My relationship with Treeline Interactive — the team behind the Mountain High App — dates back to our work on When DirecTV Drops. Since then I’ve looked at how Treeline shapes their digital products to grow their revenue streams.

The Mountain High App leverages the power of RFID-enabled ski passes to instantly track a resort guest’s days and runs. Previous ski passes — their days and runs — can be reloaded. That simple convenience of reloading an old ski pass from a smartphone allows skiers a true direct-to-lift experience.

The app helps users “check in” on Facebook and connect with their Facebook friends also at the resort. Through the phone’s GPS tracking capabilities, guests can pinpoint themselves on Mountain High’s trail map and locate friends. The app can track and share their runs: vertical feet conquered, maximum speed achieved, number of days on the mountain and other metrics, and photos and videos taken. At the end of their day, users can allow friends to compare their achievements by easily accessing the data on their phone or computer. 

The Mountain High App allows for real-time access to multiple live cams, the latest snow and weather conditions, and even if their favorite pros are on the mountain. The app also features a calendar of on-mountain events and deals on lift tickets, lessons, food, and equipment. 

The result is a synchronization of social media including rider-generated images and videos; tracking of ski metrics; the GPS-enabled trail map that includes the names and positions of trails, lifts, restaurants and bars; and realtime weather data such as snow reports, custom weather forecasts, and park updates.