The chip also carries information on how long (or for how many trips) it is valid, what coverage zone covers, etc. Such an electronic card is very convenient. You do not even need to pull it out of your pocket. Sensitive sensors "sniff" it even under tight clothing and instantly consider information from it. Another thing - paper tickets reusable. You will need to pass it through the terminal slot and, only after hearing a characteristic sound signal, pass 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 passage to the ski lifts is controlled automatically. This significantly accelerates the landing and does not create queues. A turnstile just will not miss the "hares".

Types of electronic cards

They are different. Types and price spread of ski passes are very high. Before you buy any subscription, you need to carefully study what kind of benefits it promises. After all, it is important to know what you are paying your money for. If you came to spend a winter active holiday 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, therefore, can ride in turns. The debit card is replenished. In the Italian skiing area of Dolomiti Superski it costs forty euros for 460 units and one hundred euros for 1400. Each ski lift charges a certain number of these points (depending on its convenience or extent). One- or multi-day ski pass on the slope is good, if you really like these ski slopes. For example, you are a beginner athlete, and you do not need to go up to the beginning of the "black" routes. Universal ski pass gives the right to use all ski lifts. Suitable for those who are determined to try all the slopes. Combined subscription, in addition to the actual use of the lifts, includes some kind of bonus - access to the SPA center, for example.

Advantages of ski pass

Should I buy such a multiple ticket to the ski lifts? Of course! Ski pass - this is an excellent opportunity to reduce the cost of your stay in the ski resort. After all, in the total amount of the price of one-time tickets will be much higher than the subscription. You will also save time and will not stand in line to the cash registers. Get a subscription once for a few days - 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 period. The discount is considerable. And even if you do not have the opportunity 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 from his credit card the first morning pass of the turnstile is written off the amount, ten percent less than the cost of a one-day ski pass.

Subscription lows

There are drawbacks to this service. The main enemy of ski passes is the weather. If you purchased a subscription for a week, and for five days a snowstorm raged or there was a fog, no one will return the cost of unused days. And even if the lifts are closed due to heavy wind, your expenses will not be reimbursed either. To sell or give your ski pass to another person does not make sense. A personal electronic card carries full information about the owner, and a weekly subscription contains a photograph. Do not think that nobody is watching the turnstile. Cameras at the lift stations are installed everywhere. Sooner or later such a person will be tracked and fined. Most of the multi-day ski passes are designed for a consistent sequence of days. But there are other tariffs. For example, you can use a certain number of different days at some time. But such ski passes are more expensive than usual.

Personal protection cards

As in the case of credit cards, the owners of the tickets ask the question: "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 apply to the cashier for the sale of ski passes and declare the loss. With you, you need to have documents proving your identity, as well as a receipt for purchasing a lost subscription. Employees 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 rules, when money is returned for unused riding days. These are serious health problems. In case of 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

In order to popularize winter active holidays, resorts introduce various discounts for certain age groups of the population. Everything is done so that people come to the whole family, taking even a baby and an old grandmother. All children under six, and at some resorts and seven years, can ride on the ski lifts (subject to accompanying parents) absolutely free of charge. Next is the baby tariff - with a 30% discount. Often it is established not by the years, but by the growth of the child. Somewhere it could be a meter and twenty centimeters, somewhere - 1.4 m. The Junior tariff applies to teenagers up to sixteen years old. He gives the right to a discount of ten percent. The same benefits are enjoyed by all elderly people over the age of sixty-five (Senior rate). But in Krasnaya Polyana, it's worth taking with you a valid student ID or student card - these documents give you the right to a discount.

Seasons

Even for the same term of the ski pass, the price for it varies depending on the dates. Ski resorts, like seaside resorts, practice such concepts as high and low season. Even in those places where skating 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, in some resorts there is an early season. In Bukovel, for example, it begins with the first snow in late November and lasts only a week. Prices for ski passes at this time below the regular season by twelve percent. There is such a thing as "under the curtain". In the last week of the season, some resorts, to detain tourists and earn at least the accommodation and meals of guests, declare free use of the ski lifts.

Catch discount

We have already mentioned that the early purchase of a season ticket lowers its cost compared to a ski pass that you can buy on the spot. The work of the cashiers must be paid, salaries are levied on taxes, and therefore the sale of season tickets online will cost you less. In some developed resorts in Switzerland, Austria, France and Italy, you can conclude an agreement to debit your credit card from your passage to the ski lift. In general, this gives a 10% discount plus the bonus that such a "subscription" will operate on the days you choose. If you want to purchase a ski pass, the term of which applies to low and regular season, then special calculators for online sales will determine the price.

Subscription "in the load"

Developed ski resorts are overcrowded with hotels. The supply of housing often exceeds demand. So, to get ahead of competitors and lure guests, many hotels practice an interesting system. If you stay at the hotel for more than two nights, you will receive a free ski pass or a discounted price. This is an excellent bonus, as 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 order a more expensive hotel, but save on the ski pass. And sometimes the subscription itself includes not only skiing on the ski lifts, but also a visit to the term, travel by local transport, etc.