 Poster: A snowHead
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We are going to Les-Arc this winter as a family: me, my whife and a 2yo child.
Since only one of us will be skiing at any given time and the other babysitting, I'm planning to buy only one lift pass and share it between us.
so the questions
1) Is there any chance they will take my photo for 7day or 8day pass?
2) Provided they don't take photo, do operators have pass holder's name displayed on their screens?
3) How much they can fine me if I'm caught? 
PS
Yes, I know it's illigal, immoral etc, but I simply don't see the point of buying separate passes if only one person will be skiing at any time.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Fri 14-12-12 12:20; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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oleksii, I donb't know the answers, but another issue might be if you pay for the carre/carte neige (whichever one applies) and that might be registered to you by name??
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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oleksii, 6 day pass, no photo, pay cash , (rely on good UK insurance with winter sports cover) job done 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Megamum, no I don't buy any of that.
Boredsurfing, what about 7-8 day passes? Will they ask for photo to be taken?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Quote: |
Yes, I know it's illigal, immoral etc
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Really I would have thought it was beign clever only one person is using the pass on any given day.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I don't know about Les Arc but in my experience photo and insurance is obligatory if you are buying a pass for longer than 4 days. Not sure about the fine but the ski pass will be forfeited if you are caught using someone else's. You can buy passes on a daily basis if only one of you will be skiing at a time - it won't cost much more than a weekly pass, plus in some resorts you can buy a half-day pass, which is useful if you are not planning to be up for the first lift and ski till the last.
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On the archetypal TO transfer coach, a rep moves from seat to seat selling 6 day passes etc and these are then distributed en masse at next morning's breakfast. No insurance, no photos, no nuffink.
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never summer, I usually buy passes for 6-10 days and have never been asked for a photo or insurance when purchasing a lift pass, but I guess each area will be different.
oleksii, For some Ski areas you can order the lift passes online and they will be sent via mail, or do as Moffatross suggests and buy it from a Rep.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I'm sure when we skied Les Arc that we had an 8 day pass and didn't get our photo taken.
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Kelv1n, yes I'm going to do this online. I'm a bit worried about pass being registered on my name. If they have the name displayed on the screen, thre is a chance they will spot a tiny lady with masculine name 
Megamum, thanks that's good news
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| oleksii wrote: |
Kelv1n, yes I'm going to do this online. I'm a bit worried about pass being registered on my name. If they have the name displayed on the screen, thre is a chance they will spot a tiny lady with masculine name
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Give them a name such as Sam, Jo or Alex.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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vary from place to place
Dolomiti Superski ones for example (iirc) are made to be male/female, and are only valid with a name written on them. At the lift turnstiles, I think it only flags up when a concessionary rate card goes through, though.
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no you won't need a photo.
my friends do something similar when in VT
one gets local area pass and one gets 3V pass. whoever stays with kids that day has just local area pass
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You know it makes sense.
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In PdS the lights on the top of the turnstiles can be programmed to indicate whether it's an adult/child or male/female pass going through. Rarely seen the lifties taking any notice though!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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If you order online when the pass arrives it details the penalties of using the pass incorrectly think the fine is the price of another matched lift pass
I have done a family pass for 8 days and when the passes arrived it reiterates making sure all have the correct passes when they hit the lifts but i havent personally ever seen anyone checking out each member of the family has the correct pass
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Poster: A snowHead
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Dodgy pass in one pocket, emergency points card in the other. Use as appropriate. So I'm told 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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While in the Ski Amade a couple of years ago, Schladming to be precise, our friends (husband & wife) somehow swapped their passes halfway through the holiday. He was then pulled boarding a lift and was taken to an office and shown a picture of his wife using that pass the day before. It must be some type of face recognition software or someone sat there with some pretty nifty hardware, checking faces. We were stunned although it was a genuine mistake. He rang his wife and she skied down to the lift station and they swapped passes.
That said, Ski Amade has spent a fortune on the most modern lift equipment and it may not bee the same systems in Les Arcs.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I seem to recall in Tignes on a 6 day EK pass the first time the pass is used a photo is automatically taken at the turnstile. Some lifts (eg the funicular?) then have screens and as your pass is flashed the picture is brought up on screen.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Then it's worth me saying that we last bought passes in Les Arcs at least a couple of years ago. However, there are SH's who do ski there regularly who will have up to date info.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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If you look in the lifty's hut as you approach the turnstiles there's often a screen that flashes up a live pic of the person and another one alongside, presumably the stored user pic. In Saalbach I know they used a little webcam doofer to snap a pic of each of us as we collected our passes and the stored pic certainly flashed up on the screens that I saw. This was for the SuperSalzburger (area) pass rather than the normal resort one so the rules/security might be stricter.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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FYI I have known people who have used other peoples season passes which include a picture which appears at nearly A4 size on many screens as you go through a lift.
They noticed that on certain lifts the pictures can only be displayed 2 at a time so to go at the front of a large group of season people so their picture is rapidly replaced by the person behind them
Plus...in the depths of winter its fairly easy to cover enough of your face as long as you are the right sex and race.
Disclaimer - as I am mixed race I did not partake in any such activities
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In Les Acs all the liftie sees is the type of pass and the sex of the holder (i am not even sure of that). Photographs are displayed for season passes and I generally like to see if a season pass holder is on the lift with me, but that is about it.
Photographs are not need for 8 day passes
If you are concerned about the morality etc then just buy a zen pass for each of you, you are then only charged for the days you actually use it.
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Hi oleksii, I live in Les Arcs and the only passes that have a photo on are season passes. When you go through the gate, the seasonaire photo also pops up on their computer screen for about ten seconds. There is nothing to worry about as they don't check names on passes. All that comes up that they are interested in the the type of pass, which comes up in capitals - ie ADULTE 7 Jour. If you went through and it came up that you were using a childs pass, then they would probably stop you.
They don't ask your name in the lift pass office, you are just a very long number I'm afraid, which you have to keep incase you lose your pass and then they can cancel it and issue a new one. Keep the receipt, as the number is across the bottom.
That said, their system might have changed this season but I doubt it. Enjoy!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Skola wrote: |
FYI I have known people who have used other peoples season passes which include a picture which appears at nearly A4 size on many screens as you go through a lift.
They noticed that on certain lifts the pictures can only be displayed 2 at a time so to go at the front of a large group of season people so their picture is rapidly replaced by the person behind them
Plus...in the depths of winter its fairly easy to cover enough of your face as long as you are the right sex and race.
Disclaimer - as I am mixed race I did not partake in any such activities |
Yeah I know people who did that in La Plagne when their mates came over. Works particularly reliably at really busy lifts, such as the Arpette as there's usually a crush going through the turnstiles anyway.
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| rogg wrote: |
| I seem to recall in Tignes on a 6 day EK pass the first time the pass is used a photo is automatically taken at the turnstile. Some lifts (eg the funicular?) then have screens and as your pass is flashed the picture is brought up on screen. |
Perhaps the most compelling reason yet to wear a helmet and goggles.
Unless one of you has a beard of course
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| rogg wrote: |
| I seem to recall in Tignes on a 6 day EK pass the first time the pass is used a photo is automatically taken at the turnstile. Some lifts (eg the funicular?) then have screens and as your pass is flashed the picture is brought up on screen. |
I wonder if the 3V's use a similar system? I've always thought that helmet, goggles and a buff would be sufficient not to be recognised but I have a mate who borrowed a seasonnaire's pass (albeit not using a helmet) and got caught. Cost him €400 to get it back!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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oleksii, why don't you just email the lift company and ask if they need photos for seven and eight day passes? If not, there is minimal chance of your getting caught sharing a pass, as the Skidata system merely flags up the pass type (adult, child, senior etc). If by chance you do get caught, be prepared to pay a fine.
cheztichot, they tell you not to mix up the family passes in order to ensure that you don't get an adult skiing on a child pass - you will get pulled for this and not allowed on the lifts until you've sorted it out, which won't do much for your holiday enjoyment. They don't care if one child has the other's pass, and in fact have no way of telling whether or not this is the case.
Anyone thinking of using a mate's season pass and wearing goggles to hide their identity - do you really think we haven't seen that one before? I frequently get asked to remove goggles etc and I ski on a staff pass. Don't be silly.
In reality the only passes which are systematically checked are the ones concerning which we see the most fraud - kids, students, freebies, season passes. They are highly unlikely to look twice at a regular adult multi-day pass.
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Have had season pass in France for last 4 years and been stopped when wearing helmet/goggles/mask at lift stations quite a few times and asked to "reveal yourself"!! so that they can check against stored picture, which, as other posters have said, appears full screen every time you pass through a gated lift. Dont try to deceive them if you have revealed your gender or photo during the purchase process unless you are a keen gambler. IMHO!
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You know it makes sense.
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I'm sure you've probably looked into this but I have friends who have used the creche in Les Arcs and they were very happy with it. I'd personally palm off the child and enjoy yourselves skiing together. I tend to fall on the negligent side of good parenting though, to be fair.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Raceplate wrote: |
| rogg wrote: |
| I seem to recall in Tignes on a 6 day EK pass the first time the pass is used a photo is automatically taken at the turnstile. Some lifts (eg the funicular?) then have screens and as your pass is flashed the picture is brought up on screen. |
I wonder if the 3V's use a similar system? I've always thought that helmet, goggles and a buff would be sufficient not to be recognised but I have a mate who borrowed a seasonnaire's pass (albeit not using a helmet) and got caught. Cost him €400 to get it back! |
No, 3V only require photos for Season passes. Photo flashes up on screen as you pass through lift barrier, but for non-season passes, only the pass info is displayed (Adult/child, no of days etc)
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Patch wrote: |
| Raceplate wrote: |
| rogg wrote: |
| I seem to recall in Tignes on a 6 day EK pass the first time the pass is used a photo is automatically taken at the turnstile. Some lifts (eg the funicular?) then have screens and as your pass is flashed the picture is brought up on screen. |
I wonder if the 3V's use a similar system? I've always thought that helmet, goggles and a buff would be sufficient not to be recognised but I have a mate who borrowed a seasonnaire's pass (albeit not using a helmet) and got caught. Cost him €400 to get it back! |
No, 3V only require photos for Season passes. Photo flashes up on screen as you pass through lift barrier, but for non-season passes, only the pass info is displayed (Adult/child, no of days etc) |
erm,
well thats strange as last january, my wife bought her pass in val thorens (14 days), and a photo was taken and we are told is stored on their system so the regular, frequent pass checking police that hang around lift stations can check ownership is in order on their nifty little handheld tablets!!!
we were a bit surprised when she went into the lift office to add more days to discover that somehow, some random blokes picture had been allocated to her pass!!!
The cashier was embarrased that this had happened, and also she and her colleagues were amazed that she had not been arrested by the pass police at some point in the last 14 days for skiing on someone elses pass!!
I too was disapointed, it would have made a great afterdinner tale to tell, having to bail her out of the local clink!
the main point is that even if a pass does not carry a photo, most resorts lift companies will take a photo on selling a pass, that they store and which pops up every time you acces a lift....either the lift attendant will catch you (they are rewarded for finding fraudsters such as the OP is propsing to become, as are the roving bands of lift police,
big brother is watching...........................
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Pablito wrote: |
Hi oleksii, I live in Les Arcs and the only passes that have a photo on are season passes. When you go through the gate, the seasonaire photo also pops up on their computer screen for about ten seconds. There is nothing to worry about as they don't check names on passes. All that comes up that they are interested in the the type of pass, which comes up in capitals - ie ADULTE 7 Jour. If you went through and it came up that you were using a childs pass, then they would probably stop you.
They don't ask your name in the lift pass office, you are just a very long number I'm afraid, which you have to keep incase you lose your pass and then they can cancel it and issue a new one. Keep the receipt, as the number is across the bottom.
That said, their system might have changed this season but I doubt it. Enjoy! |
To confirm this - I've just hooked my 6-day Paradiski pass from last season out of the sleeve pocket of my jacket. Just "ADULTE" and 6 jours with the relevant dates. No personal details and no photo.
OP - if you do a search on the forum I'm sure this issue has been discussed before.
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