EpicMix by Vail Resorts

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It’s that time of the year when many of us are deciding what ski pass to buy.  Some are looking to buy a season pass to their favorite resort or resorts, some are looking to pick up a few day passes,  and some of you haven’t really decided what pass you are going to buy.  New for this season, Vail Resorts is introducing EpicMix which is an integrative online and mobile application that you can download onto your iPhone, Android device, or utilize with a mobile web capable phone.  EpicMix will be able to provide you with a map of the mountain with respect to your current location and provide information about the resort that day. EpicMix eliminates the need for multiple gadgets while you are on the mountain.

With so many people carrying a smart phone on the mountain these days, Vail Resorts decided to take your on the mountain experience to a whole new level.  This application is one of a kind and to our knowledge, no other resort has anything out there that really compares at this time when it comes to the whole package of tools.

This application has something for everyone.  If you like to measure or log your vertical feet for the season or the day, the RFID chips in your pass are scanned each time you get onto a lift.  This allows the resort to measure how far you have gone up and how far you can gone down with a few crafty calculations. Sometimes when we’re on the mountain, we like to know what friends might also be catching some runs at the same time.  With the Epic Mix app linked to your facebook account (an optional feature), you can see which of your facebook friends are on the mountain and approximately where they are on the mountain.  Now this can be dangerous if you are taking a “sick” day and you don’t want your boss to know that you are out skiing or snowboarding, but it is a cool feature that can be turned off or on to meet your preferences. To further the social media experience, EpicMix will also post information about your ski day on Facebook and Twitter, so you can tell all your friends and family about your epic day on any of the Vail Resorts: Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Heavenly.

Included with the Facebook and Twitter integration is an electronic award or pin system.  Vail has put together a number of electronic pieces of flair that you can earn, and you don’t even have to work at Friday’s wearing red and white pinstripes with suspenders.  Once these electronic pins are earned, they are then placed onto your facebook profile.  Some of the pin that can be earned include the following:

Outback – Earn the Outback pin by riding the Outback Express twice in one day! Round trip tickets are nice.

Pow Hound – Hit 10 days of powder on all five mountains! That’s what we call a Snow Plow!

Nightrider – Earn the Nightrider pin riding 3 different lifts in one night! Somebody isn’t afraid of the dark!

Mile High Club- Earn the Mile High Club pin by being a mile from the bottom of the mountain! Don’t get any ideas though.

Echo – Cover 350,000 vertical feet! Our heads are exploding with excitement!

Steve Austin – Cover 6,000,000 vertical feet. Someone is rocking and rolling down these mountains!

Stateline – Earn the Stateline pin by being in California and Nevada! Now you can pick which sales tax to pay!.

6 Pack – Earn the 6 Pack pin with two rides on 6 Chair. Is this a beer run?

The Monogamist – Earn the Monogomist pin for 10 rides on the same lift! We’re going to need a crowbar to pry the chair off!

Snow Turkey – Earn the Snow Turkey pin for visiting on Thanksgiving! Let’s hope snow can hold us over till dinner!

Archangel – Spend 25 days in one season at Heavenly! Too much of a good thing isn’t possible!

Imperial Palace – Earn the Imperial Palace pin for riding the Imperial Express Lift! We commend you sir knight!

High Five – Earn the High Five pin by riding the High Noon Express lift 5 times. Looks like someone has a showdown to win.

Hunting Season – Earn the Hunting Season pin for making two runs down Game Creek! Don’t get wet!

Bachelor – Earn the Bachelor pin for 2 rides on Bachelor Gulch lift! Someone is Eligible!

Pioneer – Earn the Pioneer pin for being the first to use Epic Mix EVER! Quite the Trailblazer!

Stateline – Earn the Stateline pin by being in California and Nevada! Now you can pick which sales tax to pay!

The Vail Resort passes that you can use with Epic Mix include; Epic Pass, Summit Pass, Colorado Pass, Heavenly Pass, and a Peaks Lift Ticket.  During or after your snow da you can then look at your day’s results on your laptop at the local mountain coffee shop or on your smart phone.

If that’s not enough, this app also allows you to connect with your friends and family on the mountain through messaging and setting up places to meet, such as lunch. This can be a nice feature as its sometimes a mess trying to get your group organized to meet up.  For travel purposes, whether you are choosing what time to drive home, what roads to use, or what resort you want to ski or ride, this app also includes weather, roads, and snow reports.

One problem that you come across with many apps is that they often drain your battery.  With the Epic Mix app, you don’t have to worry about your phone going dead 3 hours into being on the mountain.  The app stays inactive while you are not using it, so you can rest easy that the app will work all day long without draining your battery. If you don’t care about checking your stats, linking with facebook, etc. you don’t have to, simply go about your ski day and you won’t even know what you are missing out on.

When Vail Resorts told us about the EpicMix app, our eyes were big as golf balls and our smiles spread from ear to ear.   Needless to say, we are super excited to get on the mountain and test this new app out! Start doing your snow dance, EpicMix here we come!!

Epic Mix can be used at all Vail Resorts including: Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Heavenly.