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grooming. Everything the SnowGage does happens automati- To activate Emma, guests
cally once you have it installed,” Kelley said. Courtesy of Vail Resorts merely text her at 77477, then
While the technology has been around since the 1990s, opt in to her services (mes-
SnowGage launched in 2013 and has been popular among sage and data rates will apply);
some NSAA members, including Utah’s Snowbasin Resort, no app download required. For
an early adopter of the technology. The measurement system now, she is text-based rather
starts automatically with the snowcat, and it includes a than voice-activated (commu-
rugged tablet monitor that mounts inside the snowcat so nicating with mobile phones
operators can view snow-depth measurements and GPS and wearables, such as an Apple
position data in real time. Watch). Guests can access
“You can see it in a map view or a trail view, so you can Emma from anywhere in North
see where you are on your mountain and get snow depth America, 24/7, and if she can’t
in front of, behind, and underneath you while you’re out answer a question herself, she
grooming,” Kelley said. “The main benefit is to help you be connects them to a live agent
more efficient in your operations.” for within the same text conver-
In addition to the snow-depth measurements, the prod- sation. Guests can also reach
Emma is Vail Resorts’ real-time
uct has a GPS component to compile fleet tracking statistics, digital “guide” to the ultimate a live agent by texting “person”
which provides a variety of data like the average area covered, skiing and riding experience. to Emma.
grooming time, and idle time to help manage efficiencies. “Emma has had a great inaugural season and we’ve
—Colin Bane already been able to use her insights to make improvements
to the technology so that we can best meet the needs of our
Digital Mountain Assistant guests,” said Lynch. “We’re excited about her future poten-

It was merely a matter of time before a ski area came up tial as we seek to connect with our guests one-on-one.“
with a real-time digital guide. Vail Resorts leads the way For more information on Emma visit EmmaIsEpic.com.
with its launch of “Emma,” the world’s first digital mountain —Rebecca W. Ayers
assistant, which debuted at nine VR properties this season
(Vail Mountain, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, and Keystone Queue Management
in Colorado; Park City in Utah; Whistler Blackcomb in Ever wonder how chairlift wait-time data in some of the
Canada; and Heavenly, Northstar, and Kirkwood in Tahoe). most popular ski resort apps is collected and analyzed?
Via text messaging, Emma has the lowdown on most Chances are that BlipTrack Systems—a queue management
everything you’d want to know about snow conditions, way- technology product suite from Denmark-based Veovo—
finding, rentals, lessons, lift tickets, resort experiences, in-town is responsible.
activities, EpicMix stats, and more. An admitted know-it-all Accurate data for tracking wait times in lift lines helps
(“I am the collective knowledge of every lift operator, groomer, ski area operators communicate accurate information to their
snowmaker, ski school instructor, ticket counter attendant, guests and make informed decisions about staffing, strategic
and ski patroller”), she is much like the ultimate lifelong, resourcing, and facility and expansion planning. Some of the
passionate skier/rider we rely on to share all the insider knowl- highest-profile resort groups in the US and around the world
edge and tips for how to have a great day on the slopes at a are increasingly turning to high-tech solutions like BlipTrack
specific resort—without the unsolicited yammering. to collect, analyze, and act on that data. The Veovo product
She’s getting even smarter, too. Since Emma launched in suite already is widely used in amusement parks, airports,
beta form at Keystone Resort, Colo., early in the 2018–19 and train stations around the world.
season, she’s been using artificial intelligence (AI) through nat- “Lift lines are the pet peeve of guests, and the time spent
ural language processing (NLP) to get a handle on what kind waiting invariably comes at the top of the list of customer
of questions guests ask and how they ask them—the first such complaints,” said Christian Carstens, the company’s marketing
use of AI and NLP in the mountain resort industry. Each director. “To efficiently manage queues, it is essential to accu-
interaction she’s had during this inaugural season has expanded rately measure and predict how many people are standing in
her knowledge base and insight, said Kirsten Lynch, chief mar- line and for how long.”
keting officer for VR, when the product launched. Depending BlipTrack is a combination of hardware sensors and data
on the success of Emma, she may eventually expand to management systems that include modules for queue and flow
summer operations and other VR-owned and -operated resorts. management. The system collects, combines, and analyzes

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