New Product Aims To Block Intrusive Lift Ticket Technology

A new product designed to block resorts from accessing personal data which it is possible for them to collect through ever more hi-tec lift tickets has been launched in Colorado.

The 'Ski Pass Defender' is a simple plastic folder that fits over credit-card sized lift tickets to stop them being read while you're skiing, but is designed to be easily opened for scanning when used to actually get on a lift.

The man behind Ski Defender, former ski instructor Jonathan Lawson, is concerned believes that while there are many advantages offered to the kind of tracking of skiers and boarders movements on the slopes that the new generation of lift tickets can provide, there may also be potential disadvantages which some skiers may wish to avoid by using his product.

The latest lift tickets use RFID technology to keep track of your day on the slopes and generating a lot of data on your travel around the slopes which skiers and boarders can usually download to view later. Some technologies also use the latest Facebook Apps ad similar to alert people to Facebook Friends in resort with them and so on.

However critics of the technology have voiced a variety of concerns including that some resorts may use the data for marketing purposes and others may enforce speed controls by using the tickets to track how fast a skier or boarder is going and potentially remotely deactivating their lift ticket if they knowingly or unknowingly ski or board too fast in a controlled area.
Courtesy of and © Snow24 plc

The speed issue is subjective in so many ways. There is no measure, nor way of measuring. 10 miles an hour might be frightenly fast to a beginner, while more experienced skiers are in full and quick control at 50/60 mph.

The bit which is missing from the Snow 24 piece is that Vail Resorts gave the inventor an ultimatum as they don't like what his product can do to their plans for tracking everyone.

He was offered the chance to go back to work for Vail as a Ski Instructor of 17 years standing, and quit any involvement with this new product.

It's a pretty sad indictment that Vail feels the need to play the corporate bully.

Jonathan Lawson chose his business idea over Vail Resorts.

bandit wrote:

Jonathan Lawson chose his business idea over Vail Resorts.

good lad

Seems a good idea to me

hear hear

Wouldn't a piece of tin foil work as well?

Trencher wrote:Wouldn't a piece of tin foil work as well?

Yes, as long as it was thick enough.

Trencher did you see the small video clip of the "$8 from e-bay" card reader which a "professional hacker" used to demonstrate how to steal a card's details from a reporter? :mrgreen: