One of the first things Kevin “Coop” Cooper told me when we met up yesterday to ski at Kirkwood is that it’s “just” Kirkwood, thanks very much. No clever tagline.
It doesn’t need one. Kirkwood is … well, Kirkwood. It’s that Northern California resort that gets all the snow, that stands for adventure, and that attracts a certain clientele. A clientele that’s all about the mountain.
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Sometimes the best way to tell you about where I’ve been is to get out of the way and let the pictures do the talking. South Lake Tahoe is one of those places. Here’s a view of the California side of Heavenly Resort. It really defies description. At times, you feel as if you are going to ski right into the lake.
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Watching your kids advance from being never-ever skiers, and not being able to stand on the mountain without falling over, to making clean parallel turns, is one of the great joys in life. Seriously.
During the last few days here at Breckenridge Ski Resort, I’ve have the privilege of watching all three of my kids make significant breakthroughs in their technique.
When it comes to using technology to improve the travel experience, Vail Resorts is known as one of the most progressive resort companies in America. I’ve interviewed CEO Rob Katz several times about Vail’s EpicMix initiative, and RFID-enabled ticket system that integrates with social media. Version 2 of EpicMix goes live next month, and I thought I’d check in with him to see the progress.
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Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology isn’t new, even to the travel industry. Resorts have been using RFID to help guests keep track of each other for several years.
But I’ve been following Vail Resorts’ new EpicMix application with some interest. As a consumer advocate, any technology that can be used to improve travel gets my attention. And I love the way social media — which is a central part of EpicMix — has the potential to make your vacation better.
At the same time, I’m concerned with the privacy implications of any gadget that knows where you are.
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EpicMix is Vail Resorts’ newest online mobile application for winter sports, and with ski season just around the corner, I asked Rob Katz, Vail Resorts’ CEO, to weigh in on social media and skiing. Here’s our interview.
Let me pick up where we left off the last time we talked. At the end of our interview, I mentioned that I had several family members who haven’t skied and were not interested. And I asked you how I could persuade them. You recommended showing them one of your resorts, which is, in fact, what I did. And now they’re hooked. So, I guess to follow up on that, how do you keep families interested in a mountain resort experience?
It’s great news to hear you and your family are hooked on skiing. At our five world-class resorts, Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly, we try to offer a variety of family programming and activities for children of all ages — both on and off the snow — to give families the best possible experience at our resorts. Plus, the nature of doing activities together like skiing, snow tubing, ice skating, and attending unique family events like Kidtopia at Keystone Resort gives parents an opportunity to spend time with their kids to create those lasting family vacation memories.
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