Winter Park to discuss chairlift screen expansion during offseason
Ski Hi News
Winter Park Resort and Alpine Media Technology have been receiving promising consumer responses to the new digital information screens installed into chairlifts, but it’s too early to say if they will be seen on more chairs in the future.
“I think a lot of people have been surprised at how well they work and just how much information is being conveyed,” said Steve Hurlbert, director of public relations and communication for Winter Park Resort. “It ends up being a huge resource to have right in front of you. The reaction has been amazingly positive.”
The screens, designed by Centennial-based Alpine Media Technology, provide skiers and snowboarders with real-time information on weather, traffic, trail conditions, openings and more as they make their way to the top of the mountain. Winter Park Resort installed the new technology to five of the chairs on the Super Gauge Express lift in December.
Despite the positive early feedback on the system, the resort will wait until after the ski season to discuss any potential expansions to other lifts.
“It’s still too early to tell,” Hurlbert said. “All of that will be figured out once the season ends. We can take the good and the bad and put them together and really talk it over … to see what their plans are moving forward.”
While expansions to other lifts are on the back burner, the resort is implementing the screens into different areas.
Hurlbert said the resort is currently in the process of installing them in the main lobby of the Zephyr Mountain Lodge and the Vintage Hotel, with the Balcony House, Lunch Rock Restaurant and West Portal Station potentially to follow.
The LiftDigital screens are currently only at Winter Park Resort, though Alpine Media Tech is looking to expand their system to other resorts.
“We’ve gotten inquiries from other resorts in the Alterra family as well as smaller, privately owned resorts,” said Freddie Peyerl, co-founder of Alpine Media Technology, referring to the newly branded operating company of Winter Park Resort. “I think there’s a considerable amount of interest across the industry.”
Peyerl said the company would be rolling out its technology to potential investors and customers at the National Ski Areas Association conventions in Utah and Vermont later this month.
“The people are really embracing the technology and we’re really looking forward to other things we may be able to do with it in the future,” Peyerl said.
Aspen and Pitkin County unite for ‘Aspen Aware & Pitkin Prepared’ Emergency Readiness event
It was standing room only Tuesday evening as Aspen residents packed into the Pearl Pass conference room of City Hall for a conversation around emergency preparedness.
