The Slippery Slope of Ski Line Skipping (see what I did there?)…..
Park City, UT – Link to story
So this is apparently a thing now: a Utah ski area will start selling passes that let people skip lift lines all season long. Yep, the mountain equivalent of a TSA “Clear” lane. Pay extra, and you can glide past everyone else who just paid the regular small fortune for a season pass.
On paper, it’s clever business. People hate waiting in lines, and if they’re willing to pay more, why not take their money? But I hate this idea. I hope it dies on the vine.
First, it’s just another perk for the already wealthy in a sport that’s basically a gated community on snow. Skiing is expensive – passes, gear, travel, food, lodging- it’s all already priced so that only certain people can really participate. Now, even on the hill, we’re splitting into tiers. The haves, the have-mores, and the have-way-too-much.
But my bigger gripe is the slippery slope of “priority creep.” Once you open that door, it never stops.
It’s like airport security. You used to just stand in line. Then came TSA PreCheck. Then Global Entry. Then Clear. Each one promised to “get you through faster” until suddenly the “normal” line became the slow crawl for peasants.
Or remember the old Yellow Pages? First, everyone got a free listing. Then the reps called, convincing you to buy a little bold ad—because your competitors were. Then they pushed bigger and bigger ads until half the book was just a competition of who could buy more yellow paper real estate. If you didn’t play along, you disappeared.
That’s what will happen here. First comes the “fast access” line. T hen “VIP Fast Access.” Then “Elite Platinum Super Access.” Meanwhile, regular lift lines grow longer because the mountain keeps carving out new lanes for the people who paid to skip them.
This is skiing we’re talking about – a place we’re supposed to feel equal under the same sky, bundled in the same freezing chairlift breeze, all chasing the same powder. Not a theme park with wristbands marking who shelled out extra for shorter waits.
We don’t need more hierarchies on the mountain. We need fewer.
Just ski. Just wait your turn. Just no.