Les Gets Debuts Wooden Lift Passes

In a sustainability push for the ski season, Les Gets in France has introduced wooden lift passes in an effort to cut down on the number of plastic lift passes issued each season.

Les Gets (as well as many other resorts across the Alps) issues tens of thousands of lift passes each year, creating a lot of plastic waste. Les Gets has found an alternative with wooden lift passes that function in the same way as plastic ones.

They aren't the only ones looking for alternative lift pass solutions either. Kitzbühel in Austria will also offer wooden passes this winter.

Going one step further, Vail Resorts are planning on removing physical passes altogether. This winter they are trialling a system that uses smartphones instead, in same way you would access the London Underground for example.

Visitors buy and activate a pass online, and their phones can holds the pass, which is then scanned at lifts using Bluetooth, whilst remaining in the users pocket. If the trial is a success, Vail Resorts say the initiative will be fully rolled out for 2023/23.

Ah, but what if your phone runs out of battery we hear you cry! Indeed, with GPS running on Ski Tracks, checking social media, the cold conditions and scanning the pass, it's unlikely any smartphone will last the full day. Well, according to Vail resorts, this obvious drawback will be tackled with on-mountain charging points, and the option will remain for those that want a conventional, physical pass will still be able to buy them.